So, with some extra berries I decided to make the bars again with a thinner crust, and less filling.  Since I only had a small bag of frozen blackberries I used a combination of blackberries, blueberries and strawberries.  A total of 4 cups of any berries would do.  As with the Pastry Queen’s recipe, thaw and drain any frozen berries that you’re using.

I found these bars to be much easier to just pick up and eat.  There are tons of things you could do with these.  Use different combinations of berries, maybe use peaches, add some ground pecans, almonds or walnuts to the crust and/or crumb topping or even play with spices…cinnamon, nutmeg, cardomom.  Oh, the sweet and delicious possibilities!  I might try a small batch in an 8×8 pan so that I can try more of these variations without having too many extra goodies around the house.

I find these to be extra special served with a small (or maybe a rather large) scoop of Bluebell Homemade Vanilla ice cream.  Enjoy!

Mixed Berry Bars

Adapted from Rebecca Rather’s Blackberry Pie Bars

Ingredients

Crust and Topping

• 1 1/2 cups flour
• 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold butter, cup into cubes
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling

• 2 eggs
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup sour cream, regular or light
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 cup flour
• 4 cups berries (any combination you like, make sure to thaw and drain any frozen berries)

Directions

For the crust and topping:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9×13-inch baking pan.
2. Combine the flour,sugar and salt in a food processor fitted with the metal blade. Process until fully combined. Add the butter to the flour mixture and process until the butter is evenly distributed,but the mixture is still crumbly.
3. Reserve 1 cup of the crumb mixture for the topping. Press the remaining crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake the crust for 12-15 minutes,or until it is golden brown. Cool for at least 10 minutes.

Filling:

1. Whisk the eggs and sugar together in a large bowl,
2. Add the sour cream, flour and salt. Gently fold in the berries.
3. Spoon the mixture evenly over the crust. Sprinkle the reserved crumbs evenly over the top.
4. Bake 50 minutes to 1 hour,or until the crust is lightly browned. Cool for at least 1 hour before cutting.

In order to use my natural peanut butter I just searched “desserts with natural peanut butter” in Google and after searching through a few cookie recipes I found this recipe on Joy the Baker.  Here is the link to the recipe.  I made minimal changes to the original.  Chunky instead of smooth peanut butter, regular brown sugar instead of dark, and semi-sweet chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate.

These taste like a dressed up Reese’s cup.  The peanut butter layer comes together easily in one pot.  The chocolate frosting is also incredibly simple to make and spreads nicely on the cooled bars.  This is an altogether simple and delicious bar that I will definitely be adding to my go-to recipe collection.  After frosting the bars I chilled them in the fridge which makes the quite easy to cut.  We ate them cold from the fridge and they were delicious, but letting them warm up a bit makes for a wonderful melt-in-your-mouth experience.  Enjoy!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

Peanut Butter Layer

• 10 Tablespoons unsalted butter cut into 5 cubes
• 2 cups brown sugar
• 1 cup chunky natural peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 2  teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 325° F.  Grease a 9×13-inch pan.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter and sugar together until the butter is just melted.  Remove from the burner and allow to cool for 5 minutes, then add the peanut butter.  Stir until incorporated.  Allow to cool for 5 minutes more, then whisk in the eggs and vanilla extract.
3. Whisk together salt, flour and baking powder.  Add dry ingredients all at once to the wet ingredients.  Stir until just incorporated.  Pour the thick batter into the prepared pan and smooth out.
4. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a skewer inserted in the center of the bars comes out clean.  Remove from the oven and allow to cool to room temperature before frosting.

Milk Chocolate Frosting

• 6 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 3 Tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 – 2 cups powdered sugar
• 3 Tablespoons milk
• 3/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat together the butter, cocoa powder and salt.
2. Add 1/2 cup powdered sugar followed by 1 tablespoon milk.  Beat well.
3. Add another cup of powdered sugar, followed by 2 tablespoons of milk.
4. Melt milk chocolate chips in the microwave or in a double boiler.  Add melted and slightly cooked milk chocolate the frosting and beat to incorporate.
5. Add the final 1/2 cup of powdered sugar if you need a bit more thickness.
6. Spread evenly over peanut butter bars.

The oats make them very hearty and substantial.  I used Girhadelli Milk Chocolate chips, which are larger than regular chocolate chips.  Any chocolate chips would be good, but the bigger chips create a bigger and more delicious bite of soft chocolate in addition to the crunchy oats and chewy coconut.

Oatmeal, Coconut, Chocolate Chip Bars

• 1 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3 cups rolled oats
• 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup shredded coconut

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then add the vanilla. Combine the flour, baking soda and salt; beat a little at a time into the sugar mixture until well blended. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips and coconut until evenly distributed.
3. Press into a greased large 14×17 rimmed baking sheet.  Bake for 30-40 minutes until golden brown.
4. Cool for 10-15 minutes in the pan.  Cut into squares and remove squares to a cooling rack.
5. Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.