Chocolate Peanut Oatmeal Bars

This is a gooey, rich treat. I found this recipe in an old Better Homes & Gardens cookie book. It cried out......bake me....nosh me....make me yours! I tweaked the recipe a bit of course. These beauties really benefit from chilling in the fridge after they cool.....makes the flavor pop.

Chocolate Peanut Oatmeal Bars

2 cups old fashioned oats
1 3/4 cups brown sugar
1 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup tub margarine
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
1 egg
1 14oz can non fat sweetened condensed milk
1/3 cup creamy peanut butter

Mix together oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Blend in the butter. Stir in the chopped peanuts. Remove 1 3/4 cups of this mixture to another bowl and add in the chocolate chips. Set this aside for your topping. Stir the egg into the remaining mixture and press it into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes.

Stir together the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter. Pour this mixture carefully over the baked crust. Sprinkle with reserved topping.

Bake another 15 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Cool and then chill before cutting into bars.