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.