Steinway Street: Peanut Butter Bars

Dessert anyone?

How about a peanut butter bar? I must admit, this is not a recipe I would normally make. But a long time ago I asked my coworker what her favorite dessert was, and she responded by saying "anything with chocolate and peanut butter". This same coworker has a July birthday, which means she never gets to celebrate it at work. So this week I threw her a surprise-fake-birthday celebration, and made these yummy treats to share with my office.

Here are the ingredients I used for the bars (please note that after I started on the bars I decided to modify the original recipe quite a bit, so not all of these ingredients were actually used)!

I started by melting the butter in the microwave.

Then I mixed it with crunchy peanut butter (my coworker's favorite)...

Powdered sugar...

And graham cracker crumbs.

As my mixer did the dirty work, I nuked a bag of chocolate chips in the microwave.

Now, the other day I read about this trick to lining your pan with tinfoil, though I suspect this technique has been around for ages and I've just caught on. Either way, this worked for me: turn the pan upside down, and fold the tinfoil over the bottom of the pan.

After you've carefully removed the perfectly shaped tinfoil, flip your pan over and place the tinfoil into its proper position inside the pan. Handy, right?

But back to the recipe! When the peanut butter mixture is combined, place it into the pan...

And spread it into an even layer using a spatula.

Once the chocolate chips are melted, use a spatula to spread the chocolate over the peanut butter mixture.

Once everything is spread to your liking, place the pan in the refrigerator for approximately 30 minutes. When the chocolate is somewhat set, remove the pan and cut the bars to your desired size.

Yummy right? I have to admit- these bars can be a little messy, so I would definitely suggest keeping them in the 'fridge until you're ready to serve/eat them!

If you'd like to make these bars, here's the super easy recipe:

Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:
1 stick butter
2 cups of peanut butter (but I got tired of measuring so I just used the whole container)
2 cups powdered sugar
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 bag (12 oz) chocolate chips

Directions:
After melting the butter, combine it with the peanut butter, sugar and crumbs. Once mixture is homogeneous, spread it into a foil-lined 9x13 pan. Melt the chocolate chips and spread them on top of the peanut butter mixture. Place pan in refrigerator to set, and remove to slice bars after about 30 minutes. As bars tend to melt, make sure to leave them in the 'fridge until serving.

Of course, I couldn't just stop there- I mean, we're talking about a surprise-fake-birthday! So I wrapped the bars in these nifty little cellophane bags my mom found (it just so happens that my coworker is obsessed with the color pink)...