Banana Bars with Cinnamon Chips

To be honest, I never knew cinnamon chips existed. For all I do know, they've been around as long as I have but I've just never had the pleasure of trying them! Until now...

I stopped by the grocery store last week after work, and happened to spot Hershey's cinnamon chips in a clearance cart! I was pumped, cinnamon chips exist AND they're on sale. I grabbed a few bags, headed home, and got my recipe search on. Then I remembered that I've saved a bazillion recipes with the intention of making them at some point, one of them from Erin's Food Files involving cinnamon chips! That's one off the list... here we go!

Ingredients:

6 tbsp. butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 cup mashed bananas
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup cinnamon chips
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x9 inch pan.

Cream butter, add sugar and egg, beat. Stir in vanilla and banana. In another bowl combine all the dry ingredients. Add dry ingredient mixture to banana mixture, then stir in cinnamon chips. (You could also add walnuts). 

Bake for 25 minutes, remove and let cool completely before cutting. 

Apparently they pass for a breakfast bar as well. At least for my brother they did. Yep, we are related after all... 

PB Chocolate Bars

I love goodies that take so little effort and time to whip up. These are dangerously good... They will not last long. Fact.

I intended to make these for Chris, my boyfriend, when he was coming up one night from Raleigh. He loves anything chocolate + peanut butter (but who doesn't...). After I made them, I realized it was a lost cause for him because he had been sick the whole week with some stomach bug. I should have thought of that before I made them, right? These bars proved me wrong, he had no problem eating them, what stomach bug?

Sick or not, these sweet little bars cannot be passed up...

You can't even tell there are yummy graham cracker crumbs in the peanut butter layer :).

(Recipe from Brown Eyed Baker)

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter
• 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips (could use semi-sweet, dark, or white!)

Line an 8x8 inch pan with aluminum foil leaving an overhang around the edges. 

Peanut Butter Layer:

Over low heat, melt 1/2 cup butter in medium saucepan. Remove from heat once melted, and add powdered sugar, stirring until smooth. Stir in peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs until it is all combined. Spread this mixture into the pan.

Chocolate Layer:

Clean out the saucepan, then melt the 1/4 cup butter. Add the chocolate and stir until almost melted, but still a few chocolate pieces. Remove from heat and stir until completely melted and smooth. Pour this mixture over the Peanut butter and smooth out the top. 

Refrigerate until set. I would recommend close to an hour before it is completely set. Remove the bars from the pan by using the aluminum foil to lift. Cut the bars into the desired size and remember to store in an airtight container in the refrigerator!