I guess I am just in a peanut butter mood this week! First I made spicy peanut noodles and then I decided I wanted to make some kind of no-bake peanut butter bars. And I'm the boss of me, so I did.
Actually, I also hosted Friendsgiving this week at the office. If you haven't been reading since last year, Friendsgiving is an annual tradition we have here at ABM. It's a friend or office Thanksgiving. It's my favorite event every year because it's basically a cooking marathon, which is fun! If I had to do it every week it probably wouldn't be as fun, but hosting a giant dinner party is such a pleasure for me.
Anyway, one item I had planned was a chocolate pie. I had practiced it before and it was great. Then I went to make it the day before Friendsgiving and I decided to try a slightly different cooking/baking method, and it was an EPIC FAIL. And I didn't have time to make another. I had another dessert planned, but it didn't feed everyone, so I ended up also serving these peanut butter cup bars since they were in the freezer. Life saver.
So not only are these delicious (think giant peanut butter cups!), they also are awesome to have in your freezer, ready for unexpected company or when a planned dessert goes terribly wrong. ๐
I realize this is also dangerous advice, as you could end up just systematically eating them all over the course of a week. Not that anyone would ever do something like that (wink).
Peanut Butter Cup Bars, makes nine (8" x 8" square pan).
3/4 cup peanut butter
1 1/2 cups graham crackers, crushed
1/4 cup chopped peanuts
1 1/2 cups powdered (confectioners) sugar
3/4 cup butter, melted and cooled
1 cup chocolate chips (dark or semi-sweet)
1/2 tablespoon canola or vegetable oil
1 cup chopped peanut butter cups
In a bowl stir together the first five ingredients listed. Butter a square baking dish and press the peanut butter batter into the pan.
In a microwave safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and oil. Melt on high for 30 seconds, stir, then melt for another 30 seconds. If needed you can melt it for an additional 15-30 seconds. Pour the melted chocolate over the top and spread to the edges of the pan. Sprinkle on the chopped peanut butter cups.
Cover and freeze for 30 minutes to an hour (or overnight). Once hardened cut into squares. You can serve these right away or wrap each bar and store in the freezer.
I'm not positive how long these will last in the freezer if wrapped. We ate all of our ours within two days, but I bet these would store well for months if kept frozen. These are quite rich, but I still think they go well with vanilla ice cream. Just saying. Enjoy! xo. Emma
Credits // Author and Photography: Emma Chapman. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.
58 Comments
My boyfriend would go nuts if he saw this! I love the chocolate and peanut butter flavor combo, but he goes bananas for it. I know what I’m making him for his birthday…
Cat
http://oddlylovely.com
did you go into my brain and pinpoint all the recipes that make me drool?! seriously! from the butternut squash mac, to the nutella hot chocolate and spicy peanut noodles to THIS! you are kind of my food soulmate. thank you for posting and for reading my mind ๐
Haha, I second this! Emma, you have been killing it on the recipes lately. Seriously, these are some of my favorites on ABM yet. I’m making that spicy peanut noodle recipe this week for sure.
Cat
http://oddlylovely.com
YES PLEASE!! Love peanut butter EVERYTHING & these looks SO. GOOD.
~Sacha
This looks so good!
Fashion latte with vanilla
OMG EMMA! These look incredible! I may or may not have drooled a bit at my desk… http://bravefelicity.blogspot.com/
I’m a sucker for all thinks peanut butter and chocolate! These look fantastic! I can’t wait to try them out!
Yum! Dumb question – do you eat them frozen or let them thaw before serving?
I’d consider this a festive dessert, as it is orange and brown after all ๐ YUM! -Audrey | Brunch at Audrey’s
Peanut butter cups are my FAVE!!! This might have to be my birthday cake next year.
This. Looks. Gorgeous!!!! I just want to bake them on the weekend, I think my family will enjoy it ๐
-Maybritt
These look delicious!!!
Hi Amy! Not dumb at all! You’ll want to eat them with they are thawed out. ๐ -Jacki
Looks delicious!! Is the 3/4 cup peanut butter, melted and cooled just a duplicate ingredient? Is it supposed to be butter, maybe?
These look so amazing! Thank you for sharing – I love how the cups poke out the top.
Warm Regards,
Alexandra
http://www.littlewildheart.com
Am I being daft or is there an extra amount of peanut butter in the recipe that doesn’t get allocated in the method?! Is this a typo or does a second load of peanut butter go somewhere?
I’m in the UK… Would the best Graham cracker substitute be our digestive biscuits?
Hi Holly! The second one should be butter. Sorry about that! We fixed the post. You might Google the best substitute for graham crackers just to be sure. ๐ -Jacki
Hi Kristen! It should be butter. We fixed the typo! Thanks for letting us know ๐ -Jacki
For once I’m glad the kid is allergic to peanuts so I won’t be tempted to make these, and eat them all!
hi these look amazing and i will make them for the rest of my life.
xoxo
e
emmyjake
“And I’m the boss of me, so I did.” You and your husband have the best writing styles. All of your posts always me a little (sometimes a lot) giggle. Thank you!
OH EM GEE these look amazing! Peanut butter cups are my all time fave, I’m definitely trying your recipe…like right now.
Looks super good.
As a diehard Reese’s fan, this recipe is torturously tempting. However, I would probably eat the entire pan and still want more so. It could be dangerous.
Hi ABM! This looks amazing and I def want to try it out. But what am I supposed to do with the butter? Mix with the first four ingredients? Thanks!
Looks delicious & easy! Is it supposed to say mix together first five ingredients, rather than four? Otherwise the butter isn’t used.
Hi Virginia! It should say mix together the first 5 ingredients. We fixed the typo ๐ -Jacki
Hi Elizabeth! It should say mix together the first 5 ingredients. We fixed the typo ๐ -Jacki
this just made my day. reeses are my favorite. in bar form? heavenly.
xoxo, kiely
these look perfect! and they look so easy to make! plus, who doesn’t love chocolate and peanut butter?
i wish i could of done friendsgiving this year, but our canadian thanksgiving has already passed.
YUMMMMMMMMMM!! Looks soo good!
http://talisatalksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/11/asos-wishlist-diy-starbucks-pumpkin.html
LOL…I quickly clicked to see what the latest, greatest topic is and misread the headline. I thought it said “Peanut Butter Cup BRAS”.
Hey, you’re always at least on the cutting edge (and usually beyond), so, for a brief second, it didn’t surprise me! ๐
Aww fab, thanks team ABM! I want to have a go! ๐ Can you tell I was getting my recipe notes down, haha!
Good God, these look incredible. I want to make them right this second! I will for sure give them ago; they don’t sound too challenging so I should be fine!
http:\alovetriangle.weebly.com
https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/ALoveTriangle
Brilliant.
god this seems so good! <3 I should try this! and yes bad advice because I will eat them all lol
http://itshalo.blogspot.com/
Darn! I just finished making it…before you made the change! I was wondering what to do with the extra melted PB. I added it to the first four ingredients and it’s just yucky. Oh well. This explains why it didn’t look anything like the picture and is just a bunch of crumbs and way too peanut buttery. Fingers crossed that it will be edible after hardening up in the freezer!
Oh no! I’m so sorry about that! I bet it will still taste good ๐ -Jacki
This just melted my heart! I love reeses and this looks like it would be my favorite dessert! Soo much for my diet but I need to try this tomorrow! Thank you soooo much for sharing!
http://www.passionandparanoia.com
This just melted my heart! I love reeses and this looks like it would be my favorite dessert! Soo much for my diet but I need to try this tomorrow! Thank you soooo much for sharing!
http://www.passionandparanoia.com
Ha Ha! I think that’s illegal ๐
This is magical! Thank you for sharing!
THIS LOOKS AMAZING!!!!! All of my favorite things!!! YASSSS!
It looks pretty delicious!
I’m going to try this
thanks for the idea n_n
These look awesome! I still have peanut butter cups that are left over from Halloween so this will be perfect!
Goodness me, Emma. You’re going to make me fat!!! Lol. All your recipes always turn out so delicious. I can’t stop trying them all (or almost! ah!).
http://xfallenmoon.blogspot.ca/
Wow this looks delicious! I wish I liked chocolate
http://touchofcollege.blogspot.com/
My mouth is salivating as we speak! Looks so good!
I’m not usually a fan of peanut butter but I have to say… these look very tempting!
Yum yum yum!!! They look delicious and easy to prepare, my kind of dessert ๐
xx,
E.
http://www.theslowpace.com
These look so absolutely delicious!!
O.M.G. this looks so good!!
xx nikki
http://www.dream-in-neon.com
This looks delicious!!! I will try this at home and btw , I am you 667 like in bloglovinโฆI could’t see the ugly number there. I’m superstitious like that lol.
xo
Mysmallwardrobe.com
I don’t think anyone will ever love this recipe more than me! I have a feeling, I will be making these more often than I should. Thanks and Happy Thursday, Emma ๐
Oh my goodness, these look phenomenal! I really want to try these!
Beauty and Lifestyle Blog
xx
Wow this looks delicious! Definitely making this!! ๐
Jessica
the.pyreflies.org
I am loving these bars. I think I would eat the whole pan. I cannot think of anything better than peanut butter and chocolate.
I made four different batches of this (two for a work Thanksgiving potluck, one for my mom’s Thanksgiving and one for my dad’s) and loved it EVERY SINGLE TIME. This dessert is awesome. I even blogged about it. It’s especially great for folks who don’t do a lot of cooking or whose ovens aren’t very good at their job anymore. It would be great with milk.