Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Exactly 9 days post-New Year’s my aforementioned aversion to sweets disappeared like a puff of smoke. The holiday sugar cloud has lifted and I am ready to dive into butter, chocolate, sugar and, of course… peanut butter! These peanut butter cup bars are nothing new to the blogosphere, but I am thrilled to finally have them back in my kitchen. I had my first encounter with these bars waaaaaay back in college. I was at a cookout/bonfire and a girl brought a pan of these. I’ve been a peanut butter fanatic pretty much since I uttered my first words, so needless to say I fell in love with these immediately. As soon as I wiped the peanut butter and chocolate crumbs off my mouth, I asked for the recipe. I got it, and then promptly lost it before I ever got a chance to make them. I have lived without these for way too many years, so I must make amends. And share with you of course.
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I was the kid on Halloween that dug through the candy to get to the Reese’s peanut butter cups. They were gold. On Easter, I was always thrilled when the bunny left a Reese’s peanut butter egg or, as I got older and more appreciative of good sweets, a Sarris peanut butter meltaway egg. So imagine how insanely excited I am that these taste just like a giant peanut butter cup. I could get even more authentic with a thicker layer of chocolate, or actually encasing a cup-shaped version in chocolate, but this recipe is super easy and darn-near perfect. If it ain’t broke…
Three years ago: Hidden Berry Cream Cheese Torte
Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter
- 1¾ cups (210 g) powdered sugar
- 1 cup (258 g) smooth peanut butter
- ¾ cup (63 g) graham cracker crumbs
- ¼ cup (56.75 g) unsalted butter
- ½ cup (90 g) milk chocolate chips, or chopped chocolate
Instructions
- 1. Line an 8x8-inch square pan with foil, leaving enough to hang over the sides, then butter the foil. Set aside.
- 2. In a medium saucepan, melt the ½ cup of butter over low heat. Once melted, remove from heat and stir in the powdered sugar until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter and graham cracker crumbs until completely combined and smooth. Spread the peanut butter mixture into the prepared pan and smooth the top.
- 3. In the now-empty saucepan, melt the ¼ cup unsalted butter. Add the chocolate and stir until almost completely melted. Remove from heat and continue stirring until completely melted. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter layer and smooth into an even layer.
- 4. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes to set. Remove from the pan using the foil overhangs and place on a cutting board. Use a pizza cutter to slice into 16 bars. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
Did you make this recipe?
Leave a review below, then snap a picture and tag @thebrowneyedbaker on Instagram so I can see it!
yummmmyyy :D
http://roxycreations.weebly.com/index.html
hi – i’m slow to find these but they look incredible! any idea how far in advance i can make them? (would wednesday night be ok for friday?)
Hi Dana, Yes, Wednesday night for Friday would be fine!
I know the gluten-free related topic started months ago, but I just had to share my gluten-free variation of this recipe. First, the proportions are perfect, and this was incredibly easy for my daughter and myself to make. Instead of the graham cracker crumbs, We used half a cup of crushed gluten-free Rice Krispies, and a quarter cup of crushed corn chex, and instead of a cup and 3/4 cup of powdered sugar, I went with 2 cups, considering we weren’t getting any sugar from the Krispies and chex like we would have from the graham cracker. They turned out really good! You could probably use lots of different substitutions for the graham crackers, this recipe would be hard to mess up.
what are graham cracker crumbs, and what if you cant get them what can i use instead ( from Australia) that’s why
Hi Joyce, Graham crackers are pretty popular here in the U.S.; to make crumbs you just crush the crackers. I’m not sure if you have crackers/cookies that are similar, but I do have a homemade recipe if you’re interested: https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2012/06/26/homemade-graham-crackers-recipe/
These have been a long standing tradition for my family during the holidays. My dads favorite!
I needed to make a dessert for a party that wasn’t some type of cookie so I went with these, but I added a bottom layer of the sugary crushed-pretzel crust from the Strawberry Pretzel Squares recipe. I wasn’t sure if it would work, but I went for it anyway because I figured you can’t go wrong with a salty-sweet combo, and they were absolutely delicious! Kind of like a homemade Take5 candy bar. I strongly suggest it if you’re considering making these (although I’m sure they’re just as delicious by themselves without any pretzel crust too!) Thanks for the great recipe – I know I’ll be making these again!
Love, love, love this recipe!!! It’s so easy and inexpensive to make. I had every ingredient in my pantry :) I didnt mess with any measurements, followed it to the “T”. It took longer than 30 min. to set (an hour) but it was no big deal. This recipe hit the nail on the head down to the very last crumb. I had a different recipe that required lots more ingredients but this one works sooooo much better. Love that it’s no bake since i live in the desert and it can get pretty hot here. I wouldn’t recommend these for a summer picnic because they do get to even room temp. really fast. I did use a 9X9 pan bc thats what i had but even then the chocolate coating was enough. Im taking these to a potluck today, i found the recipe last night and wanted to get up and make them at 1am lol. Thank you for this recipe, it’s definately a keeper!
I have a question. I’d like to make these gluten-free for a friend’s birthday. What would happen if I left out the graham cracker crumbs? Or what would be a good alternative to graham cracker crumbs (but wheat-free)?
Thanks for any suggestions,
*Raven
Hi Raven, The graham cracker crumbs gives the filling the texture it needs. I wouldn’t leave them out, but you could look for a gluten-free graham cracker alternative and use that. (I’m not familiar with gluten-free foods so I’m not sure what’s out there.)
I made these, and wow, AMAZING!
These are so yummi and such an easy, basic, no-bake recipe! Too good to be true (:
OH MY GOODNESS!!!! I made these last night and I’m in heaven! I don’t eat chocolate so I made these with the peanut butter chips and it made them so rich and divine. Yum, yum, yum and thank you!
I am a HUGE peanut butter/chocolate fan! These are some of the best! Making them again!! Love your recipes!
As soon as I saw this recipe I knew I had to try to make them. To my (pleasant) surprise they turned out just like yours did in the picture! I did notice that once they were out of the fridge (they chilled overnight) they started melting/getting very soft almost immediately. I was thinking of adding more graham cracker crumbs to make it more solid. Any suggestions? Thank you :)
Hi Emily, Were they at room temperature (68-72 degrees)? Or was it significantly warmer in your house? They should not melt at room temperature if they came right out of the refrigerator after chilling overnight. I would hesitate to add more graham crumbs, as it could make the filling dry and crumbly.
I found your recipe via Pinterest and finally got around to making these. They were tasty. I shared the link to them in my blog. I look forward to spending more time here browsing your recipes. Thanks and have a wonderful day!
http://craftsparklepop.blogspot.com/2011/08/recipe-peanut-butter-cup-bars.html
This is the best and easiest dessert – it is my go-to recipe for any party or get-together. I’ve made them at least 6 times in the last few months and they’ve been a huge hit every time!
Made these in a 9×9 pan, didn’t do the foil, but probably should have. They stuck a little. I used semi sweet chips and did about 1 1/2 batches of the chocolate part as 1 didn’t seem like enough to cover adequately. They were delicious and everyone loved them! Thanks much! Will make again!
They complete me.
I LOVE these. I use a milk chocolate/80% dark chocolate mix for the topping. Way better than a reese’s and totally addicting. I made them twice in one week!
Hi Michelle,
I am planning on making these for Easter. I was thinking of taking the peanut butter mixture and forming them into oval or “egg” shapes and then refrigerating for a little while to firm up and then dipping them in chocolate. So I have 2 questions:
1.) Do you think this peanut butter mixture will be ok to do this?
2.) Would you recommend using the same chocolate/butter in this recipe to coat them or should I use your recipe using chocolate and shortening?
Thanks for your help!
Kristin
Hi Kristin,
Love the idea of the peanut butter eggs! I think I would recommend the peanut butter mixture that I use for buckeyes (https://www.browneyedbaker.com/2007/12/18/christmas-baking-buckeyes/) only because I have experience rolling and shaping it, and I haven’t tried that with this filling. I would definitely use the chocolate and shortening mixture to coat. Enjoy!
Hi Michelle,
Thanks for the quick response as I did make these last night. I actually just made them according to your recipe but used the chocolate / shortening to pour on top. I just preferred having a thicker chocolate top. I cut them this morning in the shape of eggs and they came out looking really cute. They are wrapped up good in the freezer now and then on Sunday, I am planning on serving them in my deviled eggs platter and bringing them to Long Island!
I did have to taste test them, (of course) and they are amazing!
Thanks again, Happy Easter!
Kristin
I made these over the weekend and they were incredible!! Thanks again for another amazing recipe! :D
Ummm… amazing! I’ve recently been kind of obsessed with peanut butter and I think I’m going to need to try this recipe out. Might swap out the milk chocolate for dark chocolate – that’ll make it healthy right?!
In your professional opinion, how spreadable is the peanut butter mixture? I want to make a cheesecake that incorporates this, with the bottom layer being something like the base of this: http://www.bakerella.com/cheesecake-bars/ for my best friend’s bridal shower.
I am trying to decide whether to do layers of cheesecake peanutbutter ganache (which would be easier as the cheesecake has to be baked and the peanutbutter/ganache do not), or peanutbutter cheesecake ganache, which could be tricky as I don’t know how the peanut butter would respond to it.
Thank you so much!
Hi Elizabeth, it’s spreadable, but not smooth like a ganache. It’s much thicker and coarser.
It worked out perfectly, I ended up baking the cheesecake and then melting the peanut butter a bit to make it more spreadable. Put it on right out of the oven, and then let it cool. It was perfect!
I finally made these this morning after thinking about them non-stop ever since I read them on your blog. They’re delicious, and so easy to whip up. I love your blog and recipes, and whenever I feel like I need a sweet treat, I always come here.
I used Whole Food’s brand of smooth PB. I love, love, love them so much that I need to give them all away before I eat them! However, the pb part is a bit buttery for my taste, and not salty enough. Next time I might try either less butter, or use salted butter. I came back to see if this was because I used natural PB, but it sounds like a lot of people did.
I made these today with a few changes based on what I had on hand. I used vanilla wafers (leftover from last weekend’s baking project) instead of graham crackers. I also used semi-sweet chocolate instead. They’re chillin’ in the fridge, but I’m sure they will be delicious even with my slight modifications.
I made these over the weekend and they were delish! I wish I took pictures but my camera wasn’t charged and also, these went fast :)
I finally made these today. They were very easy to put together. I used half Valrhona 40% Milk Chocolate and half Ghiradelli 70% Cacao. I also used Kirkland Organic Smooth Peanut Butter.
I am giving them as a gift to hubby tonight with some brownies. I am sure he will love them as he is a big PB fan.
Thanks for the marvelous recipe.
ok I just made a batch of these and they are EVIL!
so tasty!
Thanks for the amazing idea!
love all your recipes. These are awesome: i barely snatched one before they were gone. This time I’ll try it with crushed vanilla wafer or chocolate wafer cookies as the texture is something I’m not overly fond of (yes, heresy….) This afternoon I’m making a hybrid of the espresso cupcakes and dark choc cupcakes with peanut butter icing. Those plus jalapeno popper dip will be my contribution to SB Sunday.
Yum I can already imagine how rich this is!