oatmeal peanut butter snack squares.

Is there really anything better at keeping you full than oatmeal? I mean... I can eat a bowl of oatmeal at 9am and be good until mid-afternoon. No joke.

So these "snack squares"? They're really just delicious little homemade appetite suppressors. I mean, okay, obviously you shouldn't eat them in place of a meal, but as a mid-morning or mid-afternoon snack to hold you over until the next meal? Absolutely.

If I had a full time job and worked all day, I would definitely make things like this and pre-package them up on the weekends into individual baggies and then grab one every day to bring to work. Isn't it way more exciting to eat a snack at work if it's homemade?

Same goes for lunches... which would you be more excited about eating for lunch at work: a microwavable frozen dinner, or leftover homemade lasagna? Exactly. You know which one has more flavor.

Another thing (okay, two things) I love about these snack squares is that (1) they have mini chocolate chips in them (LOVE mini chocolate chips! So, so, so cute.) and (2) they introduced me to natural peanut butter. Have you tried natural peanut butter? I buy the Skippy brand, and I SWEAR, it tastes just like regular peanut butter.

And to prove it, I ran a little experiment. You see, D doesn't like "weird" things. He would love it if I would just leave well enough alone. If I were to ask him "Do you want regular peanut butter or natural peanut butter?", well... I wouldn't even ask. I know the answer to that one. Because he (and maybe you?) pictures natural peanut butter as being all dry and healthy tasting and gross. Right?

Well, I just made him a peanut butter and banana sandwich with the natural peanut butter. Guess who loved his sandwich and didn't say ONE WORD about it being "dry" or "healthy" or "weird tasting"? That's right. Sara- 1. D- 0. Now if I could only find a way to sneak beans into something...

So what I'm trying to say is... go out and buy the natural peanut butter. And not just for this recipe, for everything that you use peanut butter for. Because the ingredient list is so much better than that of the regular ol' stuff. Seriously- see for yourself! Plus the natural peanut butter has 20 less calories per serving.

peanuts, sugar, palm oil, salt. THAT'S IT!

peanuts, sugar, hydrogenated vegetable oil, salt, hydrogenated cottonseed oil.

Oh, and if you would like the recipe for these delicious guys, head on over to How Sweet It Is.

Here's the recipe.

The only thing I changed is that I used all-purpose flour instead of whole-wheat flour. They turned out great with the AP flour! But I really would love to try making them with the whole-wheat flour just for comparison purposes (plus...any excuse to make more of these is a good excuse. Trust me.). If any of you try it with whole-wheat, let me know how it goes, okay?

slight variation.

Hey guys!

Remember when I made Double Fudge Oreo Crunch Cookies in July? Well, I made them again. Why? Because D loved them. And everyone at my work loved them. (As in, asked for the recipe) I also have a class full of hungry friends to feed tonight.

Another reason I made them again is because the ingredients are so easy! The only thing I need to pick up that I don't always have on hand is oreos.

So what did I do differently this time? I drizzled peanut butter over the top. Lets just say it was one of my better ideas. :)

It was my first drizzling experience, but I think they turned out pretty! I was honestly just doing the whole "peanut butter drizzle" thing for aesthetic reasons, but holy moly- it adds the perfect little taste of peanut butter.

I am going to make these cookies again in October- for Halloween- with the Halloween Oreos (with the orange filling). I'm excited! (Is that dorky of me?) Ooooh and then in December for Christmas maybe I could use red/green filled oreos! (Do they make those?) Sorry. Cute cookies get me worked up.


Double Fudge Oreo Crunch Cookies with Peanut Butter Drizzle(cookie recipe from How Sweet It Is)

makes about 30 cookies

1 cup butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Semi-sweet)
1 cup chopped oreos (I just cut them into small pieces with a sharp knife)

For peanut butter drizzle: 1/4 cup peanut butter

Cream butter, sugar, eggs, and vanilla until fluffy. Add flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until combined.

Fold in chocolate chips and oreos. Refrigerate dough for 2-4 hours or more. (I refrigerated mine overnight and it was fine!) When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees, roll into balls and set on baking sheet.

Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. When cookies come out of the oven, remove from baking sheet and put onto a cookie cooling rack with paper towels underneath. Heat peanut butter up in a microwave safe dish until liquidy. Using a fork, drizzle peanut butter over cookies. :)




Soo.. guess what I had for lunch?  A leftover hamburger roll with a piece of cheese and spicy mustard, some pringles, and a pickle. Clearly I spent more time this morning focusing on cookies than I did on making lunch. Priorities, people.