Lunchroom Lady Peanut Butter Bars

 Very often, when people have some extra time on their hands, they like to watch TV or a movie. I, on the other hand, like to watch videos on Youtube. Actually, I often refer to it as "going down the Youtube rabbit hole" because sometimes I'll get so involved in watching videos that the next thing I know it's 3 hours later. Ah, well. I guess there are worse things I could do.
 One of my favorite Youtube discoveries was a channel called Whippoorwill Holler, hosted by Miss Lori and her husband Mr. Brown. (And yes, that's what she calls him, which I love. ) They share all kinds of simple homemade old fashioned recipes. Lots of canning and preserving, lots of pies and baking. How awesome is that? Clearly, Miss Lori and I are kindred spirits. I've tried several of her recipes and I've loved every single one of them.
 So when I saw that she was making these peanut butter bars, I immediately added peanut butter to my next grocery list. They're easy to make and they turned out perfectly. Very gooey, very peanutty, and just exactly what you want in a peanut butter bar. YUM.
 I immediately called my Kristin, because her motto is "the peanut butterier the better." This one definitely lives up to that!
 So, thanx, Miss Lori, for another great recipe. I'll look forward to your next video!




Bars:
1 cup (2 sticks) melted butter 
1 1/2 cups peanut butter 
1 1/2 c sugar 
1/2 cup brown sugar 
1 1/2 tsp salt 
1 tbs pure vanilla extract
4 eggs 
2 cups flour 

Glaze:
1/4 c. peanut butter 
2 to 3 tbs. milk 
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup confectioners sugar



For the bars:
Heat oven to 350ºF. Grease a 9x13 pan. Line with parchment, if desired. 
Melt butter and peanut butter together, either on the stove top or in the microwave. Stir together until well combined. Set aside. 
In large mixing bowl, stir together the sugars, salt, and vanilla extract. Stir in eggs one at a time. Add flour and stir until well incorporated. Add melted peanut butter mixture until well combined.  Pour into prepared pan. Bake 30-35 minutes or until set in the center and lightly golden around the edges. 
Meanwhile, make the glaze.

For the glaze:
In a small bowl, microwave the peanut butter and about 2 tbs of the milk, just to soften. Stir until smooth. Add vanilla and confectioners sugar. Whisk until well incorporated and smooth. If it's too thick, add the last tbs of milk. Spread the glaze over the bars while they're still warm in the pan. Cool completely or chill before cutting into squares. 



Tips:
I like to spray my pan, and then line it with parchment with enough extra to hang over the edges. Then you can use the parchment as a sling to lift the whole batch out of the pan in one go.
I added a little extra confectioners sugar to the glaze, just because I wanted it a little sweeter, and I also added a little pinch of salt. Speaking of salt, that's what will definitely make your bars taste peanutty. Just that little bit of saltiness changes the entire game. Be sure to include it!