Peanut Butter Cup Bars

I absolutely LOVE peanut butter! I love it plain (by the spoonful), on bread or pancakes/waffles, with celery or apples, or in desserts. Peanut butter goes with so many other spreads as well ... honey, jelly, chocolate (nutella), marshmallow cream, etc... Really, if you could think of one perfect food, I think peanut butter would be it! You probably get my point ... peanut butter is fantastic no matter how you want to eat it!

I found this recipe on the Brown Eyed Baker website. It is just as fantastic as it looks. Imagine one big peanut butter cup (with more peanut butter and less chocolate since everyone knows the peanut butter is the best part). This recipe took me about 5 minutes to make from start to finish (minus the time in the refrigerator). Can you say easy? If you need something quick for a party, you cannot get much quicker than this and everyone will rave about how fantastic it is.

Ingredients for the Base
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 cup smooth peanut butter
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Ingredients for the Topping
1/4 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (I substituted the butter and milk chocolate for chocolate appeals)

Directions
1. Line a 8x8-inch square pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over the sides, then butter the foil. Set aside.
2. In a medium sauce pan, melt the 1/2 cup butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar until smooth.
3. Stir in the peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs until completely combined and smooth. Spread the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
4. In the now-empty saucepan, melt the 1/4 cup butter. Add the chocolate (or just melt the appeals) and stir until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted.
5. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter layer and smooth into an even layer.
6. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set. Remove from the pan using the foil overhangs and place on a cutting board. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.