A creamy peanut butter layer, topped with milk chocolate!
These bars will always remind me of my older brother C.J. Whenever my mom would make these he would be so excited. They are one of his favorites. No wonder he loves Cutlers Peanut Butter Cookies so much! When I made these bars I had to bring my brother a plate. And because today is his birthday, I thought it was only fitting I share this recipe with you.
These bars are much like a Reese’s candy bar. A simple creamy bottom and milk chocolate top. Really easy to make and taste amazing. Cause I’m pretty sure peanut butter and chocolate are one of the best combinations ever! I hope you enjoy these!
*Updated the recipe on 6-28-16*
I added the directions to make these a no-bake treat! And a few tips in the notes.
Creamy Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup ritz crackers, crushed (about 1 sleeve of crackers)
- 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Grease a 9x13 inch pan. Set aside.
- To crush the crackers, place them in a zip top bag, and use a rolling pin to crush. Or you can use a food processor.
- Mix the crackers, peanut butter, butter and powdered sugar together in a medium sized bowl. Once combined, press the mixture into the prepared pan.
- *For no-bake bars, melt the chocolate chips in the microwave according to package directions then spread over the bars. Or you can sprinkle the chocolate chips over the mixture and place in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes. Once the chocolate chips look melted, remove from the oven and spread the chocolate evenly across the bars with a spatula. Let the chocolate set up in the fridge (or freezer if you are impatient like me) then cut into squares and enjoy!
Notes
If the mixture is not thick enough to press into a pan, try adding a bit more powdered sugar. If you use a natural peanut butter you may need to add ½ cup more powdered sugar because natural, no sugar added, peanut butter is not as thick as other peanut butters.
Recipe Source: My Mom 🙂
Here are a few more chocolate & peanut butter recipes:
I didn’t have the time to let these set up, so o just swirled the layers together, and it was delicious! A little like fudge.
that sounds amazing! so glad you enjoyed this recipe! 🙂
I have made these and they’re yummy! Can they go in the freezer?
It’s only of who can eat them and it makes quite a large portion!
Yes, you can half the recipe and use an 8×8 inch pan 🙂
I haven’t tried freezing these. If you do, the chocolate may turn a little white, but I think they would still taste the same. If you try freezing them, let me know what you think. Thanks!
I tried freezing these. They froze really well and after being defrosted the taste and texture is the same ?
Hi Adell, I made these today and the peanut butter mixture wasn’t hard enough to pat into pan..and then I put chips on top at 400 for 5 min they seemed to set alittle but didn’t come out of pan like a bar..I used real butter and I can’t figure out what went wrong? I’ll try again by melting chips in microwave and not in oven the next time around…but if you have any suggestions let me know..
Thankyou!
Heather
If the mixture wouldn’t press into the pan, you can add a little more powdered sugar. What kind of peanut butter did you use? Sometimes the natural (no sugar added) peanut butter is more runny. if so, adding in more powdered sugar should make it thicker and easier to press into the pan. I am going to update the directions to melting the chocolate in the microwave and spreading onto the bars. When you melt in the oven, you still have to spread the chocolate chips out, the oven is just to soften them enough to spread out. Sorry I didn’t explain that. Hope that helps! 🙂
Thankyou for info! I used jiff but I thought I should have added more sugar also! I’ll give u an update when I make them next time..I’m sure by not putting them in oven also will help 🙂
Yeah, this recipe did NOT work at all. The base layer was like mud, even after adding tons of extra powdered sugar and more cracker crumbs.
I am sorry this recipe didn’t work for you! What kind of peanut butter did you use?
I felt there was too much butter so the peanut butter mixture was too loose and didn’t quite set up right. I’m thinking I might cut the butter in half next time
Let us know how that works for you! I am sorry the mixture wasn’t right. You could also try to add more powdered sugar as well.
Loved the recipe. Will try this soon.
Thank you!