Guest Post: Peanut Butter Mud Bars via Tommy from Specs Appeal

I hope you guys will welcome one of my favorite Southern gents, Tommy from Specs Appeal, who has been kind enough to share his incredibly delicious recipe for Peanut Butter Mud Bars with us. Trust me, Tommy knows what he's doing -- I feel like I got a crash course in baking just reading this post! Thank you, Tommy!
-----------------------------------------------
What is it about this time of year that makes us want to indulge? Is it the merriment? The omnipresent temptation? The idea that New Year's is right about the corner and we can/should splurge while the splurging's good?

Honestly, I don't usually need an occasion to want to bake (or eat sweet treats), but there's just something about the holidays that turns me into a baking fiend. I blame work. So many potlucks and parties and gifts and...well, you get the idea. This weekend I set out to make some goodies for a few friends, and the recipe that I'm going to show (and tell) here is for Peanut Butter Mud Bars, which comes from The Buttercup Bake Shop Cookbook by Jennifer Appel (2001). It's pretty easy and should prove to be a crowd pleaser. Plus, it works year-round.

My biggest tip for baking in general is to be prepared. Read through a recipe at least one time, and make sure you have all the needed ingredients. I know this sounds like a no brainer, but you might be surprised to get halfway through a 'simple' recipe and realize you need corn syrup or something semi-random.

Right along with preparation is setting out your butter and eggs so that they have time to come to room temperature. It makes such a difference because the oven does not have to work to bring those ingredients to the higher (room) temperature, where your other ingredients start. I usually set my butter out for at least 4 hours before I need it and give the eggs about 2-3 hours. Note that this does not apply to pie crusts and most pastries.

But I digress. Also note that you can use the butter wrapper to grease your pan. When creaming the butter and sugar, just let it ride. You may think that it's ready, but it's not. Seriously. Time yourself for five minutes, and you'll see that it's a longer stretch when the mixer is going. Oh, and if your butter is softened, it will mix much more easily. Also remember that baking is a science, unlike regular cooking. A dash of this and a pinch of that won't necessarily work for those sweet treats to turn out right.

After a marathon baking session yesterday, I ended up with two pans of peanut butter mud bars, about 60 chocolate chip cookies, and a sinkful of dishes. :) I hope that you've enjoyed reading this guest post as much as I enjoyed sampling the fruits of my labor. And thanks to Jenn for having me over! Happy holidays, everyone!

Peanut Butter Mud Bars

Ingredients:

Bar

1 cup all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar

½ cup creamy peanut butter

1 large egg, at room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

¾ cup chocolate chips

¼ cup vanilla or white chocolate chips

½ cup peanut butter chips

¼ cup coarsely chopped pecans (optional)

Topping

2 tablespoons choc. chips

2 tablespoons vanilla chips

2 tablespoons p.b. chips

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

Grease and lightly flour a 9 X 13 baking pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk (or sift) together the flour, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a large bowl, on the low speed of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy, about 2 to 3 minutes. Beat in the peanut butter until well mixed. Add the egg and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and incorporate thoroughly. Stir in ½ cup of the chocolate chips, the vanilla chips, ¼ cup of the peanut butter chips, and the nuts. Spread mixture evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from oven and immediately sprinkle on the remaining ¼ cup chocolate chips and ¼ cup peanut butter chips. Allow to sit for a minute or so. Smooth out the chips with a rubber spatula as they begin to melt.

Cool for 20 minutes or so before sprinkling the topping chips evenly over the surface. Let cool completely before cutting and serving.

Makes twelve 3-inch bars.