Another easy favorite

A few years ago I found this great recipe. Everyone loves them, wants the recipe, and says they are amazing. The best part, simple and no bake! The bad news - lots of butter. All the good stuff has too much butter. Just like the Peanut Butter Kiss Cookie, they are not holiday decorative...but make them and you'll amaze your friends.

Chocolate Oat Bars

2 sticks of butter, melted

3/4 c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. vanilla

2 1/2 c. oats

3/4 c. peanut butter

8 oz. chocolate chips

In a saucepan on the stove, melt butter and add brown sugar and vanilla and mix well. When well blended, add oats and let cook for 5 - 10 minutes on low. In another saucepan melt peanut butter and chocolate chips together until smooth and creamy. In a 8 X 8 glass dish, layer oats on the bottom with peanut butter mixture in middle and oats on top. Refrigerate for at 2 - 3 hours. Remove from the refrigerator and allow bars to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes before cutting into squares. These bars can be frozen to use later.

Funny story about these bars. I had just finished working with a Berry vocal student, Amanda. We were working on her music for the end of the semester juries. I asked her to come upstairs and have a cookie. She left my house, and a few minutes later she calls me from WalMart. "Mrs. Nobles, what goes in those cookies?" I gave her the ingredients - it was 9:30 at night. I found out the next day that she & her boyfriend (now husband and father to baby Ava), immediately made the chocolate oat bars. They wanted to eat them that night, so they stuck them in the freezer and ate them an hour later. I still think of Amanda whenever I make these bar cookies.