We started out our vacation in Toronto, and I really felt like what the city was lacking was a giant dough ball. I think that’s what my brother’s house was missing too, as it certainly didn’t have one when I got there. So I set out to remedy that with the very delicious, previously tested in America, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Snack Squares.
It all started innocently enough with some simple Canadian ingredients.
What I forgot to mention before I picked up all the ingredients and tempted everyone with visions of peanut butter snacks and giant dough balls was that I’d need a stand mixer, or a hand mixer, or anything else that rhymes like a band mixer or a gland mixer. Linus, my intrepid sister-in-law, cursed me when she found out. She does indeed have a stand mixer, but she got it decades ago as a gift and it’s some kind of weird ancient blender/stand mixer combo that lives in the dark recesses of a cupboard and has many confusing parts that are never assembled. CURSE YOU! she said as she spent 20 minutes digging it out and doing her best to remember how it went together.
Sorry Linus.
Then we had to figure out why the hell the beaters were supposed to go in on the same side. The illustration on the machine itself didn’t help at all.
And finally, we had something.
It was weird, but it did the job. First things first, I put in the peanut butter and and brown sugar. I had to make do with Kraft instead of Skippy, but Kraft really is my earliest childhood peanut butter memory, so it was nicely nostalgic.
After beating, I added the vanilla and beat some more.
In went the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. It got crumbly and clumpy, as warned.
Then I threw in the chocolate chips, and made the giant dough ball. Here it is again.
Next task was baking it, which was extra fun because of all the French on the Canadian oven.
Fortunately, I grew up in Canada, and am comfortable with bilingual appliances. It came out great.
Once cooled, they were happily devoured by Canadians and Americans alike. The mixing contraption was taken apart and sent back to the cupboard, where it will come out the next time one of Linus’ annoying in-laws tries to bake in her kitchen again. Could be me!
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