Peanut Butter Swirl Bars

I’m starting a new series called “Cookies in the Cottage” because, well, we like cookies around here and I have a lot of recipes to share! They might not be the most unique, but they are all tried-and-true favorites in our house. I hope you find one (or two…) you’d like to try, too.

First up are Peanut Butter Swirl Bars, a cookie with a long history in our house.

Growing up, my father was a peanut-butter fanatic (and still is), so we would make a lot of peanut-butter things, especially if they included chocolate. Since these bars were so easy, I made them often enough in high school that a few classmates mentioned them when signing my yearbook.

What does that say about me, that even in high school I was known for food?

Before Brian and I were officially dating and were in the “flirtation” stage, we went to a youth group function (I think it was to watch “It’s a Wonderful Life”), and I brought these cookies specifically because I had gotten so many compliments on them in the past.

I was out to impress.

When I saw him eating one (who am I kidding, I was waiting to pounce…), I made a bee-line to the cookie table, where I asked casually, “What do you think of those?”

“Um,” he said through the bite in his mouth, “it’s kinda like a bunch of sugar and lard rolling around in my mouth.”

Yeah. That was the response I was after.

In fact, it was so far from anything I’d ever heard about these that I was speechless for a moment and then sorta laughed, “well, I made them.”

“Oh. Well, they’re good, too!”

I’ve since learned that this man likes two kinds of desserts: chocolate chip cookies and chocolate chip ice cream (with extra chocolate chips). On special occasions he might go for cheesecake with…you guessed it- chocolate chips.

I married him anyway.

And had kids who love these cookies.

To make these easy bar cookies that may-or-may-not knock the socks off your loved ones, you’ll need peanut butter and chocolate chips plus, butter, eggs, flour, sugar (brown and white), vanilla, baking powder, and salt.

And no lard.

Cream the peanut butter, butter, and sugars before adding eggs and vanilla and mixing until light and fluffy. Add the flour (I use whole-wheat pastry flour), baking powder and salt. Mix until combined.

Spread in a 13×9 pan (ungreased) as evenly as possible and then sprinkle chocolate chips over the top. Sometimes I mix dark and milk chocolate chips if I have them. These were extra dark (and extra yummy!).

Put the pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for 5 minutes. Slide pan out and run a knife through the melted chocolate chips to marbleize the top.

Return pan to oven and bake for about 20 minutes longer. You’ll want to thoroughly cool before cutting or you will ruin the pretty top.

And then you can decide for yourself if these will be cookies that will impress your friends and loved ones (or soon-to-be-loved ones…).

[recipe]