Peanut Butter Bars (School lunch style)

Remember those yummy peanut butter bars they used to serve at school lunch?  Found this recipe here and decided to give it a try.  Since my kids have never eaten school lunch, they really didn't know what they were missing out on.  Let's just say that out of a whole cookie sheet and sharing with a few friends, there were no leftovers.  Next I make it, I would like to try freezing a few and see how that works out. 

School Lunch Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C GF Flour (featherlite)

1¼ tsp. Salt

½ tsp. Baking Soda

¾ C Butter

¾ C Sugar

¾ C Brown Sugar

1 ½ tsp. Vanilla

1 1/2 C Creamy Peanut Butter (split)

2 Eggs

1 ½ C Quick Oats (I blended mine to make more of a flour like consistency)

¾ tsp xanthan gum

Frosting:

½ C Butter (1 stick)

3 ½ C Powdered Sugar

2 T Cocoa

¼ C Milk (I use whatever I have in the fridge)

1 tsp. Vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a small mixing bowl, mix together flour, xanthan gum,baking soda and salt. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter, sugars, 3/4 C peanut butter, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Gradually add dry ingredients, just until incorporated. Then, stir in the oats. Spread onto a greased 11 x 15 Jelly Roll Pan (cookie sheet). Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool for 10 minutes.

The frosting is a two-step process. First, whip the remaining ¾ C Creamy Peanut Butter until it becomes lighter colored and fluffy. Carefully spread the whipped peanut butter over the pan cookie.

Then, add butter to a small sauce pan and melt the butter. Add the milk and cocoa. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly. Heat just until boiling. Remove from heat and add vanilla. Then, gradually add the powdered sugar. Stir until thickened. Pour over the peanut butter and gently spread over the cookie. Cool completely, and slice into bar cookies.