As much as I love baking, the real cooking accomplishment today was learning how to poach an egg. Since England last summer, where every breakfast seemed to include a poached egg and avocado, I’ve been meaning to learn. Then, when I was in Utah a couple weekends ago, my friend Jeremy made us poached eggs every morning. I was inspired, and finally took the time to learn this morning.

And it was easy! So easy, in fact, that I plan on turning them into a breakfast staple in my life. But you guys don’t read to hear about my actual cooking. I also made a super easy sweet this week: crispy peanut butter bars.

Admittedly, they are very similar to the haystacks I’ve made before. But these are covered in dark chocolate, and shaped into bars, so I’m counting them as something new. If you liked the haystacks, these are possibly more addicting. You’ve been warned.

Anyways, start by melting the butter over medium low heat in a medium saucepan.
Add the peanut butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup. Stir until melted and smooth. Remove from heat. Add the cornflakes, peanuts, and vanilla extract. Stir to coat, and spread into an 8×8 pan lined with tin foil.Melt dark chocolate in the microwave and spread over the top of the cornflake layer. Sprinkle with remaining peanuts. Refrigerate for at least two hours to solidify before cutting into bars.Store in an airtight container in the fridge.Some perks: they’re gluten-free, dark chocolate is good for you (antioxidants!) and peanuts have protein. So really these are healthy. And obviously fit in with any resolution you may have made.

Enjoy!

Crispy Peanut Butter Bars

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup light corn syrup
• 1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
• 4 cups cornflakes
• 1/3 cup salted peanuts, chopped and divided
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Directions:

1. Melt the butter over medium low heat in a medium saucepan.
2. Add the peanut butter, corn syrup, and brown sugar, stirring until melted and smooth.
3. Remove from heat and stir in corn flakes, 1/4 cup peanuts, and vanilla extract.
4. Spread into an 8×8 pan lined with tin foil.
5. Melt the chocolate in the microwave until smooth in 30 second intervals at 50% power. Spread chocolate over corn flake layer and sprinkle with remaining peanuts.
6. Chill in refrigerator for at least two hours before cutting into bars.