Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Bars are one of the best treats! You get a chewy oat cookie base that’s loaded with peanut buttery flavor, then it’s topped with a layer of peanut butter after baking and finished with a decadent chocolate frosting. Trust me this is a staple recipe!
The Best Peanut Butter Bars!
These are one of my favorite all time favorite childhood treats. My mom and everyone else I know always made them. They’re just one of those old fashioned classics!
They are perfect for parties because they make a full cookie sheet, and adults and children alike absolutely love them.
I mean, who doesn’t love the chocolate and peanut butter combo, and who doesn’t love cookie bars and frosting?
I made them yesterday and it’s one of those things where I kept going back and cutting off a thin slice, then another, then another and then I woke up for breakfast at it was the first thing I just had to have a taste of.
They really are one of the most tempting desserts you’ll ever make! Try them and you’ll see what I mean.
Peanut Butter Bar Ingredients:
- All-purpose flour – for structure
- Quick oats – for texture
- Baking soda – so the bars rise
- Brown sugar, granulated sugar and powdered sugar – to sweeten
- Salt – to balance the sweetness
- Unsalted butter – to moisten and add richness
- Eggs – to bind
- Creamy peanut butter – to add flavor
- Vanilla – to add another light layer of flavor
- Cocoa powder – to add chocolate flavor to the frosting
- Milk – to thin the frosting
How to Make Peanut Butter Bars:
Even though these have several layers these really are a breeze to make.
- Preheat oven and butter a rimmed baking sheet.
- Whisk together dry ingredients.
- In an electric mixer cream together butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar
- Mix in eggs one a time then blend in peanut butter and vanilla.
- Mix in dry ingredients.
- Spread mixture onto baking sheet.
- Bake until nearly set.
- Cool briefly then dollop over peanut butter, let peanut butter melt then spread.
- Prepare chocolate frosting then pour over peanut butter layer and spread even. Let set.
Tips for this Recipe
- Don’t use crunchy peanut butter or it will throw the recipe off.
- Add peanut butter while cookies are still warm so it melts nicely and sort of absorbs into the cookies a little.
- Be careful not to over-bake these or the edges will be dry. Plus they’ll continue to cook just a little once removed from the oven from the heat of the baking sheet.