Chocolate-Frosted Peanut Butter Bars | Aka: Lunch Lady Bars

These Peanut Butter Cookie bars are reminiscent of a retro dessert that used to be served at many cafeterias across the US! They’re incredibly soft, rich in peanut butter flavor, with bite from some added oats, and covered in a smooth and rich chocolate icing. My favorite thing about this recipe (besides how good they are) is how many they make. They bake up in a sheet pan, and because they’re rich, you can cut them fairly small, so it’s the perfect dessert to feed a crowd. I often take them to parties and potlucks because of this (as long as I’m sure it’s a function that’s safe for peanut recipes!)

Ingredients and Equipment List

• Peanut Butter – you can use creamy or chunky peanut butter. I’ve never tried this recipe with a natural peanut butter (if you do, let me know!) But standard brands like Skippy and Jiff work great.
  
• Butter – unless you have an allergy or food intolerance, I recommend real butter (salted).
  
• Sugars – you’ll use a combination of granulated white sugar and light brown sugar.
  
• Oats – quick oats give these bars extra chew. If you don’t have quick oats, I like to pulse my old fashioned oats in the blender a few times to break them up just a bit.
  
• Cocoa Powder – cocoa powder is used in the icing, and you’ll want to used unsweetened.

Instructions

These cookies are incredibly quick and easy to whip up. It’s simply a basic cookie dough, frosted with the icing while it’s still warm.

1. Make Dough: This is standard cookie making procedure here. You’ll cream together butter and sugar, then add peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla.
   
2. Whisk together your dry ingredients and add those until combined.
   
3. Stir in the oats.
   
4. Press into a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake.
   
5. Now, right here there’s an optional step: If you want to go full send, you can also drizzle on some melted peanut butter on top of the warm bars so there’s a layer of peanut butter underneath the chocolate icing. I used to always make them that way, and it’s deliciously indulgent, but I think they’re equally fantastic (and a little less rich) with out the PB layer so I usually skip that step these days.
   
6. Mix up your frosting and spread on top of warm bars.
   
7. Wait until they’re cool to slice!

Frequently Asked Questions

• Can these be made ahead of time? YES! They are are actually extra great made ahead of time (dare I say better on day 2?) Since they’re super soft they just seem to get better. You can cover the cooled pan in foil or plastic wrap and cut on day 2, or keep the sliced bars in an airtight container. I would also imagine they freeze well, though I haven’t tried that.

Chocolate-Frosted Peanut Butter Cookie Bars {School Lunch Peanut Butter Fingers}

4.93 from 26 votes

Unbelievably soft and chewy peanut butter cookies in bar form, topped with a rich chocolate glaze, just like the ones you remember! Made in a sheet pan to feed a crowd.

Prep Time 15 minutes minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Cooling Time 20 minutes minutes

Total Time 1 hour hour 5 minutes minutes

ServingsServings36

Print Rate

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Equipment

• 1 Half Baking Sheet Pan

Ingredients

For the Cookie Base

• 1 cup real butter 2 sticks at room temperature
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 ½ cups peanut butter chunky or smooth
• 3 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 ½ teaspoons baking soda
• ½ teaspoons table salt
• 3 cups all purpose flour
• 3 cups quick oats
• ¾ – 1 cup peanut butter optional, see notes in recipe below

For the Fudge Frosting

• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ½ cup cocoa powder
• ¼ teaspoon table salt
• ⅓ cup butter softened; make sure it’s really soft, you can microwave it if you need to – even melted is ok!
• ⅓ cup boiling water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a rimmed cookie sheet (standard half-sheet pan) lightly with non-stick spray, or line with parchment paper, and set aside.
• Cream butter and sugars for 3-4 minutes, until creamy and slightly fluffy. Add  peanut butter and vanilla and beat until combined. Add eggs, one at a time and beat between each addition. Combine flour, baking soda, and salt and add mixture to dough. Beat to combine. Add oats and mix until incorporated.
• Press dough into prepared pan into a flat layer. Bake for about 20-30 minutes, until puffed and set, but not browned on the edges. The center should be puffed and set, but still soft. The edges of the cookie bars should be puffed and kind of cracked like a baked cookie looks.
• Optional Step: Some people like to drizzle on a layer of melted peanut butter onto the warm bars so there's a layer of peanut butter under the icing. If you'd like to do that step, I just microwave 3/4-1 cup of peanut butter until it's melted and smooth and can easily be drizzled over the top of the warm bars. You'll want to spread it gently so you don't tear your cookie layer.
• When cookies are just about done, prepare frosting. Whisk together powdered sugar, cocoa powder and salt. Add butter, boiling water, and vanilla.  Beat until smooth and glossy.
• When cookie crust is done baking, pour warm frosting over the top and spread into an even layer. Let bars cool before cutting in.

Notes

The nutritional information was calculated according to cutting the sheet pan into 36 bars.

These are best made 1 – 2 days ahead of time.

Nutrition

Calories: 303kcal, Carbohydrates: 48g, Protein: 6g, Fat: 11g, Saturated Fat: 3g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g, Monounsaturated Fat: 5g, Trans Fat: 0.1g, Cholesterol: 18mg, Sodium: 186mg, Potassium: 167mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 32g, Vitamin A: 72IU, Calcium: 27mg, Iron: 1mg

Course: Desserts

Cuisine: American

Keyword: cookie bars, peanut butter, school lunch peanut butter bars

Calories: 303kcal

Author: Sara Wells

Cost: 7

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