Easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars that taste just like homemade Reese's peanut butter cups. So amazingly delicious.
If you like recipes with peanut butter and chocolate, you might enjoy trying Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies, Chocolate peanut butter cheesecake bars, or Chocolate peanut butter ritz bars.
These no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars are so close to Reese's peanut butter cups, its crazy.
Crazy, to think I made them in my own kitchen! Had I known I could accomplish this feat, I would have endeavored this many moons ago.
Reese's peanut butter cups have always been at the top of my store-bought candy favorites for as long as I can remember.
As a kid at Easter, I always looked forward (and still do) to the Reese's peanut butter egg above all else. I liked how the peanut butter layer was thicker in the eggs than the normal Reese's peanut butter cups.
These bars are exactly that. More of the peanut butter layer. Just so darn good.
They are so rich that after a small bar, your chocolate craving should subside. This is always a nice feature of desserts, when you don't have to eat a bunch of the item to cure the craving.
These are no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars without graham crackers. For those that love the addition of graham crackers, you might enjoy our Smore's Bar Cookies. These are loaded with graham crackers.
Tips:
- Only use smooth peanut butter, and NOT natural peanut butter. The natural butter varieties have too much oil in them to work with this kind of bar.
- I used butter spray to lightly grease a 6x9 baking dish, as this is the quickest option. You are welcome to use parchment paper or aluminum foil too. I wasn't sure butter spray would be enough to prevent sticking, but it turned out it was sufficient.
No-bake chocolate peanut butter bars
Easy no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars that taste just like homemade Reese's peanut butter cups. So amazingly delicious.
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar (light or dark both work)
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 10 tbsp unsalted butter at room temperature, divided into 2 sets of 5 tbsp
- 1 ½ cups smooth peanut butter
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
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Lightly grease an 8 inch square, 9 inch square, or 6x9 inch baking dish using butter spray, butter or crisco shortening. You can also line the dish with aluminum foil or parchment paper. Set aside.
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In your stand mixer or handheld mixer, cream the brown sugar, powdered sugar, 5 tbsp butter, and peanut butter together, until smooth. This should take several minutes in a stand mixer set to medium. Press the peanut butter mixture into prepared pan, ensuring you fill to the corners.
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In a medium-size microwave-safe bowl, melt the milk chocolate chips and remaining 5 tbsp butter in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds with a spoon. I only needed to cook mine for two sets of 30 seconds.
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Pour melted chocolate/butter mixture over peanut butter layer. Spread out evenly with a spatula.
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Cover dish with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, or until completely firm. I let our's chill overnight, and it was perfect.
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Let the bars sit at room temperature for about 10 minutes to make the cutting easier. I used a small metal spatula to cut and serve and it worked perfectly.
Recipe Notes
Adapted from Culinary Hill.
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