Molly Beth Bars

Molly Beth Bars – the perfect combination of peanut butter and chocolate.  These bars have just the right amount of oatmeal, too, making this recipe a crowd favorite every time.

What’s your go-to comfort and sweet-tooth fix?  These bars are mine.  They are the perfect combination of peanut butter, oatmeal, and chocolate chips.  And by “perfect combination” I mean heaping cups of chocolate chips and peanut butter – more than the recipe intended for – because why would you not put more in?

Molly Beth Bars go back decades in my family.  “Why Molly Beth?”, you might be wondering.  Well, they began when my mom’s older sister, Mandy, was in girl scouts and have evolved over the years.  No one could ever remember their original name, so they first became Mandy Bars.

That is, until I was in high school when I was eating these bars on a regular basis.  There was a period of time when these bars were made weekly, only to maybe make it to the next day.  Luckily, I would often dig-in after hours of dance practice, which made me feel like I could justify downing half of a pan in one sitting.  Unfortunately those days are long gone, but I have this magic power of justifying chocolate – anytime, anywhere.  Currently, I’m waiting out a deployment, so of course I can eat 8 bars in one sitting, right?!  Right.  I digress.

Back to the story at hand, Mandy Bars evolved into Molly Beth Bars as my mom made adjustments to ingredients (like I said, heaping cups of chocolate chips) each time my brother and I requested them (again, I won’t embarrass myself and say just how often that was).

Yes, you’ve been warned, eat these babies just warm out of the oven and you have my full permission to indulge freely.  No judgement here for consuming more than what others may deem as “socially acceptable”.

Seriously, make them and you’ll understand.  When it comes to these bars, you cannot go wrong.  Unless of course, you’re not eating them.  Then that’s nearly a sin.

Not only are they delicious, but they are quick and easy!  A crowd pleaser for sure, if they last that long.

Molly Beth Bars

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★★★★★ 5 from 2 reviews

• Author: Fork in the Kitchen
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Total Time: 30 minutes

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Description

These bars are the perfect combination of peanut butter, chocolate, and oatmeal. Guaranteed to make you reach for more!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup flour
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup (heaping) peanut butter
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1.5 cups (heaping) chocolate chips*

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Instructions

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 8×8 pan*.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine the butter, brown sugar, and sugar using an electric mixer.
3. Add the flour, egg, peanut butter, baking soda, vanilla, and salt to the mixing bowl. Mix until well combined.
4. Stir in the oatmeal and chocolate chips.
5. Bake for 16-20 minutes. Remove from oven when the edges begin to brown.

Notes

Chocolate Chips: I use milk chocolate chips, however, semi-sweet or a combination are just as delicious!

8×8 Pan: I bake these bars in an 8×8 stone pan, which does not need to be greased. Depending on your desired thickness of the bars, a larger pan may be used as well.