Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
on Oct 14, 2022, Updated Apr 03, 2025
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The irresistible appeal of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, homemade and in bar cookie form!
These no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars are quite possibly my boys’ favorite dessert. These are just like a homemade version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups but cut into squares, and they are 100% irresistible. The whole chocolate and peanut butter thing is pretty compelling.
There are certain foods that have an immense “first bite” potency, as in the first bite is so amazing that about 47 percent (give or take, I’m not a mathematician) of the pleasure of that particular food resides in that initial mouthful. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups embody that quality for me, not that I’m not happy to keep going, mind you.
This is an easy and homey version of that enduring, mouthwatering candy, and you will want to cut them into small squares since they are rich, rich, rich. A little sprinkling of flaky sea salt at the end gives them that sweet and salty note, which many of us find so appealing, but it’s optional. A small square is probably enough unless it’s not enough, and then you should have two or three.
These call of a glass of milk! Or a strong cup of coffee. If you can’t get enough of the chocolate and peanut butter combo, try Chocolate Peanut Butter and Banana Smoothie, Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Pie or Chocolate Peanut Cornflake Crunch.
Table of Contents
Ingredients
- Unsalted butter
- Dark brown sugar – If you only have white sugar available, you can make a brown sugar substitute by mixing it with a little molasses.
- Confectioners’ or powdered sugar
- Creamy peanut butter
- Graham cracker crumbs – You can either buy graham cracker crumbs or make your own by putting graham crackers into a zipper-top bag and pounding them gently with a rolling pin or the bottom of a pan or a can of beans or anything sturdy with some weight to it. Four graham cracker squares make about 1/4 cup of crumbs. You can also do this in a mini food processor.
- Chocolate chips – Use semisweet or milk chocolate chips or a combination of the two.
- Sea salt – For sprinkling at the end (optional)
How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
- Prep the pan: Use either butter or nonstick cooking spray to lightly grease a square 9-inch square baking pan.
- Make the peanut butter layer: Add the brown sugar, confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and 5 tablespoons of butter to a mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer until combined but still a bit crumbly. Press this mix into the baking pan, about 1/3-inch thick.
- Melt the chocolate: Place the chocolate and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a double boiler, or a small saucepan over very low heat and melt, stirring frequently, until smooth, about 7 minutes.
Kitchen Smarts
You can also melt the chocolate in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds or so, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes in all.
- Layer and chill: Let the chocolate mixture cool briefly, then while still hot, using a rubber spatula, gently spread it over the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until the chocolate has firmed up, about 1 hour. Cut into small squares and enjoy.
Storage
These will keep in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to a week.
What the Kids Can Do
Pounding graham crackers into crumbs is great fun. They can do all of the basic measuring and press the peanut butter mixture into the pan.
More Chocolate Bar Cookies
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No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter (at room temperature, plus butter for greasing the baking pan; optional)
- nonstick cooking spray (optional)
- ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- ¼ cup graham cracker crumbs (see Note)
- 2 cups (12 ounces) semisweet or milk chocolate chips (or a combination of the two)
- Sea salt (such as Maldon) for sprinkling (optional)
Instructions
- Lightly butter a 9-inch-square baking pan or spray it with nonstick cooking spray (or use a nonstick pan).
- Place the brown sugar, confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and 5 tablespoons of the butter in a mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until well combined but still a bit crumbly, about 1 minute (it won’t get totally smooth; that’s okay). Press the peanut butter mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan in a thin layer, about 1/3-inch thick.
- Place the chocolate and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in a double boiler, or a small saucepan over very low heat and melt, stirring frequently until smooth, about 7 minutes. You can also do this in the microwave, stirring every 20 seconds or so, until smooth, 2 to 3 minutes in all. Let the chocolate mixture cool briefly, then while still hot, using a rubber spatula, gently spread it over the peanut butter layer. Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt if desired.
- Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until the chocolate has firmed up, about 1 hour. Cut into 36 small (roughly 1 1/2-inch) squares.
Where is the note concerning the graham cracker crumbs?
On the upper right part of the page!
Do your recommend a particular brand of creamy peanut butter? I have found that the all natural brands are not creamy enough and do not work well in recipes. However, traditional creamy peanut butter often has added sweetener and hydrogenated oil and does not have a really great peanut flavor. Thanks.
I do use commercial varieties most of the time, for that reason. I do want to try these with this brand, which I think might be the answer. https://ilovepeanutbutter.com/index.php/peanut-butter-1/smoothoperator.html
These sound awesome. I wonder, have you discovered “Dark Chocolate Dreams” PB-blended-with-chocolate from Peanut Butter & Co? I get mine at Target though I’ve seen it in grocery stores, too. Maybe that would be an interesting substitute for regular peanut butter – already a dream ingredient.
That sounds like an amazing idea! They have a lot of cool flavors, too, which might be worth trying….