Chocolate Peanut Butter Love Bars

The other day, I needed to do some baking, but I was having a hard time deciding what to bake.  I was in charge of dessert for our dinner group and I was already bringing a cake, but I needed a second dessert, so I wanted something simple.  After thinking about it for most of the day, I decided that I wanted something with chocolate and peanut butter, which is my favorite combination.  After searching through my favorite food blogs, I found these delicious looking peanut butter bars on Peabody’s blog that she made in the early days of blogging, over two years ago.  They are a recipe from Marcel Desaulniers, who makes the most amazing chocolate desserts.  I decided right then that I just had to make them!

These were incredbly easy to make.  I even made them without my Kitchen Aid Mixer and was able to put them together in almost no time.  The hardest part was waiting for them to cool after pulling them out of the oven!  As Peabody said, these are definitely for the peanut lover.  They are loaded with peanuts and peanut butter, so the flavor is strong, but in a good way.  The addition of chocolate chips made them even better.  I loved biting into these noticing the crunchiness of the peanuts and the contrast of the soft texture of the rest of the bar.  This is probably my favorite way to enjoy chocolate and peanut butter, and that’s saying a lot! 🙂

Chocolate Peanut Butter Love Bars
Slightly Adapted Recipe

2 cups unsalted peanuts
2 cups creamy peanut butter
2 cups tightly packed brown sugar(light)
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 pound semisweet chocolate, chopped into 1/4 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Toast the peanuts on a baking sheet in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes. Cool the nuts to room temperature before chopping by hand.
Use a stiff whisk to blend together the peanut butter and brown sugar(I used my mixer) in a bowl. Add the eggs and vanilla extract and whisk until thoroughly blended. Add the peanuts and the chopped semisweet chocolate, mix well. Transfer mixture to a 9X13X2 inch pan. Use your fingertips to press the mixture onto the bottom of the pan and into the corner and sides, creating an even layer. Place the pan on the center tack of the preheated oven and bake for 22 minutes until set in the center. Remove from oven and cool at room temperature for 1 hour before cutting.

Source: Culinary Concoctions by Peabody, who adapted them from Death by Chocolate Cookies by Marcel Desaulniers