9/22/12

7 Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars


The kids are back to school and I thought back to school lunches when I was a kid.  In elementary school, I never ate school lunch.  I always brought a sack lunch and two dimes for a carton of milk.

However, in junior high, I started eating school lunch.  It was amazing.  Pizza that overflowed the plate, buttery breadsticks dipped in hot chili, and baby red potatoes swimming in butter and parsley. Two desserts were always a hit with the kids:  Chocolate Crackle Cookies and these peanut butter bars.

One bite of these soft, chewy, oatmeal peanut butter bars, covered with a blend of peanut butter and chocolate frosting will send you reeling back to your school cafeteria days.

Quick cooking oats are used in this recipe and spread into a greased 15x10 baking sheet.  Yes, that's a LARGE baking sheet, perfect for the cafeteria crowd, right?

I wanted to make this in a smaller pan, so I halved the recipe and used a 12"x9" half-sized baking sheet.  You can make these in a 9"x13" pan, but the bars will be a little thinner in size.

 
Bake these for 18-22 minutes or until lightly browned.


Milk chocolate chips and creamy peanut butter are melted together in the microwave...


...and poured over the warm bars.


Let the bars cool completely and cut into bars.

Sit back and enjoy a bite of nostalgia .... you'll feel like a kid again!




Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars
(4x6 recipe card download)     (full page printable recipe)

9/11/12

9 Herb & Cheese Bubble Loaf


Have you noticed a change in the air?

Fall is coming fast and it's baking weather for me!  I'm proud to bring you this recipe, Herb & Cheese Bubble Loaf, a savory cousin of Monkey Bread.  There is so much you can do with this bread and it makes such a great presentation at a dinner gathering.

The first secret to making this cheesy bread is to use sharp cheese.  If you use any mild cheese, your bread will taste, well, "meh..." Think Swiss, Parmesan, Asiago, Sharp White Cheddar.....

The second secret is to coat your shredded cheese in a little bit of flour.


This will keep the cheese from clumping together in your dough.


After mixing your dough, let it rise till double in size.  Roll the dough into an 8"x6" rectangle.  I love having a ruler just for the kitchen...


Use a serrated bread knife to cut the dough into 48 squares.  This is the easiest way to get 48 somewhat even sized pieces...


Roll each piece into a ball.  They don't have to be perfect.


Dip each ball into a bowl of butter and herbs. Sorry, no pic for this one.  You'll have to use your imagination:  I used a combo of fresh chopped parsley, dried oregano, and marjoram, mixed with some melted butter.

Really, you can use any herbs that you like ~ perhaps an Italian blend, thrown in with some chopped pepperoni.....oh.....this sounds like a recipe for pizza bites!

Place each ball into a buttered1 1/2 quart or 9"x5"x3" loaf pan.


 Let rise till almost double, and bake for about 30-40 minutes.  You can even put more butter on top...


Place the warm, cheesy bread in the center of your dinner table and watch the fun!


 Herb & Cheese Bubble Loaf
(4x6 recipe card download)     (full page printable recipe)
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