Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Bars

I'm filing a name change for these beauts, I no longer want these particular things to be called 'bars'. It seems oddly derogatory. They are so much more than a bar, they are just lovely. That's it. I want to rename them 'Peanut Butter Lovelies'. Yes, please. 

I didn't set out to make Peanut Butter Lovelies (when you say it, you have to kind of swivel your head around and point your chin up a bit, they are just so lovely, now say it with me 'peanut butter lovelies'. yes yes.). I just wanted to make some cookies. I had peanut butter and this honking pound of chocolate and I thought, well why not make some of our favorite peanut butter chocolate chunk cookies?

Because I hate chopping chocolate, that's why not. It took me a few hours of hemming and hawing  (those are words, right? They look so ridiculous, just the way I probably do whilst saying 'peanut butter lovelies' just the way that I imagine John Cleese would) before I just decided to do it. I had recently had a bit of a chocolate/glass disaster that I was aiming to avoid, but I didn't let it stop me. No way, so what if I caused an inept glass bowl full of chocolate I had so willingly chopped to shatter to pieces on my stove and so what if I left the mess wrapped up in a garbage bag in the sink in the garage that caused a minor flood, psh, so what. No big deal.

I wish I had thought that. Instead I thought, good luck crazy. Then I started chopping chocolate and hating every minute of it. The catastrophist in me just sees the way the blade slips along the hard chocolate, hardly following my commands, and worries about my dainty fingers. I like to let my mind wander whenever I can and this is not one of those times. No way, chopping chocolate requires constant vigilance, of which I have very little. I'm easily distracted, so sue me.

I just want to take a nap on this. Who doesn't?

But these Peanut Butter Lovelies (now you have to use a British accent as well when you say it, come on! you know you want to!) were worth the effort. I didn't want to ball up a bunch of cookies, and so it became a large bar. The melted chocolate on the top was the kicker, the dark chocolate and peanut butter combination being one of my all time favorites. While I thoroughly enjoyed these lovelies, next time I'm adding pretzels. Yes, pretzels. To the top, right after I pour that divine chocolate over the pillowy cooked cookie dough. You should try that, and let me know just how amazing it is.

Peanut Butter and Dark Chocolate Bars or Peanut Butter Lovelies
inspired by The Village Baker's Wife Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies

print this recipe

ingredients

1 cup butter (two sticks) at room temperature
1 cup peanut butter (your choice!) room temperature
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
15-20 ounces of dark chocolate, cut into 1/2 in chunks (1 pound or so)
2 cups chopped pretzels (optional, highly suggested though not attempted)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, as usual. Like your 9 x 13 pan with parchment paper- you will thank yourself later for this step.

Cream the butter and peanut butter together, adding the sugars and mixing until it is all fully incorporated. Next, add the eggs one at a time followed by the vanilla.

In another bowl mix together the flour and baking soda. Gradually add this dry mixture to the wet mixture and combine until it is all gloriously intermingled. Toss in 1/3 of the chopped chocolate (about 5 ounces or 2/3 cup). Use a rubber spatula to clean down the sides of the bowl and make sure everything is mixed together well.

Now,  the best part and the reason I went with bars instead of cookies, dump the whole thing into the prepared pan and spread around with a butter knife or a spatula. Bake for 22-27 minutes, or until the edges are a nice golden color and a toothpick inserted comes out relatively clean (I prefer to under-bake my goodies so they retain their moist chewiness, which means that I let a few crumbs slide onto the toothpick and call it done, which was about 24 minutes in my kind of super hot oven).

Finally, take the leftover chocolate and melt it in a double boiler over simmering water until all the chocolate is melted. Then, pour the melted chocolate over the cooled bars, spreading it all evenly around as best you can. Here is my great idea I have yet to try, put crumbled pretzels on the top after you pour the chocolate- I imagine this would be divine! I'm going to try this next time. Let this chill in the fridge until the chocolate hardens, about 2 hours or pop them in the freezer if you need them faster. They are best cut up when the chocolate is hard, but closer to room temperature or it will crack. Cut up and serve at room temperature.

Enjoy!
-m