Snackin' Good Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars

From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...What do a flower and a cookie have in common?  The blossom you see comes from a Datura plant that the Silver Fox has grown on our deck.  It doesn't flower readily and when it's not in bloom, its foliage looks suspiciously like that of a marijuana plant. However, if you can coax it into blooming it affirms that ducklings, even ugly ones, can become swans. While the ingredients used to make the cookie will never produce a feast for the eyes, the homely combination of chocolate, oatmeal and peanut butter will produce a culinary swan that's guaranteed to please the palate of snackers regardless of their ages. These cookies are extremely easy to make and they are great to serve to children following school or practice. They happen to be a favorite of mine because they are without pretense. What you see is what you get and what you get is old-fashioned goodness that I think you will love. Here is how these simple cookies are made. 

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Bars...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite adapted from Midwest Living magazine

Ingredients:
Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Dash salt
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1-1/2 cups semisweet chocolate pieces
Optional: 1/2 cup coarsely chopped salted peanuts
Glaze/Icing
1/3 cup sifted powdered sugar
3 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 -3 tablespoons milk

Directions:
1) To make cookies: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking pan. Beat butter in bowl of an electric mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated and brown sugars. Beat until thoroughly combined. Add egg, peanut butter, baking soda, vanilla, and salt. Beat until thoroughly combined. Stir in flour and oats. Spread into prepared pan. Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are light brown. Sprinkle with chocolate pieces; let stand for 5 minutes to soften. Spread softened chocolate evenly over bars. Sprinkle chopped nuts over chocolate layer if using.
2) To make icing: Stir together powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons peanut butter and enough of the milk, a tablespoon at a time, to reach drizzling consistency. Spread or drizzle icing over top of bars. Cool in pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars. Yield: 32 bars.

                    

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