To any avid book nerds looking for a good read and the perfect winning dessert recipe for a Saturday evening with friends, I recommend Pat Prager’s Peanut Butter Bars buried in the pages of Kitchens of the Great Midwest, a novel by J. Ryan Stradal. This mouthwatering read is full of recipes like the famous, blue ribbon winning peanut butter bars (page 211) and is bound to leave you with a few introspective questions and a satisfied smile on your lips. 

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups crushed graham cracker crumbs (Seal graham crackers in a large ziplock bag and use a rolling pin for best results)
• 1 cup melted Grade A butter
• 1 cup peanut butter
• 2½ cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup milk chocolate chips with 1 teaspoon Grade A butter

Mix together the graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, peanut butter, and sugar. Pat into a greased 9-by-13 inch pan. Melt chips and butter and spread on top of the bars. Set in the refrigerator until firm. (I found 3 to 4 hours to be plenty of time for the bars to solidify but if you’re worried, you can always stick them in the freezer for a bit just to be sure). Cut into bars.