BEST CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER BARS

MOST HELPFUL REVIEWS

Kids said that these are better than Reese’s! Very tasty. Has anyone tried using just 1 stick of butter successfully? I’ll let you know if it works! UPDATE: I made these with 1 1/2 sticks of butter with equally delicious results. I will update again trying 1 stick…UPDATE #2: Okay, I tried one stick of butter – the taste is still delicious! The only difference is that the peanut butter part is a little more crumbly…doesn’t hold together quite as well…so you decide how much butter you want to use!
These have become an absolute staple in my house! Also, it is my total standard recipe for ‘gotta-bring-something-sweet’ to ‘fill-in-the-blank’. SO easy, SO fast and terrific for satisfying those cravings. I chill the peanut butter base for 15 or 20 minutes before topping with the chocolate so the warm chocolate doesn’t melt into the peanut butter too much, making spots of too thick chocolate and leaving other areas spread too thin!
These were great! I was a little worried because I used natural peanut butter and the bottom layer was really runny when I put it in the pan. I am glad I kept them refrigerated because they do soften quickly at room temperature but all in all, they turned out great. Everyone who tried them loved them and my friend wanted the recipe.

I had hoped to find a review saying they work even with natural peanut butter but couldn’t find one, so now you know! I’m sure they are firmer with regular peanut butter but I’ll save myself the hydrogenated oil! UPDATE: This has become a staple in our house as well as many of our friends. I still prefer natural peanut butter, and I’ve found Skippy Natural works the best, but you can do with other kinds like Laura Scudders, etc. Just keep them in the fridge!

Out of all the chocolate/peanut butter bar recipes on this site, this one to me is the best because it has a good ratio of chocolate layer to peanut butter layer and also is not too sweet to allow the chocolate and peanut butter flavors to shine through. I made a few alterations for my own personal taste as well. I added an extra 1/2 cup peanut butter to the bottom layer mixture. I also used Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet chips and I used the whole 12 oz bag (for 2 cups total). Since I had more chips, I also added 1/4 cup of butter to the chocolate/peanut butter melting mixture.

This helps keep the chocolate layer smooth and spreadable and helps adhesion to the peanut butter layer.
SO GOOD! If you are a peanut butter/chocolate fanatic like me, then you will love this. I followed other reviewers suggestions to make the recipe easier by melting the peanut butter with butter, then mixing with graham crackers and powdered sugar. Also, chill the peanut butter base for 15 minutes before topping with chocolate mixture.

I decreased the butter to 1 1/2 sticks, and used 14 graham crackers, and milk chocolate chips. I used softened butter instead of melted. You really need to pulverize the graham crackers to a fine powder to get the texture of this recipe right (a food processor works great). I used a 7×11 pan so they’d be thicker. Taste just like Reese’s except the filling is a little coarser. Keep these babies in the refrigerator or you’ll have a soft, gooey mess on your hands!
A hit, a major hit. Our guests loved this, we loved this, my children asked me to make it again this week. Since we only have dessert once a week, that is a big compliment! To make mixing easier, I put the pb in the pan with the butter and let it “melt” along with the butter. Then I added both to the graham crackers and powdered sugar. Otherwise, I followed it exactly. Thanks!

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 3/4 cups firmly packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup butter
1/2 cup chopped peanuts
1 cup (6 oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 large egg, beaten
1 (14 oz.) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
1/2 cup Creamy Peanut Butter

DIRECTIONS:

HEAT oven to 350°F. Combine oats, brown sugar, flour, baking powder and baking soda in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles fine crumbs. Stir in peanuts.
RESERVE 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture. Stir egg into remaining crumb mixture. Press onto bottom of 13 x 9-inch baking pan.
BAKE 15 minutes.
STIR together sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter in small bowl until well combined. Pour evenly over partially baked crust …