Candy-Bars

Hi and welcome to a bonus episode of Adventures In Baking from this week.  Like I mentioned in the Cookie Dough Truffles post, I was feeling a little guilty about the lack of oven usage.  How can you have an adventure in baking when nothing was actually baked??  And so I was on the hunt for a recipe that would use the oven and still full-fill the category of candy, brownie or bar.  My search led to what you see above.  I found the recipe  here on Recipe Girl.  Chocolate and peanut butter with an oat crust.  Oh yeah. 

The ingredients.  I had to make a quick trip to the store for this one.  Several things I didn't have on hand:  Quick-cooking oats, corn syrup, peanut butter chips and peanuts.  That's a lotta sugar! 

Let's get started.  First up is the bottom layer.  Stir brown sugar, butter and corn syrup over medium heat until combined.  Remove from heat and stir in peanut butter and vanilla and stir until smooth. 

Next.  Place oats in a large bowl and pour in heated mixture.  Stir to combine and press mixture into 13 x 9 baking pan lined with foil and sprayed with non-stick spray.  OK.....as simple as this recipe is so far.....I was lazy and didn't want to dig out my 9 x 13 baking dish so decided an 7 x 11 pan would work just as well.  And it did work fine.  The bars are just much thicker than they would be with a larger pan.  Bake 10-12 minutes.  I gave it an additional 5 minutes due to the extra thickness.

Final step.  Let the baked layer cool for about 15 minutes and then sprinkle chopped peanuts on top.  In the saucepan, stir chips and peanut butter over low heat until smooth and melted.  Pour the melted mixture over the peanuts and spread to make an even layer.  Sprinkle remaining chocolate and peanut butter chips and peanuts over the top, pressing lightly into the chocolate layer.  Refrigerate until firm and cut into squares.

  Taste test.  Wow......just......Wow.  I think the pan weighs 20 lbs.  I definitely should have used the larger dish.  They taste so good, but a few bites is all I can handle.  Too much chocolate for me.  I cut it into 24 pieces and gave most away.   This concoction doesn't leave anything out.  It's sweet and salty as well as crunchy and chewy.  I wonder if I could make a cookie out of the bottom oat layer and maybe add a few mini-chocolate chips?  That would be more my speed. 

On the next episode of Adventures In Baking......It's Cookie Time! 

Till next time

-Teddra