The Amish and Christmas Candy
Baking and homemade treats are one of the primary ways that the Amish show their Christmas cheer.
It's not uncommon to see Amish cooks reaching for favorite candies to further jazz up a cookie or bar. M&Ms are a favorite in Amish kitchens, but so are Reese's candies, Snickers, and Milky Ways. SIGH, the Amish diet used to be so unprocessed, so locavore, but societal changes in the last half of the 20th century definitely brought the "darker side" of the supermarket into the Amish diet. Anyway, 50 years ago you would not have found these reese’s peanut butter bars in an Amish kitchen, but you would today. And these homemade homemade Reese’s bars showcase how store-bought candy has definitely made its way into Amish culinary culture.
Our friend Jessica made the ones shown in these photos and, wow, they are good!
🖨️ Step-By-Step Stuffed Reese's Squares
Of course you don't have to use Reese's peanut butter cups (use the minis), you could use a store brand or Newman's or whatever else you can find.
The recipe calls for creamy peanut butter, but I am big fan of crunchy and would probably use that. But whichever one you prefer and any brand will work. Frankly, I can't tell much of a difference between Skippy, Jif, Peter Pan, etc.
You can follow the recipe exactly as is and it is decadent, but there are additions and variations you can make according to your taste. For instance a cup of graham cracker crumbs would be an amazing addition to the peanut butter mixture batter. If you are going to add things like crushed graham crackers or other additional flavors, make sure you switch from using a medium bowl to a large mixing bowl.
Make sure you preheat the oven before you bake peanut butter bars. Store leftovers in an airtight container and I would stick them in the fridge because I love my candy cold. But that is a personal preference.
These homemade candies make a super Christmas gift in a color tin and are Facebook and Pinterest worthy!
🍬More Amish Candy Recipes
Check out these super ones!
Easy as a bowl of cereal!
Indulge Guilt-Free!
🖨️ Full Recipe
Reese's Stuffed Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 2 sticks lightly salted butter, softene
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup brownsugar
- 1 cup white sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon teaspoon salt
- 13-16 ounces miniature Snickers bars , unwrapped (of course) or 13 mini Reese cups.
Instructions
- Using a hard wooden spoon (or you can cheat and use a mixer) cream together the butter and sugars until smooth.
- Add the eggs until well combined, then add in the peanut butter and vanilla until smooth andcreamy .
- In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and saltuntil well combined.
- Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and stir (or mix) until evenly mixed.
- Cover the dough and chill for 2 to 3 hours.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F
- . Turn the dough -reserving roughly a quarter of it - into two lightly greased 8 X 8 pansand then press down Reese's cups into the dough in even intervals. Crumble remaining dough on top of the mixture
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the bakingtime, or until the edges are set and the bars seem done. L
- Let the bars coolcompletely before cutting and transferring to a cookie jar or other air tight,room temperature storage.
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