Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are the best no bake treat! They feature decadent layers of peanut butter and graham crackers, chocolate and butterscotch! They're sweet, rich and totally delicious!
Servings: 16 squares
Calories: 262kcal
Equipment
Ingredients
- ½ cup butter salted or unsalted, melted or browned
- 1 cup graham cracker crumbs from about 8 full sheets
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1 cup peanut butter plus 2 tablespoons divided, see instructions below
- ½ cup butterscotch chips optional, or swap in extra chocolate
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips or chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate
- ¼ teaspoon flaky sea salt optional, for topping
Instructions
- Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper leaving an overhang on two sides and set aside.
- Melt the butter. Allow to cool 5-10 minutes before mixing.
- In a medium sized bowl, stir together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs and powdered sugar. Add 1 cup of peanut butter. Stir mixture together and press evenly into the bottom of a pan using your fingers or an offset spatula.
- In a microwave safe bowl, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of peanut butter with the chocolate and butterscotch chips in the microwave using 30 second bursts. Stir well after each interval. Continue until mixture is smooth and melted.
- Pour the chocolate mixture over peanut butter layer and spread evenly with a small offset spatula or the back of a spoon. Top with optional flaky sea salt.
- Cover with plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 1 hour or in the fridge for 2 hours, until firm. Best if served cold straight from the fridge. Use the parchment paper overhang to lift the bars out of the pan and onto a cutting board. Cut into 16-24 small squares using a sharp chef's knife. (The bars are very rich, so cutting them into smaller squares is usually a good idea.)
Video
Notes
Flaky sea salt (optional): Top with about 1/4 teaspoon of flaky sea salt right after spreading the chocolate topping. Flaky sea salt helps balance the sweetness and enhances the chocolate flavor.
Peanut butter: Use a commercial peanut butter such as Jif or Skippy. I usually use creamy, but chunky peanut butter works too. I don't recommend using natural peanut butter for this recipe since it has not been tested with natural peanut butter.
Butter: Use salted or unsalted butter. If using unsalted butter, you can add 1/4 teaspoon to the peanut butter mixture but this is optional. You can melt the butter or brown it for extra flavor. To brown the butter, first melt it in a medium, light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Once melted, stir constantly while it foams and bubbles and deepens in color. Once the butter smells nutty and the bits on the bottom are medium brown, remove from the heat. Immediately pour into a large heatproof mixing bowl. Scrape in all the browned bits
Chocolate chips: Use semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips. You can also use chopped semi-sweet or dark chocolate bars. Use good quality chocolate such as Ghirardelli, Lindt or similar quality.
Butterscotch chips: In place of butterscotch chips, use peanut butter chips or extra chocolate.
Storage: Store leftover bars in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days.
Nutrition
Serving: 1square | Calories: 262kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 178mg | Potassium: 143mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 185IU | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg
