When I worked at my previous job, I would occasionally ‘treat’ myself to a trip to a little bakery down the road from my office.  They have a MAGNIFICENT, seasonal cranberry chicken salad on cranberry nut bread. Oh my goodness, it is the best thing ever, in fact it’s so good that I must find a recipe and replicate it.  Soon.  And then I’ll post it.

But, even better, they also have a wonderful assortment of desserts to choose from.  My favorite is a peanut butter blondie with a peanut butter frosting.  It’s fabulous.  Like, one of my favorite things ever.

I’ve been searching for a similar recipe, and while the blondie part is easy, the frosting is a mystery to me.  Guess I’ll have to make another trip that way to sample it, to, you know, do some research. 

In my searches for a similar recipe, I came across this little number and I knew I had to try it.  It’s a peanut butter sheet cake with peanut butter frosting.  I added mini chocolate chips, just because I felt like it.

As with all sheet cakes, I think this is better on day #2.  However, that didn’t stop me from eating two pieces on day #1.  It was totally worth blowing my diet for.  Totally, totally worth it.  It’s very moist and the cake has a very subtle peanut butter flavor, which really works with the frosting.  I personally felt like the chocolate chips were a great addition to the cake, and probably will add more next time.  Love this one!

I even cut out half of the butter to make it healthier.  See, I’m looking out for you.  =)  I apologize for the picture of this one, I must have deleted the good pictures of the individual slices.

Enjoy!

Cake Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
2 cups flour
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup sour cream
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
1 cup butter (I used 1/2 cup)
1 cup water
6 ounces (half a bag) of mini chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  In a large bowl, combine the flour and sugar with a whisk.  In another large bowl, combine eggs, baking soda and sour cream until smooth and set aside.

In a heavy bottom saucepan over medium heat, combine peanut butter, butter and water.  Use a whisk to combine until smooth, taking care not to burn or scorch.  Bring just to a boil and remove from heat.  Add the peanut butter mixture into the flour mixture, and combine using a handheld mixer.  Then, add the sour cream mixture and beat again until just combined.  Pour immediately into a 15 x 10 jellyroll or sheet pan, and bake 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Don’t over bake!  I did use cooking spray on my pan and didn’t have any problems with sticking.  If you choose, you can sprinkle the mini-chips over the top of the batter after you’ve poured it into the pan.  This will prevent the chips from sinking to the bottom of the cake, which they would if you stirred them into the batter.

While cake is baking, prepare the frosting so that you can pour the warm frosting over the warm cake. 

Frosting Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter
2/3 cups creamy peanut butter
6 tablespoons milk
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla
Using the same saucepan, combine the butter, peanut butter, and milk over medium heat. Bring to a boil stirring constantly. Add the powdered sugar and use a wire whisk to mix well, until all lumps are gone and frosting is smooth.  Let the frosting cool for a few minutes, then add vanilla. The frosting will be thick,so use your muscles and mix well. Pour over cake while both are still warm. Let cool, then serve.

I like to cut it up into bars and store in a 9×13 Tupperware container, using wax paper to separate the layers. 
Enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Sprinkled With Flour