You want good and easy; I’ll give you good and easy! And when I say good; I mean off the charts delicious! And when I say easy, I mean so lacking in difficulty as to be almost foolproof for anyone with even the most rudimentary of culinary skills. I mean folks; we are talking only 6 ingredients here. And no cooking technique required that is more difficult than melting butter and a combination of chocolate chips and peanut butter on top of the stove!

Now the question you need to ask yourself before making this fantastic dessert is; do I like peanut butter cups? If the answer is no I hate them, do not waste your time with this recipe. But, if you are one of the 450 million people that when the craving hits, would drive 50 miles for a package of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups, this is the recipe for you!

So next time you need to bring a treat to work, or to a friend’s house, or to a chocoholic’s anonymous meeting (just kidding); this is the recipe for you. But be warned – these bars are not only addictive, they scream “eat me, eat me” from the refrigerator. All I can say is, don’t complain to me if you get sick from eating too many of these bars. I’m already living with the aftermath of eating just one (sugar and I don’t agree) square and probably wouldn’t be real receptive or sympathetic to your predicament!

• 1 c. (2 sticks) butter
• 2¼ c. creamy peanut butter (not natural style*), divided
• ½ tsp. vanilla
• 2 c. powdered sugar
• 2 c. graham cracker crumbs
• 1½ c. semisweet chocolate chips

Melt the butter in a medium sized pan. Remove from heat and stir in 1½ cups of the peanut butter, vanilla, powdered sugar, and graham cracker crumbs. Press evenly into the bottom of a generously buttered 9×13-inch pan. Set aside to cool.

Meanwhile melt the chocolate chips and the remaining ¾ cup peanut butter in a heavy-duty saucepan over the lowest possible heat, stirring constantly, until smooth. Using an offset spatula, spread the topping evenly over the bottom layer. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least an hour before cutting into squares. Store the bars in the refrigerator.

*natural style peanut butter just does not work for this recipe – too oily