Sunday Sweets: Peanut Butter Crispy Bars

What do you get when you mix peanut butter and chocolate? A foodgasm, that’s what. Todays deliciously naughty Sunday Sweets recipe comes from Smitten Kitchen.

Who woulda guessed? Errrm, probably 95% of you foodies woulda guessed.

These crunchy, sticky, smooth, decadent bars are totally healthy. I mean, they have PB in them, right? Ok that’s a big, fat whopping lie. In no way, shape or form are these good for you. Don’t kid yourself. But  naughtiness, is what makes them so nice.

Go on, have a try. I know you want to. I can see the craving in your eyes – the way you’re so intensely staring at the screen thinking how amazing it would be for this to be caressing your tongue and dancing on your tastebuds right this very second.

Ingredients:

For the crispy crust
– 1 3/4 cups crisped rice cereal
– 1/4 cup sugar
– 3 tbsp golden syrup (her recipe was corn syrup but for Aussies, the closest equivalent is golden syrup)
– 45g tablespoons unsalted or salte butter

For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer
– 140g good-quality milk chocolate, coarsely chopped
– 1 cup peanut butter

For the chocolate icing
– 85g dark chocolate (60 to 72 percent cocoa), coarsely chopped
– 1/2 teaspoon golden syrup
– 60g unsalted or salted butter

Steps:

For the crispy crust: 

1. Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.

2. Put the cereal in a large bowl and set aside.

3. Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to stir the mixture until just combined.

4. If you have a candy it in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 112 degrees C (235 degrees F). If you don’t have a candy thermometer (which I didn’t) test whether the caramel has reached the soft ball stage by getting a tsp of the caramel once it’s come to the boil after about 5 mins, and test it in ice cold water. If when dropped in ice cold water and it forms a soft ball, take it off the heat immediately.

5. Then stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides). Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.

For the milk chocolate peanut butter layer:

1. In a large metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter.

2. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth.

3. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the cooled crust.

4. Put the pan in the refridgerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.

For the chocolate icing:

1. In a large metal bowl, combine the chocolate, golden syrup, and butter.

2. Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth.

3. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly. Pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread into an even layer.

4. Put the pan into the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the topping hardens.

5. Cut into at least 14 squares and serve.

**The bars can be stored in the refrigerator (in a container) for up to 4 days**

THE VERDICT

Do these seriously even need my verdict? It’s chocolate and peanut butter. Mixed together. On top of rice bubbles. It is perfection. It is decadence. It is bloody delicious.

It’s nutty. It’s chocolatey. It’s crunchy. It’s sticky. It’s sweet. It is just everything and anything you can imagine, in one little bar.

It’s the perfect recipe for a kid’s party, for an adult’s party, for a 70th birthday, for an anniversary. It’s just perfect, OK?

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