Mandy's Recipe Box

Where a balance diet is a dessert in each hand

Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars

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Who remembers their favorite dessert from school lunch? Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars were my favorite. Practically perfect in every way.

I actually liked school lunch. Back in the day when you got full and didn’t come home starving.

Like today. I look at my daughter and son’s lunch menu and think, “Really? You are supposed to get through your day of school and recess on that?” I get kids need to be healthier and all that, but why can’t they be full, too? Now my son’s youngest’s school has 14 kids in it and their lunches are much better. It is still a public school, but it’s rural where we are so there aren’t many kids from K-3 grade out here. After 3rd grade they get bussed 30 miles into town for 4th through 12th grades. Her lunch is homemade. Homemade, people. It’s like going to your grandma’s house for lunch everyday. Homemade mashed potatoes, not flakes. Homemade rolls. The works. It’s awesome. When there is only a small amount of children to cook for, you can do homemade.
Like I said, I liked my school lunch. Especially the desserts {which schools don’t do anymore because of some law from the White House. Lame.}
Like these bars. Oh. My. Do you remember these?
Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars
 
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Prep time
Cook time
Total time
 
Author:
: Dessert
Ingredients
  • Bars
  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
  • 1 cup butter
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2 cups oats*
  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp salt
  • additional 1½ cups peanut butter
  • Chocolate Frosting
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, softened
  • ¼ cup milk
  • 1-2 tsp vanilla (depending on your taste)
  • 4 Tablespoons cocoa
  • 2-3 cups of powdered sugar
Directions
  1. Cream first 3 ingredients together.
  2. Add the vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter and combine.
  3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix together.
  4. Spread dough on a greased jelly roll pan (18x13x1").
  5. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (until golden brown).
  6. While hot spread 1½ cups peanut butter on top. Cool so that the peanut butter has become solid again. You can put them in the fridge so they set up faster.
  7. Mix frosting ingredients with a hand mixer until smooth and spread on top of bars.
  8. Cut into squares.
*Notes: The original recipe that I used from Six Sisters’ Stuff said not to use quick oats. I am not sure why, but I used quick because that’s what I had and they turned out just delicious.
Also, I am not awesome at following directions and left off the additional topping of peanut butter. Next time I will add it. I also put the frosting on while the bars were still warm which melted the frosting, but then it set and tasted just scruptious. Next time I will make it like the directions above said. Just to see what happens.
They still turned out absolutely divine.
And brought back memories of yummy school lunches.
Update 2/17/14: I made these again and added the additional peanut butter before frosting. I prefer it without. It dried my mouth out and was better without. Just my opinion. Try both ways and see how you like it. Or do half and half!

Comments

  4. I would sooo love to help woof these yummies down! We always had a great lunch as a kid….I don't think children are all developing properly because of some of these crazy strict standards. Good thing your kiddos have a mama like you. =)

  7. Mmmm, peanut butter. They are my kind of snack. Thank you for sharing.<br /><br />We may have met by chance…but we bechttp://simpleesue.com/try-one-new-recipe-a-week-mexican-pizzaome friends by choice.<br />

  9. We always brown paper bagged it to school, so I have actually never had a lunch lady bar! Clearly I missed out on some yumminess!!! These.look.great!!!

  10. Mandy,<br />I totally remember the days of homemade school lunches. I used to help in the kitchen in elementary school and our &quot;one&quot; cook made a from scratch lunch for at least 500 students (and that wasn&#39;t totally before color TV either!) Did you really say 9 students? Are they in different grades? <br /><br />Back to the bars – YUM! They look delicious and I want to thank you

  12. I was a lunch lady for 25 years in our small rural district. When I started, everything was made from scratch, and portions were large. Then as mandates increased from the government, portion sizes were reduced, and more and more items were readymade in order to cut down on labor costs so that the district could afford to keep within their mandates dealing with calories, sodium, carbohydrates,

    • Haha! These were served at my school. You won’t find these at many schools today, though.

  14. Love love love these Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars. So would all my boys. I love that your son’s school has nine kids. I attended a one room school house growing up, 17 kids in the school. It was unusual then, but we lived rurally like you… and I still have ties to many of the kids. Great memories!

  17. I used to love school lunches, but the ones my kids get don’t really seem all that appetizing – but I am loving these bars, and they would gladly take their lunch if I included a few of these

  19. These look good. I was thinking that instead of the extra p-nut butter put a layer of jam or jelly in it’s place. That wouldn’t dry out your mouth.

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