If you’re a fan of the Salted Nut Roll candy bar, or just a lover of sweet treats, then this week’s featured recipe and menu item, Joyce Family Famous Peanut Bars, is for you. I’ll never forget when my best high school (and beyond) friend, Ann, first introduced me to her family’s famous peanut bars 35 years ago, because I thought I had died and gone to heaven. What’s not to love about a confection of sponge cake covered in vanilla buttercream and chopped peanuts?

A hot milk sponge cake forms the center of these bars, and this old-fashioned cake has a lovely, moist texture and firm, velvety crumb. Whole milk is cooked until just about boiling, and then removed from the heat and allowed to cool some before being added to the batter.  (Scalding the milk enhances the flavor of the cake.)

The cake needs to cool before moving on to the next step, and can be prepared the night before assembling the bars or even frozen until ready to use. Once cooled, the cake is cut into one-inch squares, which will initially appear small in size until they are coated on all sides with a luscious vanilla buttercream frosting and rolled in crushed peanuts.

These peanut bars are available now to pre-order by the dozen through December 12, and orders will be ready for pick up from Dec. 16-23. I would love to bake some for you, or, if you feel like taking on a baking project (the recipe is simple but time intensive), here is a link to a printable copy of the recipe: Joyce Family Famous Peanut Bars.

I would love to know what YOU are baking this week and hope you’ll leave me a quick comment to let me know! Happy baking/eating!