Sunday, July 12, 2009

THE Gold Bar

WAY back in elementary school, there was a little $.25 treat that ALL the kids would go bonkers over. It was the Gold Bar. And at my school, it was only sold on Wednesdays. Now if you don't remember the Gold Bar, or you've never had a Gold Bar, let me explain. It's very much like a Reese's Peanut Butter Cup but in bar form. Peanut butter mixture on the bottom and a thin layer of chocolate on top. And it was served cold and individually wrapped, which only added to how good it was. (Isn't it strange the things you remember?!) So awhile back, I had the thought to ask my dad if he could run down the recipe from a school cafeteria lady before he retired. AND HE DID! However, the entire recipe is in grams and calls for ingredients like chocolate emulsifier (??) which has made it nearly impossible to replicate the APS Goldbar. So I did what any other desperate Gold Bar fan would do and I Googled the ingredient list, which led me to this recipe. Although a tad different (it calls for graham crackers instead of rice crispies) the overall taste is there. And I don't have to use math conversions that I can't remember for the life of me :) So here you go Sue! Gold Bar away! And Dani, if you're reading and your's is different-hit us up with your recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 cups confectioners' sugar
1 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
4 tablespoons peanut butter

DIRECTIONS:
In a medium bowl, mix together the butter or margarine, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners' sugar, and 1 cup peanut butter until well blended. Press evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.
In a metal bowl over simmering water, or in the microwave, melt the chocolate chips with the peanut butter, stirring occasionally until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust. Refrigerate for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

33 comments:

Dani said...

I'll have to try this recipe out! I sent my recipe over to Susan yesterday... Gosh I love these things!!!

Susan said...

Yum! I will forward you the recipe Dani sent me!

Lesley said...

Thank you for bringing back the glory of the Gold Bar. I'm going to make them soon! See, APS did leave a lasting impression!

TonyaMomma said...

Oh. My. God. NO YOU DIDN'T! LOL I cannot wait to try these out! It's been so long! :)

Anonymous said...

So I was a Sombra/Madison/Sandia kid and I've been deparately looking for YEARS for the recipe. I had given up for a while when I described to a friend my love for gold bars and he said, check the internet. It had been a while since I had looked, but I just did again and the following recipe came up from someone who seems to share the same fondness. I don't think anyone outside of the APS system really understands the amazingness that is the gold bar. I'm gonna try out this recipe right away. It seems to have a better ratio of peanut butter to butter than the one that is posted here and it has rice crispies, which personally I think makes the gold bar a gold bar! For all you lovers:

Ingredients:

2 cups crunchy peanut butter

2 cups Rice Krispies

2 cups powdered sugar, sifted

4 tablespoons melted margarine or butter

2 tablespoons light corn syrup

11 standard Hershey chocolate bars, melted

Method: Mix peanut butter, Rice Krispies, powdered sugar, melted margarine, and light corn syrup until well blended. Press mixture evenly into a 9-by-13-inch pan that has been lined with plastic wrap over light oil. Melt chocolate bars in double boiler. Spread evenly over Rice Krispie mixture; chill until set but not hard (chocolate will begin to lose its shiny appearance). Cut into pieces of desired size. Return to refrigerator until chocolate has hardened completely. Remove from pan and store in tightly covered container in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Crystal said...

Oh my god, you are heaven sent. For years I have been talking about The Gold Bar! Now I have the recipe and several suggestions. I thought I was the only one who had such an obsession with this shcool yar treat! I went to Osuna, Eisenhower, and La Cueva and they all had the Gold Bar. I will make a batch this weekend.

Anonymous said...

I am so excited to see that I am not the only one who was addicted the gold bars! I was a Matheson Park/Hoover/Eldorado kid and remember buying gold bars for a quarter. Thanks for the recipe!!!

Anonymous said...

Would you be able to post the original recipe anyway?

Anonymous said...

Thx TonyaMomma! Yeah, I was so excited to see there was someone that had the recipe, but it didn't have rice crispies, I was like how can u have a gold bar with no rice crispies? That's like a main ingredient lol so thanks soooooo much for the extra recipe!

Anonymous said...

i've been searching for this recipe for a long time...graduate of mark twain/hayes/highland, go APS!

i loved these and want to make them for my kids so they can enjoy the tradition!

Anonymous said...

OMG, by APS, do you mean Albuquerque Public Schools?

This is exactly what I remember eating and I remember the 25 cents price one day a week.

Sombra Del Oso & Marie Hughes Elementary
John Adams Middle School
Sandi & West Mesa High School Alumni!!

Anonymous said...

From a John Baker/Hoover/Eldorado kid...this is like finding "gold" (so to speak). I am now living in Texas, and my coworkers are listening to my squeals of delight with confusion. They don't get it!!!! Only us APS folks understand the glory that is a gold bar!!!!

Anonymous said...

I've been looking for this recipe for years. I'm a Puesta del Sol/Lincoln/Cibola kid and I can't wait to make some for my son!

Anonymous said...

Thank you for posting this recipe! I went to St.Marys in Downtown Albuquerque and we went by APS menus. I used to buy these in bulk and take home to save...lol.

Anonymous said...

I went to Emerson/Van Buren/Hayes/Highland and also was obsessed with gold bars. I had looked on the internet for the recipe with no luck. Recently my son came home and asked me to make these for his birthday! I was so surprised to hear him ask for gold bars! Now I can fulfill his birthday request, thanks!

Anonymous said...

Yummy tastes just like the APS ones! I went to valley haha how funny that so many people would look up these recipes!

Anonymous said...

I'm a Whittier/Wilson/Highland Alumni and we also had Wed.Gold bar day. Couldn't get enough. Just like all of you, I couldn't find the recipe for the life of me. Then it hit me....My mother works for an APS cafeteria!!! All these years it never dawned on me to even ask the one person who has access to the original recipe! Aaaahhhhhh! I convinced my mother to bring the recipe and I was in heaven! Only problem....I gave it back and forgot to write it down! I could have slapped my self! Well...the batch I did get to make....Everyone who remember them, literally died and went to heaven. If I'm ever to get my hands on it again....Hopefully....I will be able to post it for all of you to enjoy.

Unknown said...

Wow what did APS do to us as kids, we are all looking for the same.treat ....Lol
Angel M.

Anonymous said...

O MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!I thought I was crazy, but now i see that There really was a "Gold Bar". And yes I too remember the .25 price.I went to several Middle Schools in my youth due to family issues like Washington, Hoover, Harrison, Truman, John Adams and Wilson in Albuquerque N.M. and even though we had a bad time, I'll ALWAYS remember how delicious they were.I've been looking for this recipe for about 17 years. I found 1 awhile back that tasted almost the same.But they were too hard.So I'm hoping this recipe with the powdered sugar will be better.Thanks for posting your recipe. Can't wait to try it!

Anonymous said...

I HEART GOLD BARS!!! The only way to go is with the rice krispies, accept no substitutes. I am an Inez/Jackson/Eldorado grad, and I thought the gold bar had gone extinct. Now that I have found it, I am emailing it to all my old friends from way back in the day.

Anonymous said...

I love me some gold bars. I went to High School at La Cueva and remember these bars of yuminess. I randomly decided to see if I could find the recipe online and I did! Thank you!

Anonymous said...

I love gold bars! I went to La Cueva and had Dions Pizza whenever they served it as well as gold bars. MMMM...

Tara said...

My husband has been begging me to experiment with recipes to match the Gold Bar. Nothing has ever stood up. He went to our daughter's school for lunch one day, because they had Gold Bars on the menu and he asked the Cafeteria lady for the recipe. I'm going to share it below. If I am successful in making a smaller quantity, I will share that. So glad to know my husband isn't alone in his crazy obsession to find the Gold Bar. Ha!
Yield is 400
Margarine 30/1lb
Peanut Butter 6/5lbs
Powder Sugar 25 lbs
Cereal Rice Krispy 4/27oz
Chocolate Enrober 3/10lb
1. Mix margarine and Peanut Butter.
2. Add sugar and mix together. This mixture must be moist enough to make a ball in hand but not be sticky.
3. Add rice krispies. DO NOT OVERMIX.
4. Divide mixture into 5 sheet pans. Press out to distribute evenly. Cover with pan liner and use a rolling pin to smooth and even out the top.
5. Cover each pan with 2 cups of chocolate enrober (you must work quickly to spread the chocolate) When Shiny look disappears, 15 min, cut each pan into 80 pieces.

Anonymous said...

They make and sell Gold Bars (large ones, individually wrapped and cold) at the Route 66 Diner on Central near Presbyterian Hospital. They're a buck apiece and absolutely, completely authentic and perfect and delicious.

Anonymous said...

As a Los Ranchos/Taylor/Valley kid, I have to say a big-time THANK YOU for this! At least I have a starting point. I've seen gold bar-like things, but I've always wanted to make my own. Is it any coincidence that you posted this on my birthday? (And I found it just in time for my birthday this year!) I think not! GOLD BARS FOREVER!!!

Anonymous said...

Thanks I'll give it a try!!
did you guys have a shortage? 1 day a week?!! We had that shit on tap!!

Anonymous said...

After I went on a 10 minute rant on how amazing Gold Bars were, my fiancee did a search and found this little gem of a recipe. Made up a batch the next day and they were just how I remembered from growing up APS (Petroglyph, Taylor, Cibola). So happy to be able to share these treats, htough I think sitting in class fantasizing about them until lunch maybe them taste a little sweeter. :)

Anonymous said...

So glad I found this .I was a Sombra/ Madison /LaCueva aps studenr and have fond memories of Good Bars. $.25 a piece, funny what u remember huh! I will try this recipe with the rice crispies for sure! Thanks!

Anonymous said...

Funny how it doesn't matter which school you went to, Gold Bars made a lasting impression. But, from this John Baker/Hoover/Eldorado kid, thanks! I can't wait to make them for my kids!

Nancy said...

Yay I finally found the recipe for the gold bar.. I went to East San Jose elm/Mckinley mid /Del Norte high and it was a every Wednesday treat. I asked my kids if they had them at there school and they looked at me like what..LOL

Anonymous said...

Oh man! I am living in Kentucky but was a petroglyph/LBJ/cibola kid. Love love these things. So glad to see the recipe- cant wait to make these

Anonymous said...

My son recently started APS and has sent my husband into a peanut butter bar frenzy. Can't believe I actually found this. My husband will be kissing my feet when he gets home!

Anonymous said...

I LOVE 66 Diner, but their Gold Bars are NOT the ones from school. I said it in front of the owner, and he argued with me about it. The 66 ones are too dense... they don't have enough or are missing the rice krispies... and they are not sweet enough. I buy from a guy on Facebook, and those to me are the same as the ones from school. I am broke so I'm going to try to make them at home. Found several recipes so I've got to figure out which to use.

Inez/Grant/Sandia