Peanut Butter Bars

Chocolate and peanut butter.  I don't think there are any two things that go together better, which is why I think Reese's peanut butter cups are the single greatest candy ever invented.  Now, I'm not posting about peanut butter cups today (though I think I might have a recipe around here somewhere), but rather something that's just about as good: no-bake peanut butter bars.  To make these, you're going to need: 2 cups peanut butter, 1 1/2 sticks of butter (softened), 2 cups confectioners' sugar, 3 cups graham cracker crumbs, and 2 cups chocolate chips.

Grease a 13x9 inch pan and set it aside.  In a large bowl, beat together 1 1/4 cups of your peanut butter and the 1 1/2 sticks of butter until it's creamy.  Then beat in one cup of the confectioners' sugar.  Using a wooden spoon, work in the other cup of sugar, the graham cracker crumbs, and 1/2 cup of the chocolate chips.  It'll be kind of crumbly, but that's fine.

Soooo tasty and distressingly rich

Now press the whole bowl-full into your greased pan, smooshing it down and getting the top as smooth as possible.  Set this aside.

In a saucepan over low heat, melt together the remaining 3/4 cup of peanut butter and 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips.  Just keep stirring it constantly until it's smooth.  Then pour it over the top of the stuff in the pan so it's all covered and stick it in the refrigerator.

I recommend leaving it in the fridge for a few hours before you try to cut it all into bars.  If you don't chill it long enough, when you try to cut it, it all becomes a crumbly mess and the chocolate bit falls off the top and it doesn't look too great for pictures.  Not that I would know from personal experience.  In completely unrelated news, I don't have a picture of the cut up bars because...um...someone broke into my apartment and stole them, but for some reason left all my valuables alone?  Yeah, we'll go with that.