cookies...with peanut butter!

I'm the person who nearly never cooks any more. With one person to feed, he mostly has to go along with whatever I take a notion to put on the table. There is the option of leaving home to go find something more appealing or palatable, he generally eats what ever shows up to avoid having to get in the car and make a trip up the road to fast food.

But I made a pan of cookies yesterday, after nearly passing out from the heat. To take to a monthly covered dish dinner a friend and I attend at various churches here in town. I had not made this in a while, but figured Everyone Likes Peanutbutter, so pan would hopefully be empty when I picked it up afterward. Plus, when I took it out of the oven, I scattered a half-bag of chocolate chips on it, to let soften and spread. How can you not like that combo.? I only ate one, after I brought the six left-over squares back home - and my taste-buds announced: Reese's peanutbutter cups!

I tried my best to give the leftover away, to anyone who would take a few or a dozen before I came home, knowing that the guy here would feel the weight-y  obligation to consume all the ones that had not been consumed at the potluck dinner. There were not many left - and I discovered that number diminished by half when I got up this morning - so we must have mice with opposeable thumbs who can open and close tupperware containers up on a middle shelf in the pantry.

Peanut Butter Squares

Beat together 2 cups granulated sugar
                     3 eggs
                     1/4 cup (1/2 stick) oleo.
Add: 1 cup peanut butter
         1 tsp. vanilla
Stir in 2 cups self-rising flour
Batter will be stiff. Spread in 9x13 inch pan, dip hands or spoon into water to smooth into corners. Bake 300 degrees for 45 min, until set and golden. Bakes about 40 squares.
Note: I decreased the sugar: using 1 1/2 cups the last time I made it, and 1 1/3 when I did it yesterday. Depends on how you like your peanut butter cookies, I guess. I'd say use the 1 1/2 rather than cut back more.
And sprinkled about half of a bag of semi-sweet choc. chips on when I took it out of oven, let sit a bit, then spread out the choc. to cover the cookies. Cut them will the choc. was still slightly warm.
I've thought of making this with Splenda, but I know you are supposed to add some certain/unknown amount of powdered milk to help with volume when you sub. the artificial sweetener for people who could go into diabetic distress from eating a pan of cookies with two cups of granulated sugar and no noticeable self control.
My only sheet cake pan (wonder where the aluminum one got off to?) is a glass casserole, that is probably not quite  9 x13 size, so my cookies were a little thicker than you would get with metal pan. But very good, and required lots of finger-licking with the gooey choc. on top.