Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Peanut butter cookie bars are thick, buttery, and full of melty chocolate chips. The perimeters flip calmly golden whereas the middle stays smooth and chewy, in order that they’re excellent for potlucks, lunchboxes, and freezing.

Stack of three Peanut Butter Cookie Bars on a plate with a glass of milk and a tray of bars in the background.

Taste: Filled with basic peanut butter and chocolate chip goodness, plus deep caramel notes from the brown sugar.
Why Make It: One-pan peanut butter cookie bars imply no chill time and no scooping required. Simply bake, slice, and serve.
Time-Saving Tip: Line the pan with parchment so you may carry, cool, and slice rapidly.
Serving Recommendations: Nice straight from the pan, barely heat, topped with ice cream, and a drizzle of hot fudge sauce or homemade caramel.

Flour, milk, peanut butter, baking powder, eggs, salt, chocolate chips, brown sugar, granulated sugar, vanilla, butter, and cornstarch to make Peanut Butter Cookie Bars.

Key Elements and Straightforward Swaps

Peanut Butter: Use creamy, shelf-stable peanut butter for constant texture. Pure peanut butter can separate and make bars oily or crumbly.
Brown Sugar: Provides moisture and a chewy texture. Darkish brown sugar provides a deeper caramel taste.
Eggs & Butter: Traditional cookie elements that work collectively to create one of the best taste and texture. It’s okay to make use of margarine rather than butter, however don’t skip the eggs.
Chocolate Chips: Semisweet balances the sweetness. Milk chocolate is sweeter, or combine chips and chunks for additional melty pockets. Mini chocolate chips work nice for extra chocolate in each chunk.

Favourite Variations

Peanut Butter Cup Bars: For extra peanut taste, stir in chopped peanuts for crunch, and substitute the chocolate chips with chopped peanut butter cups.
Salted Caramel Bars: Strive including a drizzle of easy caramel sauce after they cool and sprinkle with some flaky salt earlier than slicing.

For those who love these peanut butter desserts, attempt these peanut butter blossoms.

Peanut butter cookie bars in a 9x13-inch tray on a cooling rack.

Close up of Peanut Butter Cookie Bars cut into squares.

Combine, Unfold, Bake, Slice

Cream collectively the butter, peanut butter, and sugars. Combine within the remaining moist elements (full recipe beneath).
In a medium mixing bowl, mix the dry elements.
Progressively mix the 2, mixing till simply blended. Stir within the milk and fold within the chocolate chips.
Unfold into a good layer and bake till golden.

For excellent squares, let the bars cool fully earlier than slicing.

Stack of three Peanut Butter Cookie Bars on a plate with a bite out of the top one.

Line the pan with a parchment sling so the peanut butter cookie bars carry out simply and slice up properly and cleanly.
Measure the flour utilizing this flour measuring guide and blend till the flour is simply mixed, so the bars keep tender and never dry.
Press the dough firmly into the corners so the sides bake evenly whereas the middle units.
Take the pan out when a toothpick has just a few moist crumbs, press additional chips on high, then chill earlier than slicing for clear cuts.

Room Temp: Retailer in an hermetic container for as much as 4 days. Tuck in a small piece of bread to maintain the cookie bars smooth.
Fridge: Retailer in an hermetic container for as much as 7 days, and allow them to come to room temperature earlier than serving.
Freezer: Freeze sliced bars with parchment between the layers for as much as 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Reheat: Microwave a bar 8 to 12 seconds for melty chips, or heat briefly in a low 300°F oven.

Straightforward Bars and No Bake Treats

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image of Everyday Comfort cookbook by Holly Nilsson of Spend With Pennies plus text

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook dinner Time 35 minutes

Whole Time 50 minutes

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch pan with parchment paper (or calmly grease and flour the pan).
In a big bowl, cream collectively butter, peanut butter, and sugars with a hand mixer till fluffy.
Combine within the egg, yolk, and vanilla extract.
In a medium bowl, whisk collectively flour, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt till properly mixed.
Progressively add the dry combination to the moist combination till it’s fully mixed.
Add milk and stir once more till combination is properly included.
Fold in chocolate chips.
Switch batter to ready pan and use a spatula to unfold it evenly into pan.
Bake for 35-40 minutes or till edges are simply starting to show golden brown and a toothpick inserted within the middle comes out clear or with just a few moist crumbs.
Enable to chill fully earlier than chopping and serving.

Use a parchment sling so the bars carry out simply and slice cleanly.
Combine simply till the flour is mixed to maintain the feel tender.
Press dough firmly into the corners so the sides bake evenly.
Take away when a toothpick exhibits just a few moist crumbs and add some additional chips on high.
Chill earlier than slicing for neat, clear cuts.

Vitamin data offered is an estimate and can fluctuate primarily based on cooking strategies and types of elements used.

Course Dessert, Get together Meals, Snack

Delicacies American

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Recipe up to date 4/19/25