Tuesday 22 April 2008

Peanut Butter Oat Bars


Spring has finally arrived, what a beautiful sunny day! It was a lovely change waking up to a glorious day and walking into my kitchen with the sun shining away in the garden. The kitchen is one of my favourite places in my home, it’s where all my creations are born and made. So to celebrate the change in weather I decided to bake Peanut Butter Oat Bars, a favourite in our home. These oat bars are deliciously filling, and perfect to put in your kids or hubby's pack lunch box or for when they come home ravenous. No true peanut butter lover would be able to resist!




Peanut Butter Oat Bars

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick/4 oz./113g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 egg, at room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

Instructions:
Position oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan with butter, then line it with parchment paper, letting it hang over 2 sides. In a bowl, combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and stir with a whisk until well blended. Set aside. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer, beat together the butter, brown sugar and peanut butter on medium speed until creamy, about 3 minutes. Turn off the mixer and scrape down the sides of the bowl with a rubber spatula. Add the egg and vanilla and beat well. Turn off the mixer and add the flour-oat mixture. Beat on low speed just until blended. Using the rubber spatula, scrape the batter into the pan and spread it evenly. Place the baking pan in the oven and bake until the top of the cookie is golden and looks firm, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove the baking pan from the oven and set it on a wire cooling rack. Let cool completely. Lift the cookie from the pan, dust it with confectioners’ sugar and cut it into 1 x 4-inch bars.

Makes 16 bars.

25 comments:

Rosie said...

Awesome my 'dear' friend!! Stunning photo's and bake :)

Rosie x

Nickki said...

They sound great Maria! Another "must try" to add to my list :)

Maria♥ said...

Thanks Rosie!

Nikki you "must" try them, they are delish. Your boys will love them ;o)

Maria
x

Vicky said...

Maria they sound and look gorgeous. Another recipe for my folder! I love peanut butter. Vicky xxx

Anonymous said...

Yum! A must try, perfect for a quick work snack.

Pixie said...

Maria, I think you seriously need to start sending me your peanut butter bakes.....I won't go into how I attempted peanut butter cookies and weren't happy with the results. Ok? lol

Anna said...

It's funny; I don't like peanut butter just normally or on toast but I love it in baking ^__^. Especially when oats are involved; these look gorgeous... x

Barbara Bakes said...

I saw these on Tastespotting. I'm going to have to give them a try!

jd said...

Mmmm - those Peanut Butter Oat Bars look delish!

I love peanut butter (& oats!), so I can't wait to try 'em.

Thanks for the great idea!

Deborah said...

These sound delicious! Great way to get a peanut butter fix.

hungryandfrozen said...

Maria, that looks delicious! I'm getting so into peanut butter as a baking ingredient...even though I don't like it on my toast. lol!

Rhyleysgranny said...

I new this pic would end up on TasteSpotting. Well done. They look yummy
xxx

Jessy said...

Rather than plain (all purpose flour) can i use self raising and omit the baking soda?
Thanks
-jessy

Anonymous said...

this is peanut butter heaven. nice!

Anna's kitchen table said...

Maria, they look absolutely delicious, I must try these soon!

anna x

Maria♥ said...

Wow, what a lovely surprise to come on and see so many lovely comments, thanks!

Jessy i don't see why you can't use self-raising and omit the baking soda, I am sure it will be fine!

For those of you trying out this recipe, please come back and let me know when you've made them and your thoughts!

Maria
x

priscilla joy said...

Boy, these look g-o-o-d! You bake some eye catching stuff!~

Jessy said...

I made them!!! Yummy!

Ivy said...

Hi Maria, thanks for visiting my blog and I am glad to see a lot of friends commenting on your blog. Your peanut butter oat bars look so delicious and are so healthy. A perfect snack for the kids.

Anonymous said...

Hi Maria,
I have a pan of these in the oven right now...hope they come out looking as lovely as yours!! Thanks so much for posting this.
Love,
Patty
xoxo

Maria♥ said...

Thanks for the comments.

Patty I'm sure they will be perfect ;o)

Maria
x

Kathleen said...

I love oatmeal and peanut butter so I had to try these! They are delicious! I couldn't resist adding a 1/2 cup of mini chocolate chips... mmmmm!

Maria♥ said...

Hi Kathleen

Lovely to see you here and thanks for dropping by and leaving a comment. I am glad you tried these and next time I will be adding chocolate chips to the mix ;o)

Maria
x

Leah said...

So yummy! I made them tonight and doubled the recipe, as I always do when baking. Then I can freeze some for later.

Leah said...

So yummy! I made them tonight and doubled the recipe, as I always do when baking. Then I can freeze some for later.