Peanut butter chocolate shortbread bars

Oh, hey, how's it going. Do you like chocolate and peanut butter? Of course you do. Everyone likes chocolate and peanut butter. Deb over at Smitten Kitchen made these the other day, and ooh, they looked good. Except I don't have any crispy rice cereal, and didn't want to make caramel, and instead was craving a shortbread kind of thing. So I went for it. First I tried to make a peanut butter fudge to go on top instead of just melted chocolate and peanut butter, but it didn't work out. I'm glad, because man these are so good. They are not good for you, although I guess you could argue that the peanut butter has protein. You could probably sneak in some flax seed into the crust, too.

Peanut butter chocolate shortbread bars

toppings from smittenkitchen.com

shortbread crust

1 c rice flour mix

1/2 t xanthan gum

1/4 c sugar

2 T powdered sugar

1/4 t salt

1 stick cold butter, cubed

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350. Line an 8x8 baking pan with a piece parchment paper, so that it overhangs a bit over the edges. Pulse flour, xanthan gum, salt and sugars together in food processor, then add in butter and pulse for about a minute until crumbly. Add egg, and pulse about a minute until the dough comes together in the processor.

Press the dough into the pan, and bake for about 20 minutes until edges are lightly browned. Cool.

Peanut butter layer

1 1/4 c crunchy peanut butter

1/2 c chocolate chips

Melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a bowl (I microwaved, but feel free to do it over simmering water) and pour over slightly cooled crust. Spread evenly, and let cool (I stuck it in the fridge for an hour or so)

Chocolate layer

1/3 c chocolate chips

4 T butter

Melt the chocolate and butter together, stir until smooth, and pour over the top of the chilled peanut butter layer. Let cool completely, and cut into small bars. Keep in the fridge.