I’ve resisted this recipe for as long as I can. I mean, I pinned it TWELVE DAYS AGO and it has peanut butter, oatmeal, mini chocolate chips, and at some point you actually get to turn it into this:
That’s twelve days too long, in my book.
I had a great excuse to make it, too. The kids & I went out to breakfast early this morning with our pals Marcie and Margot — Happy America Day, Americans! — and Dave took that time to empty out our pantry completely. To be honest (and full of shame), we have a moth problem. Yes, there are moths in the pantry. So Dave took every single item out of there, and cleaned it out thoroughly. When we got back from breakfast, the kids & I went to Target to pick up some canisters to help store our shadier pantry items (and to pick up some Lego and a few puzzles), and when everything was put back, it looked great. And then I knew what ingredients we had available, too, and they included everything this recipe required. Kismet.
Plus, you know, the gigantic dough ball.
At the very beginning, Juliet decided she wanted to help.
(There actually isn’t any white sugar in this recipe, it’s just there to hold up the iPad once things get started.)
The cuteness was delightful, but it didn’t last long. In fact, after step one was taken care of…
…she took off with the spoon and that was the end of that. Farewell again, little helper. She was off to do her new puzzles. (She’s quite the puzzle queen, by the way, taking after her Grandpa Joel.)
I put the peanut butter (Skippy Natural Creamy, my favorite) and the brown sugar into the stand mixer, and had at it.
In went a tablespoon (yes, a tablespoon) of vanilla.
I mixed.
In keeping with yesterday’s one-bowl tradition, I didn’t have to mix the dry ingredients separately, I just added them in one by one. Whole wheat pastry flour (which always yields great results), rolled oats, baking soda, and salt.
I kept the mixer on medium, as instructed. The recipe said that it would be crumbly, which it most certainly was.
Fortunately, the next step was adding milk. I used 1%.
And then it turned into proper dough. It was time for the mini chocolate chips. I am so grateful for the invention of the mini chip. I like chocolate a lot, but I want to taste the cookies and cakes and oatmeal squares and scones I’m eating, and not just get a big mouthful of chocolate. Mini chips are such a gift to those of us who feel this way.
And then it was time for the GIANT DOUGH BALL. I had to enlist Nathaniel’s help to take photos at this point, because my hands were — clearly — full.
Nathaniel was a great help as a photographer, but still being an 8-year-old boy, he also took a picture of my ass while I was washing my hands.
The dough ball went into an 8 x 8 pan, and then I flattened it down and pressed it into the pan as evenly as I could.
It went into the oven and baked for 18 minutes. While it was baking, I did the dishes and the basked in the glory of our new kitchen organization.
The cupboard:
The shelf:
Then I asked Nathaniel if he’d had a chance to try last night’s chocolate cake. He hadn’t. I gave him some.
Juliet came by, and since she’s not a chocolate lover, I gave her a Whole Grain Thin & Crispy Oatmeal Cookie from earlier in the week. Also a hit.
And to counter any future oatmeal bar eating, I got myself some grapes & pomegranate seeds.
And in 18 minutes, the squares-that-had-not-yet-been-cut-into-squares were done. Golden on top, just as described.
If you are a peanut butter lover, this is the snack for you. I am a peanut butter lover, and this is my snack. I love it. I cut it into 16 squares, which makes each one 4 P+, and I enjoyed every single bite, and my taste buds are still dancing with the memory of it now. YUM.
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