For my sister.

I’m baking you a treat.

Because you are so pretty,

And you always make me laugh.

Because we shared clothes in high school.

And you painted my toes when I was 13 months pregnant. 😉

Because A regular here you, sister that made you a tasty treat.

Happy Birthday my fine, wise yet-still-older-sister Julie!!!

Worth keeping you! 🙂

All right. Let me break it down for you on these bars. THESE. ARE. YUM.

First this dish came to me as a peanut butter bar. The crust is like fudge with a few scattered peanuts for some texture and deliciousness.

Then I thought about ganache… who doesn’t dream of melted chocolate? So I poured over the top! {In my opinion} this dessert is not overly sweet and entirely the reliable marriage of peanut butter and chocolate.

Worth keeping these bars. Speaking of marriage…

To Make These Fudy Peanut Butter Bars Base Set out:

for the bars:

butter
brown sugar
granulated sugar
baking soda
powder
kosher salt
vanilla both
creamy and crunchy peanut butter
unbleached all-purpose flour

for the ganache:

4 ounces semi sweet chocolate
1/2 cup heavy cream

Next, grease and line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper.

Then, in the bowl of your stand mixer, measure and add in the butter, peanut butter, light brown sugar and granulated sugar in a large bowl of your mixer.

Next, add one teaspoon of pure vanilla extract.

Then mix until blended and the mixture is light and creamy.

Next, measure and add the salt, baking soda and powder, half of the flour. Mix and then add the rest of the flour.

Then, continue mixing until all the flour is incorporated, scraping down the sides as well.

Next, tip the fudgy peanut butter dough into the prepared pan.

Then, using a spatula, spread it evenly and press with fingers to flatten a little.

Next, bake the dough in a preheated 350° for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden. Since this dough is egg free, if you insert a tester and it comes back with a little dough on it, it’s okay. Remember it’s suppose to be fudgy!

Lastly, allow the bars to cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

Once the bars are cooled it will be time to make the ganache. For this, you need semi-sweet chocolate and heavy cream.

What is Ganache?

Ganache is a silky, sauce, icing, glaze or icing made of chocolate and heavy cream.

Chop the chocolate into small pieces.

And place it into a medium sized bowl.

Next pour the cream into a small sauce pan, bring only to a simmer and then quickly pull it off the heat and pour over chopped chocolate.

Let it sit so the chocolate has a chance to soften up.

Then stir. Slowly. You don’t want to get any air into it.

Let the ganache hang out until it’s thick but pourable.

Pour into the center of the bars.

Tilt the pan to coat evenly. Chill for about an hour.

Cut.

And enjoy! These bars are so satisfying. My sister was so kind to let me take a couple of her birthday bars for my girlees and me to try. I don’t know if I could be so generous! 😉

Im in love with the texture and with their fudgy-ness. I can’t wait to make these for a regular at dinner… he will love love LOVE them and you will too!