Cooking with Kids: Peanut Butter Squares

Maggie, my 16 month old, and I made these scrumptious peanut butter squares by Nigella Lawson this morning.  We're taking them to a friends house tonight for dessert.  This is the perfect thing to make with toddlers and young kids because it's very quick and there's absolutely no baking involved.  You just mix the ingredients together and press them into a pan.  It's that simple.

Ingredients for the Base

• Scant 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
• 1 1/3 cups confectioners' sugar
• scant 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter

Ingredients for the topping

• 7 ounces milk chocolate
• 4 ounces bittersweet chocolate
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Directions

• Stir all the ingredients for the base together until smooth.  Nigella uses the paddle attachments to her mixer, which her children love operating, but a bowl and a wooden spoon will do the job just as well.  You will find, either way, that some of the dark brown sugar stays in rubbly but very small, lumps --  don't worry about that.
• Press the sandy mixture into a 9-inch square brownie pan and make the surface as even as possible.  This is where your toddler can enjoy helping.  They'll enjoy dirtying their hands while pressing the mixture in the pan.
• To make the topping, melt the chocolates and butter together (in a microwave for ease, for a minute or two on medium) and pour over the base.  Let your child use the back of a spoon to spread the chocolate.
• Put the pan in the refrigerator to set. When the chocolate has hardened, cut into small squares. This is very rich so you'll want to keep the servings very small.

Makes approximately 48.

Recipe courtesy of Nigella Lawson from How to Be a Domestic Goddess: Baking and the Art of Comfort Cooking.