Do you know what month it is?

If you answered March, you'd be wrong. Because this was a trick question, of course!

It is National Peanut Month.

Not this kind of Peanuts...

This kind...

Seriously!

You can verify my facts on the Peanut Butter Lovers website. (Who knew, right?) Still doubting? It's even been announced on the National Peanut Board's website. It's a great site with lots of info, recipes, fun facts, tips on growing peanuts, a children's page and even lesson plans for those of you who need them.

Did you know that Americans eat more than 600 million pounds of peanuts and 700 million pounds of peanut butter each year? (That little tidbit of info ought to come in handy during your next game of Trivial Pursuit!)

There's no shortage of peanut and peanut butter lovers in our household. So, in honor of this special month, I'm baking one our favorite peanut butter treats this afternoon. And, I'm going to share my recipe!

Peanut Bars

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1/2 cup butter, softened

1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter

1 egg

1 teaspoon real vanilla flavoring

1 cup self-rising flour

1 cup regular oats

2 cups chocolate chips (milk chocolate or semi-sweet)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix sugars, butter, peanut butter, egg and vanilla flavoring. Stir in flour and oats. Spread in greased 13x9x2 baking pan. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes.

Immediately upon removing from oven, sprinkle chocolate chips over the baked bars. Let stand 5 minutes and then use a spatula to smooth melted chips over the bars. Let bars cool completely before slicing.

In a hurry? Stir the chocolate chips into the dough before spreading in baking pan and bake as directed.