Worthwhile Challenge week #27 - It's HOT out there

It's hot hot hot here.

Is it hot hot hot there? hot hot hot sucks for a baker. Baking for customers has been quiet the last week or two, which is actually okay when you look at the temps. But that doesn't mean my Texas-sized sweet tooth has gone anywhere.

Here's our forecast. Notice that the time on this picture is 8:05p.m. and it is still 102 degrees. Suck suck suck.



So what do you do when it's this friggin hot? Well, you stay inside and watch movies.

You go to the pool. Here is me travelling incognito...wearing a hat is not my usual thing. For the record, hats are hot. not as in sexy. as in, make your forehead sweat.


And if it's 100+ degrees, you have a sweet tooth the size of Texas, you find no-bake recipes. I've made a few batches of no-bake cookies the last few weeks. Decided it was time to try something else.

Enter this week's Worthwhile Challenge Recipe: No Bake Peanut Butter bars. I googled that, and after reading a few recipes, made my own concoction.

Here you go:
Grease a 9x13 pan.

In a mixing bowl, blend 1 and 1/4 cups chunky peanut butter with 3/4 cup butter or margarine.
Mix in 1 cup of powdered sugar. Set aside.

The main recipe I was looking at called for graham cracker crumbs. They were not sounding good to me, so I decided to grind up some oatmeal instead.

Quick-oats straight outta the box just looked too big for what the bottom layer was supposed to be. Put three cups of oats in a blender


and pulse till it looks like this:


dump the ground oats into the butter/peanut butter mixture with another cup of powdered sugar and one cup of chocolate chips (I used minis).

Here's what it looked like mixed up.


Press into pan.

In a clean bowl, microwave 3/4 cup peanut butter and 1.5 cups chocolate chips for 30 seconds. Stir and nuke another 30 seconds. Should be well melted by then. Spread on top of crust layer:


then put in the fridge to chill for about 45 minutes, until the chocolate layer is set up.

Go chill for awhile...read a good book, read my blog, play with a 9-week old puppy who needs a bath, has popsicle on his fur from cleaning up after a three year old, and who does not want to sit still for a picture.

After the furball settles down, or you finish reading my blog, or whatever it is you do while your bars are chilling....go cut yourself one, put it on a plate, and get a glass of milk.

these bars were a little messy to eat....fork is optional...but they were good. they were no bake, they had peanut butter and chocolate, and they hit the spot. Would I rather make cookies or cake or brownies? Probably...but these certainly do the trick when you are sitting in the national 'heat advisory' zone!

Stay cool, friends!