Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

5 from 5 votes

This post may contain affiliate links. Please read our disclosure policy.

The irresistible appeal of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, homemade and in bar cookie form!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars with sea salt on serving platter.

These chocolate peanut butter bars are quite possibly the favorite dessert of both my boys. 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.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars on a white dish set on a marbled table.

Homemade Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups

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 small square is probably enough unless it’s not enough, then you should have two or three.

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’ 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 it 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.
Several Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars on a white surface.

How to Make Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

  1. Prep the pan: Use either butter or nonstick cooking spray to lightly grease a square 9-inch square baking pan.
  2. 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.
  3. Melt the chocolate: Place the chocolate and the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter in 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.

  1. 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.
Pan of Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars with a few missing.

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

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars on a white surface.

Pin this now to find it later

Pin It
5 from 5 votes

No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars

The irresistible appeal of Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, homemade and in bar cookie form!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 5 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 36 people
Save this recipe!
We’ll send it to your email, plus you’ll get new recipes every week!

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)

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 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. Refrigerate, covered with plastic wrap, until the chocolate has firmed up, about 1 hour. Cut into 36 small (roughly 
1 1/2-inch) squares.

Notes

You can either buy graham cracker crumbs or make your own by putting graham crackers into a zipper-top bag and pounding it 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 131kcal, Carbohydrates: 12g, Protein: 2g, Fat: 8g, Saturated Fat: 4g, Cholesterol: 6mg, Sodium: 30mg, Potassium: 95mg, Fiber: 1g, Sugar: 10g, Vitamin A: 63IU, Calcium: 11mg, Iron: 1mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!

About Katie Workman

Katie Workman is a cook, a writer, a mother of two, an activist in hunger issues, and an enthusiastic advocate for family meals, which is the inspiration behind her two beloved cookbooks, Dinner Solved! and The Mom 100 Cookbook.

You May Also Like:

5 from 5 votes (4 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




7 Comments

  1. Carla says:

    Where is the note concerning the graham cracker crumbs?

    1. Katie Workman says:

      On the upper right part of the page!

  2. linda says:

    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.

    1. Katie Workman says:

      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

  3. Pamela Waterman (@BracesFriendly) says:

    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.

    1. Katie Workman says:

      That sounds like an amazing idea! They have a lot of cool flavors, too, which might be worth trying….