Peanut Brittle Bars

Why I Love This Recipe
The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion
These bars are for the crisp-texture person
Ingredients You'll Need
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon (optional)
1 1/2 cups chopped peanuts
Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 F
Lightly grease a 9x13 inch, 11x11 inch, or similar-sized pan.
In a medium-sized mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar.
Add the egg and vanilla, mixing to combine
In a separate, whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and the cinnamon, if desired
Stir into the creamed mixture.
Mix in 1 cup of the peanuts
Spread the batter in the prepared pan
The batter will be stiff and barely cover the bottom of the pan
An offset icing spatula (or using wet fingers) is helpful in spreading it around.
Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of nuts on the top
Spray a piece of plastic wrap with nonstick spray
Cover the batter with it
Press the nuts down into the dough through the plastic
Peel off the wrap
Bake the bars for 18 to 20 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the edge of the pan
Remove from the oven
Cut into squares or diamonds while still warm
Allow the bars to cool completely before removing them from the pan