Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Whew! That’s a long name! Let me know if you come up with anything better. Something short and sweet like Happy Bars or Yummylicious Cookies.

Peanut butter and chocolate are classic. And a favorite of mine.

I go through food phases. For instance, I was on a plain greek yogurt with fresh fruit kick for breakfast for months. Now I am on an oatmeal with almond butter and banana phase. You would think that I could just mix it up and alternate days or something. I can’t.

Peanut butter is one of those foods on my food phase rotation. I can go months and months without thinking of it. Then I get a taste of it and suddenly I can’t keep a spoon out the jar. Last fall I had a solid month that I ate at least 2 Tbsp of PB every night. . usually on chocolate ice cream. I think I was suffering a peanut deficiency.

If you are longing for peanut butter the way I do, these bars will do right by you.

Let me warn you. . these call for some vegetable shortening. Some people lose their minds over stuff like that. I personally am not opposed to it. I don’t use it often (a tub lasts me all year) but it has a time and place. This recipe is based on an old family recipe and, back in the day, shortening was a more common fat in a lot of baking. If you browse old cookbooks you will see shortening or lard was prevalent. If you are really, really freaking out about a little shortening then I’m sure butter will work.

I just prefer to remain true to the old recipe. There is something about preserving old food traditions and tastes that I can get behind. It’s a big reason that I love to inherit old cook books or recipe boxes. I have my mom’s and some of my great aunts and I have already called dibs on my Grandma’s. 😉

These are very easy. You can even make them in one bowl if you use a microwave safe bowl. In simple recipes like these I don’t bother to pre-mix the dry ingredients. I just mix the wet ingredients first and then add the dry on top and slowly incorporate. Some people are sticklers about one bowl to cream wet, one bowl to sift dry (I never sift anything). In this kind of recipe it makes no difference.

Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars

1/4 cup shortening (melted and slightly cooled)

2 cups brown sugar

3/4 cups peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

3 eggs

3/4 cups old fashioned oats

2 cups flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 12oz bag chocolate chips

Melt and cool the shortening. Add the brown sugar and the peanut butter and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time. Add all the dry ingredients. Mix until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

The mixture will be thick and sticky. Spread it into a 9×13 pan that is greased and lined with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Cool in the pan before cutting.