LUNCH LADIES

by Danielle Miller February 10, 2021

LUNCH LADIES & PEANUT BUTTER FINGERS

Did your school lunch look like that when you were a kid? Mine absolutely did not. However....zero complaints here! Because....lunch ladies!!

I really don't know why various memories have stuck with me as long as they have, but one thing I have never forgotten was how much I looked forward to lunch every day during the school year. Listen - don't get me wrong....both my mother and my grandmother were amazing in the kitchen, and I happily chowed down on justttttt about anything they put in front of me. But that was exactly it! The women cooking our lunches every day at school WERE our mothers and grandmothers.

Growing up in a teeny tiny little dot on the map in NW Kansas, where the phrase "everyone knows everyone" is 100% accurate, taught me what a blessing it is to know your neighbors, your community, and to be able to rely on them. I'm thankful for my hometown for so many reasons. And one of those reasons is definitely the women who prepared food for me my entire childhood. They were moms, aunts, and grandma's, and they cooked for us with no nonsense and a lot of love. I'm telling you, you could taste the love.

Except on liver and onions day, (otherwise known as the day you starved). You DIDN'T taste love in that ladies, sorry not sorry. But you DID taste it in the handmade kolaches and cinnamon rolls on soup days (the chili was homemade too). 2 of them were moms of my classmates. 1 of them was mom to my best friend through middle school. It's clear to me now why they were so special to me; but I don't think it was clear to me then that they were.

Those ladies were(are) magic y'all, and I can't remember a single time I ever thanked them, or heard anyone else thank them, for being such a valuable presence in our young lives. I doubt they even thought about that, though... If they did, we never knew it.

In honor of the lunch ladies, I'm taking a page out of their (cook)book and sharing with you Peanut Butter Fingers. You know the ones I'm talking about....good thing you probably have all the ingredients to make some right now!

Did you have magical lunch ladies too? I want to hear about them! I hope you get some comfort from these like I do. xoxo Dani

PEANUT BUTTER FINGERS - Recipe

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Ingredients
½ c. butter, softened
½ c. creamy peanut butter
½ c. granulated sugar
½ c. firmly packed brown sugar
1 egg
1 c. flour
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ tsp. salt
½ tsp. vanilla extract
1 c. rolled oats (I used old-fashioned but original recipe calls for quick-cooking)
1 c. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Drizzle:
½ c. sifted confectioners' sugar
¼ c. creamy peanut butter
2 to 4 tbsp. milk

ALL OF THE INGREDIENTS I USE ARE GLUTEN FREE.
YOU CAN USE REGULAR FLOUR, ETC, INSTEAD!

Recipe:
In a large mixing bowl, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars, mix until combined. Add egg, mixing well. Add in peanut butter, soda, salt, vanilla, & combine. Add flour & oats mix. Press mixture into buttered 7" x 11" or 9" x 13" pan.

Bake at 350° F for 20 to 25 minutes.

Sprinkle immediately with chocolate chips. Let stand 5 minutes. Spread evenly.

Mix confectioners' sugar, peanut butter, and milk with a whisk until smooth. Drizzle over the top. Eat!!

Recipe Notes:

Watch closely after the 20 minute mark, because overbaking will cause the peanut butter fingers to dry out.
You can add more chocolate chips if you want a thicker chocolate layer...just don't go more than double what the recipe calls for, or it may not melt properly.