Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Cookie bars can be baked up in any flavor combination you can dream of, but for a classic, pure, perfect cookie bar, peanut butter and chocolate chips simply must be involved.

OK, I’ll admit it! I love you, Fall – too much – so I did it. I broke down the other day, and participated in pre-official fall enjoyment, but there’s a reason – the cool weather, nice breeze and aggressive marketing are luring me in.

Everyone’s telling me to do it, that its OK, the children are back in school, Labor Day has passed. So, yes, I did switch my candles and soaps over to the autumn collection before the official calendar arrival of fall. But, I’m OK with my decision and will stand by it. I am only doing this for us. Soon, I am going to be struck by the Christmas frenzy and want my house to smell like pine trees and eggnog sugar cookies and you’ll leave me until next year. See, I did this so we could be together just a bit longer, fall.

Seriously, I may just feel that passionately about fall. I already am planning a whole bunch of soups, breads and other cozy treats that just aren’t summer appropriate. I am looking at pumpkins and eying up mums – and honestly – planning the holidays (but I’ll keep that to myself for now).

In the mean time, let’s make some cookie bars!

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

from https://www.healthyfoodforliving.com

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 3 Tbsp unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 3 Tbsp unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1/2 cup evaporated cane juice or granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup chocolate chips

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat an 8 x 8 inch square pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper so the ends hang over the edges of the pan. Coat parchment paper with cooking spray.

In a medium bowl, whisk together both flours, salt, and baking powder.

In a large bowl, beat together the butter, applesauce, and peanut butter using an electric mixer until smooth. Beat in both sugars until well-mixed. Beat in eggs, one at a time, scraping down the sides of the bowl. Beat in vanilla extract.
Using a wooden spoon or rubber spatula, stir the flour mixture into the peanut butter mixture until well-incorporated. Fold in chocolate chips.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and spread evenly. Bake for about 28-30 minutes, or until the top is light golden brown. Let cookie bars cool for 10 minutes in pan.

Remove the cookie bars from the pan by picking up parchment paper ends and transferring to a cutting board. Allow to cool completely

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After trying these cookie bars, I have pretty much decided I am not a fan of overly peanut buttery flavored bars…. Live and learn, then take to work and give them away. 😉

I have a bunch of balls up in the air at the moment and I am trying to organize them before I put them in place. For those of you who know me, yes, I did giggle while typing that. I am sadly not loving the holiday fabrics at the local store. The Halloween ones are all too childish. I’m bummed because I wanted to make some Halloween themed aprons. Not like I don’t have a pile of fabric to finish creating things with.

Speaking of piles of fabric – if I have any crafty people reading this – what do you do with the scraps? They are too big to toss and too small to make anything out of? I feel like a hoarder but it seems wasteful just to trash them. Maybe I’ll go stalk Pinterest for some ideas, too.