P is for Peanut Butter Toast

Every morning before school when I would make myself breakfast it was normally some sort of fluffy bread product put in the toaster then smothered in what a normal person would consider to much butter and jam. Enough carbs, sugar and fat to keep you going till lunch time. The one thing that always hit the spot was something slightly different. A good slice of crusty whole wheat bread toasted and covered in creamy peanut butter.

Now I can’t quite explain what makes this breakfast treat something that still fills me up with joy to this day. It might be the way the knife runs across the toasted surface and you see that confetti of bread crumb dust that flies all over your counter. It might be the way peanut butter always melts perfectly on the warm bread and you never have to fight it like you do when your butter is ice cold. Something about toast and cold butter makes them mortal enemies, but not English muffins though. For some reason the surface of an English muffin is perfect because all its craggly bits and holes catch that ice cold butter and hold onto it for dear life. Then you are blessed with butter pockets.

We aren’t here to talk about butter pockets though. I think for me the thing that makes peanut butter toast so amazing and a thing that should always be a part of your breakfast rotation is probably the velvet texture of warm peanut butter and soft toast that coats the inside of your mouth and warms your spirit. It’s like eating a warm peanut butter cookie straight from the oven, but in a way that doesn’t have people judging your diet.

I rediscovered this gift a few weeks ago when I decided as a fully fledged grown up I could buy fancy peanut butter and a nice loaf of bread. It washed over me like a warm wave. That hit of sweet and slightly savory that ticks all the boxes and makes you feel like you’ve done something nice for yourself. Sometimes all it takes is two ingredients coming together to give you nostalgia and a hit of protein to get you through the day.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars

I did two things on this day I hadn’t done before. I made a successful shortbread base and a peanut butter fudge. I put those two amazing things together to make my favorite type of dessert…a tray bake!

Ingredients

  • 1 1/2 sticks of butter
  • 1/2 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp. vanilla
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 1/2 cups of flour
  • 1 14 oz can of sweetened condensed milk
  • 2 cups peanut butter and chocolate chips
  • Peanuts for garnish

Directions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
  2. Put all your ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment and mix to combine. The mixture will be crumbly.
  3. using lightly oiled hands push down your ingredients in an even layer into your pan. Use a fork to dock the pastry so it doesn’t rise up to high.
  4. Bake the pastry for 30 minutes until it is a nice golden brown. Set it aside to cool.
  5. While the pastry base is cooling put a medium size sauce pan on medium heat.
  6. Put the condensed milk and chocolate into the pan and cook until the chocolate is melted and fully incorporated.
  7. Put your fudge mixture on top of your cooked pastry base and garnish with peanuts.
  8. Put in fridge to set for at least one hour.

This delicious tray bake almost tasted better the longer it set so if you can wait I would make it the day before you need it and let it sit.