Lunch Lady Peanut-Butter Bars

If you are a child of the 80's and 90's I hope you had the chance to eat these during school lunch.  I think they were served on fish stick days.  Nevertheless they are delicious and actually fairly simple to make.  Hooray for pinterest and people who know Lunch Ladies.  This is their recipe.  I doubled it to make 2 jelly roll pans (11x15). This was a great amount to serve a crowd and I hear they freeze well.  Here is my adapted recipe:

3 cups flour
2 1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 cups butter

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 1/2 cups brown sugar

3 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter

4 eggs

3 cups quick rolled oats

 

In the mixer, cream together butter, sugars, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy.  Add in salt and baking soda.  Slowly incorporate flour.  Mix in oats.

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease jelly roll pans and dump half of the mixture onto each pan.  Dough is sticky so either spray grease your hand or a piece of wax paper and spread mixture towards edges.  Dough will fill in as it bakes.  Bake for approximately 15 minutes until browned. Allow to cool.

 

 

 

Frosting:

1 cup butter

6-7 cups  powdered sugar

4 Tbsp cocoa powder

1/2 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

Melt the butter in a sauce pan. Add milk and cocoa and stir constantly over medium heat until it comes to a boil.  Remove from heat and add vanilla.  Stir in powdered sugar until desired thickness and taste.  Remember that as the butter cools the frosting will naturally thicken.  Spread over cooled bars.