Peanut Butter Bars

I rarely stray from chocolate desserts, but these bars, with their crunchy peanut butter cookie crust, caramelized peanut butter center, and crumbly topping have made me a believer in the non-chocolate treat. They have an intense peanut butter flavor that I'm pretty much addicted to, plus they're a cinch to make and bake up in no time. 

Peanut Butter Bars
Crust
½ cup butter (1 stick), softened
½ cup peanut butter (creamy or crunchy)
1½ cups granulated sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla extract
1½ cups all-purpose flour

Filling
2 eggs
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
½ cup granulated sugar
½ cup packed light brown sugar 

Preheat oven to 375. In a medium bowl mix butter, peanut butter and sugar until well blended, then add vanilla, then flour. Stir until well mixed (it will have a crumbly consistency). Reserve about 1 cup of the crumbly mixture and firmly press the remaining mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13-inch baking pan. 

For the filling, beat all ingredients together until smooth. Spread evenly over unbaked crust, then sprinkle the reserved crust mixture over the top. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until set and the top is golden. Cool in the pan, then cut into squares. 

photo by Angelica Golden