For a handful of years, I hosted a cookie party at my house every December. The concept being that each guest brings along with them a batch of their favorite cookie to share and an empty storage container. At the end of the night, you fill your container with cookies and go on your merry way, as you now have a festive assortment to assemble your holiday cookie tray while only having to bake a single batch. Score.
Being the known baker of the group, I’m not going to lie that I didn’t look forward to the oohs and aahs of my yearly contribution. But one year, my friend ended up stealing the show with these peanut butter chocolate bars. Everyone was talking about them.
Damn you, Rachael!
She did, however, share the recipe with me, so all is forgiven.
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The OG No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cooling Time: 45 minutes
- Cook Time: 15 minutes
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 24 bars 1x
- Category: Bars
- Method: No-Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
These no-bake bars are easy and quick to make, but do require chilling time.
Ingredients
For the Peanut Butter layer:
- 2 sticks unsalted butter, melted (1 cup, 8 oz)
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (256 g)
- 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted (240 g)
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs (200 g)
- ¼ tsp fine-grain salt, like table or sea salt
For the Chocolate topping:
- One 12oz bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter (64 g)
Instructions
For the Peanut Butter layer:
- Line a jelly roll or 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and peanut butter until smooth. Sift in the powdered sugar, then add in the graham cracker crumbs and stir until fully combined. Press evenly into the prepared pan and let chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 30 minutes.
For the Chocolate topping:
- To make the topping, melt together the chocolate chips and peanut butter (either in the microwave in 30-second bursts or on the stovetop over medium heat, stirring frequently). Once melted and smooth, spread evenly on top of the chilled peanut butter layer and refrigerate until set, about another 15 minutes.
- Slice into serving-size bars and store in an airtight container. Depending on how warm your house is (and the season you're making these), you may want to store in the fridge as the peanut butter layer can be a little delicate.
Notes
- I find that a jelly roll pan (10 x 15 x 1-inch) provides my preferred peanut butter-to-chocolate ratio. But if unavailable, a 9x13 pan is only slightly smaller (and thus makes the bars a smidge thicker) and still results in an equally delicious ratio.
- This recipe works best with a standard grocery store (i.e. not 100% natural) peanut butter, like Jif or Skippy. I do use, though, the "natural" Skippy with perfect results.
- Sifting powdered sugar is admittedly a bit of a hassle, but it does help everything blend together more evenly. Otherwise, you're likely to have visible white pebbles in the peanut butter layer - if that's the type of thing that would bother you.
- You're welcome to process whole graham crackers into crumbs, but for the most consistent texture (and ease!) I just purchase a box of graham cracker crumbs.
- I'm usually a dark chocolate girl, but for true nostalgic flavor, the classic Nestle Toll House Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips work best here.
Keywords: chocolate peanut butter recipes, peanut butter chocolate recipes, no bake recipes, holiday cookies, holiday cookie recipes, holiday cookie tray
Ingrid
These are delicious! My favorite from this recipe site so far. They have a really great soft/creamy but firm texture and the peanut butter to chocolate ratio was perfect. We had to hide them in the downstairs freezer to slow us down! I’ll definitely be making these for Christmas this year!
★★★★★
Sarah Marx Feldner
LOL - I love the hiding spot, Ingrid. SO happy these bars were a hit for you! ❤️
Sarah
These are childhood memories in a bar. Sarah's recipes are easy to follow and always a hit with my family. My nephew requests these as payment for pet-sitting as well.
★★★★★
Sarah Marx Feldner
I love everything about this comment! ❤️ ❤️ ❤️