No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are a yummy dessert to make all year round. They are easy to make and taste delicious!
Here’s a moment of truth for you.
I had my first ever peanut butter cup in March of this year. Idk. They always kind of freaked me out.
It wasn’t even a Reese’s. It was from Justin’s. And then I tried a Reese’s one and now I know why my husband is so obsessed with them.
So obviously I had to find a way to get my chocolate peanut butter fix if we just happen to run out of the actual peanut butter cups 😉
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
There’s a sweet chocolate layer, a peanut-buttery peanut butter layer (I know, this is the best phrase you’ve read all day) – and they’re EASY to make!
Even Hot Mess Proof if you buy graham cracker crumbs vs crushing your own, shhh, I won’t tell anyone, sometimes a small shortcut saves the day.
They are kind of like a peanut butter cup with extra peanut butter filling. The no bake version of one of the best treats ever – Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies. And if you overdo it one night with these, you can always have a healthy start to your morning with a bowl of Healthy Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Granola…
Ahem.
I first went off a recipe I found in my grandma’s stack of magazine and back-of-carton clippings, but it was very 1970ies ? so I tweaked it a little and I think now it’s perfect.
How do you make peanut butter bars?
Making no bake peanut butter bars is so easy!
The peanut butter layer is a melt-and-mix kind of deal, and the chocolate layer is… Well, too.
Prep time is pretty much 10 minutes, and then they just need to be chilled. I make them when I feel like I need a dessert bar, but I don’t want to put in the extra work my No Bake Millionaire’s Shortbread asks for (it’s not a lot of extra work, but hey – I haven’t slept through the night in 4.5 years ?).
Here are my top tips:
- Make sure to use icing sugar: Don’t substitute granulated sugar, or your bars will have a gritty crunch to them. That’s nice on molasses cookies, but not so much in a creamy peanut butter bar.
- Use melting chocolate: Make sure to use melting chocolate chips! I once made the mistake of using chocolate that wasn’t for melting, and it just turned into one big, seized-up ball.
- Allow the bars to soften a little before slicing: Once the bars are chilled, they’ll be very firm. Slicing is a lot easier if you leave them out on the counter for 10 minutes!
How to store Peanut Butter Bars:
- Fridge: Pack the bars in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to a week.
- Freezer: If you want to freeze these bars for longer, pack them in a container suitable for freezing and label them with the name and use-by date (freeze for up to 3 months). Leave them on the counter for 10 minutes to soften before eating.
Customize the bars:
- Prefer all-natural peanut butter? The recipe still works OK, but the bars need to be kept in the freezer. The natural peanut butter is a lot runnier and the bars get very sticky if they’re not frozen.
- Want thinner bars? My husband actually prefers a thinner bar, so I make them in a 9×9 inch pan. Use an 8×8 inch pan for thicker bars.
Grab the printable recipe here:
Printable recipe
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Recipe details
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter Layer
- ½ cup melted butter
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- ¾ cup smooth peanut butter
For the Chocolate Layer
- 1 cup semi-sweet melting chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang.
- Stir together all ingredients for the peanut butter layer and spread in the prepared pan. Place in the freezer for 5 minutes.
- In the meantime, melt the chocolate. Stir in the butter and pour over the peanut butter layer.
- Chill the bars in the fridge until completely cooled and firm, about 4 hours. Leave them on the counter for 10 minutes before slicing them into bars.
Abby says
Thank you for responding….
Well I put it in the oven thinking maybe that might help.. sorta like a graham cracker crust… NOPE DON’T DO THAT .. it’s like hard gritty sand
LOL… I’m going to try it again today…
thank you again and good wishes for a wonderful Christmas & congrats on your pregnancy !
Nora says
Abby, you are being way too nice about this, thank you so much for being so understanding! Hope they turn out better this time ? Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Abby says
I’m in the middle of making these and it’s just soupy… as soon as I started mixing I realized there was way too much butter so I took out some but still ended up using nearly the whole box of graham cracker crumbs.. which of course made it very gritty… at this point not sure how to save it. anyone else have this problem ?? Any suggestions ? Thanks
Nora says
Oh my word Abby, I’m SO sorry!! I just went back to my recipe notes and I absolutely made a mistake when I typed up the recipe. I tried several different versions and somehow I messed it up when I typed the final version. I always triple check I have it right, but apparently I need to have my husband check again for me now that I’m pregnant.
So, so, so sorry!! You’re right, it’s too much butter, it’s actually 1/2 cup. The 1 cup butter is from a version I tried with 2 cups of powdered sugar, which ended up too sweet for my taste. If you still have the mix, you could try adding more powdered sugar to firm it up.
Again, I’m so sorry! This is super embarrassing ?
Abby says
these sound perfect… I want to put them on my cookie trays for gifts.. I have regular chocolate chips would those be ok or do I have to buy the melting wafers ??
Nora says
Hi Abby, I’m pretty sure you’ll have to buy melting wafers, regular chocolate chips are meant to be stable during baking and don’t melt as well. Hope you’ll like these!