Deliciously Simple: My Daughter’s 5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

As a parent, it’s always exciting to see our children take up a new hobby or interest. For many, one such interest could be cooking and baking in the kitchen. Not only is it a fun way to spend time together, but it can also be a great way to teach important life skills and build confidence in the kitchen.

When I was a teen, just out of high school, I had no idea how to be an adult and on my own. I vaguely knew how to do laundry, I didn’t know how to prepare a meal (and it never crossed my mind how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich), I didn’t know how to budget… I had no clue whatsoever. I was young and naive and was truly oblivious on how to function in the real world on my own.

So, when I had children, I vowed that they would and could be self sufficient when they became young adults.

This began at an early age – teaching them how to clean, how to do laundry/dishes, how to make mac and cheese or a PB&J sandwich.

And, learning how to budget – and stick with it.

Some people may not agree with this approach, but it worked for us.

When they were around 10 years old, I stopped buying all the treats and snack food items. Because kiddos/preteens have their own likes and dislikes when it comes to sweet treats and chips and all the snack food items and it can get super expensive and frustrating trying to make all the small humans happy. So, I just stopped buying them.

Instead, on each pay period I provided my kids a set amount of money. When I got paid, they got paid. (They earned an allowance for their chores, but I also added in a small amount extra for their food items.)

They had to use that money to buy the things they wanted to snack on for the week (we did our grocery store outing once per week). They also had to navigate the check out line by themselves (of course, I was nearby if they had any questions).

They had to count the money to pay as well as ensure they received the correct amount of change. Sometimes they had to put items back because they didn’t have enough so in these instances they had to decide what they could live without for the week. They also had to remember there were two weeks to a pay period so they had to learn self discipline to not purchase all the things the first week.

Sometimes they had leftover money and they could use that (or save it) for whatever they wanted – BUT, they couldn’t complain about ‘not having anything to eat’ throughout the week.

On several occasions I remember receiving positive feedback from the grocery store worker. And I absolutely did receive many side-eye looks when there were 3 children in front of me in line purchasing their own items.

I still do this with my now 3 teen/young adults in my home during the summer. The amount I give them has gone down significantly because they all are earning their own money at this point. But the concept hasn’t changed.

Long story short I feel like this has prepared them to create a list, budget, and learn to distinct between a want and a need. It’s also provided insight and experience on how to interact with people. I think it’s also helped them to realize the price of food, and, as my father used to say, ‘money doesn’t grow on trees.’

I don’t know if this way of teaching is good or bad, but I’m so proud of my kids and the way they now budget/save/spend.

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These delicious PEANUT BUTTER BARS are brought to you courtesy of my sweet girl.

She loves to bake and create in the kitchen. She thrives on researching new recipes and enjoys stuffing our bellies with ‘yummy stuff’. In doing so, she fills our hearts too!

Our family had been asking her to make something with peanut butter and chocolate and she whipped these up and they were devoured in 24 hours!

Bonus – there are only 5 ingredients and you won’t have to turn on your oven! #thebestpart

*** PEANUT BUTTER BARS ***

ITEMS NEEDED:

For the Peanut Butter Base:

1 cup butter (melted)

1 cup creamy peanut butter

1 ¾ cups powdered sugar

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

For the Chocolate Topping:

1 ½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

1/4 cup creamy peanut butter

Crush graham crackers in a food processor.

Melt butter in a large bowl. Add peanut butter and mix until smooth.

Beat in powdered sugar then fold in the graham cracker crumbs.

Transfer to parchment lined 8×8 dish (we used 11×7 dish) and smooth out evenly.

Melt chocolate and peanut butter, stir to combine then pour over the peanut butter base. Smooth top then chill until set, approx 2 hours.

Slice into squares. Serve chilled.

JB Photo and Design, LLC | Jenni Blake is based out of Kansas.  We love to capture images, create graphic art, bake all things in the “yummy stuff” category, as well as share the light and love of Jesus. Follow along on socials!

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