Dec 6, 2008

Hollywood Squares


When I was a girl going to Grant Elementary School, in Cuyahoga Falls Ohio.
The lunch lady would make these wonderful treats and sell them for .25 cents each.
Hollywood Squares are way better than any peanut butter cup!
Every kid in school saved their pennies to buy a Hollywood Square!!

Heck! I even used to volunteer to help in the lunch line because they paid in Hollywood Squares!

When the school closed down she decided to make her "secret recipe" public.

Thank Goodness she did!!
These are yummy!!

Super -easy!

And a GREAT way to get your kids cooking in the kitchen with you!


Hollywood Squares

Ingredients:

2 cups peanut butter
2-1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup butter, melted

Topping:
2 squares semi-sweet baking chocolate
1 tbsp. peanut butter

Directions:
Combine all ingredients except topping ingredients.
Mix well and press into a buttered 9-inch pan.
Melt the topping ingredients together (the microwave works well for this) and spread over the top of the peanut butter mixture.
Chill until topping is firm.
Cut into squares.

Enjoy!!


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31 comments:

  1. OH my! These look great. I am going to add these to my Christmas baking list NOW!!

    Mmm, you just can't go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter..

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  2. Wow, those look great. Really rich and decadent, perfect for the holidays.

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  3. There really isn't a more perfect combination than peanut butter and chocolate. I can't wait to try these! Thanks so much!

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  4. Oh - those look so yummy! I *loved* peanut butter cups when I lived in the states.

    For the benefit of us outside the USA, how big is a square of chocolate?

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  5. Clare.
    Each square of semi-sweet baking chocolate is 1 ounce.

    Hope you love these as much as we do!

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  6. There must be a secret lunch lady society where they swap ideas such as this. When I grew up in Northern California, I'd save .15 cents (I was in high school in the mid seventies) and get a Peanut Butter Square on the afternoon break. These are nearly identical to the type she made (they certainly look and sound the same) and I'm sure they are close enough to what I remember, to recreate my own high school experience. Thank you so much for the memory.

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  7. I just made these because your picture looked so good! I can't wait to taste them!

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  8. Oh my, what a small world. I'm from Stow, OH. Can't beat the lunch ladies.

    Thanks for posting!

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  9. Did you double the recipe for the ones you made? Mine sure don't look as good and the icing is going to be thinnnnnn.

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  10. the batch I made yesterday was indeed doubled, and I used a 13x9 pan, the chocolate is thin. don't worry. :)
    They are sooo rich, that I actually thought mine were too thick lol

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  11. Wow, I definitely need to try these. They look so simple, yet so elegant. Thanks for sharing!

    -Kim
    http://www.lovintheoven.com

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  12. Yes, they are super rich! I think mine look pitiful compared to yours. LOL!!

    Great recipe though, a real keeper.

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  13. Wow!! Thank you so much...ours were called "Gold Bars" and they were awesome! I loved those in middle school and have been looking for the recipe ever since! thank you~~

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  14. OMG I grew up in MI and did the same thing scrapping pennies together to buy these at lunch and even helped in the kitchen to get one for free! Thank you for the recipe

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  15. THose look amazing. How can you go wrong. Hey- if the economy slams this may be a new way to pay people.

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  16. reese cups are my favorite candy so anything that resembles them definitely has my attention. i am definitely bookmarking this recipe for future reference-can't wait to try these out! YUM!

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  17. Reeses peanut butter cups are the only mass produced "candy" I'll eat. Love 'em cold & so you're telling me these are even better? I need to give these a try asap then! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
    ~ingrid

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  18. Man alive, these things are awesome!! I made them for dessert tonight and they were a big hit. They are SO SO SO rich though, just a small piece will do ya. I put them in a glass dish that is around 7x11 but I think they could have been pressed into a 9x13 with double the amount of chocolate topping (since it would be covering more space). This recipe is definitely a keeper!

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  19. Wow! Saw this on Tasty Kitchen and started salivating! Can't wait to try them.

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  20. Looks tasty. Wonder how it would be with rice krispies gently added to the peanut butter bottom. Hmmm.....

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  21. My friend! I went to school in North Royalton, Ohio and our lunch ladies ALSO used to make these and sell them for .25 each. We called them "Peanut Butter Fudge" and yes, they are a Reeses Peanut Butter Cup times 100!!!! I cannot believe you have the recipe for them. I have been trying to make these things for ages and have never gotten them quite right. I can't wait to try this recipe!!!!!!! I'm so glad I found you! :>

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  22. Hey, I went to Grant elementary also and I have to agree these squares are the best treats you could ever want to eat. They are super easy to make and they will not last long in your house.

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  23. I discovered this recipe through Pinterest, and I made them tonight. They are amazing! One of the guys in the group of people I made them for said they were just like something he used to get in elementary school. :D I told him that was exactly what they apparently were according to your post!

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  24. I grew up in Akron, Ohio, and the lunch ladies made these there too :) I always thought they were named after my grandparent's street, Hollywood Ave, Akron, Ohio!

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  25. <3 <3 <3!!!! I lost my recipe!! I'm SOOO glad you are here! I, too, went to school in Cuyahoga Falls!! But to Lincoln Elementary. I went so far as to call the school one day, about 10 years ago! LOL I figured the lunch ladies there would think I was nuts, but she happily shared the recipe and some stories! However, with 4 moves and a divorce since then... I somehow misplaced the recipe. These are being made TODAY!!!! Thank you!!

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  26. You nailed it! I was skeptical at first. I have been trying to make these bars that I used to eat every day at elementary school in the 1970s but I could not find the recipe. This is it for sure!!!! Thank-you! Took me down memory lane at the first bite :>

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  27. I am so thankful to find this recipe! My brother reminded me of how we used to eat that when lunch was only 50 cents! We went to Lincoln also in the 70's

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  28. I went to Preston n Price Elementary in the Falls these were the bomb I always saved my 25cent so I could get Xtra

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