The Best Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Decadent, moist, dense peanut butter bars with a deliciously rich milk chocolate frosting. Plus they are easy to make; what could be better?
I have been in the mood to make cookie bar recipes; specifically, ones that use minimal ingredients and/or are very easy to make. I have a couple that fulfill this category on my roster already (like my 4-Ingredient Chocolate Chip Bars), but I wanted to make more. Not only are they easy, but they are fun and delicious!
This time around, I am going to use pretty much the same ingredients, but I am going to make this a peanut butter & chocolate theme… I know I am not the only person who claims this as their favorite baked goods flavor combo.
So, with a can of sweetened condensed milk, some graham cracker crumbs, a few eggs, and a big heaping cup of creamy peanut butter, these fast and easy bars were in the works rather quickly!
Oh, I also had a bag of mixed peanut butter & milk chocolate morsels (which measures at 1 2/3 cups), which are perfect in going with the peanut butter chocolate theme!
The batter came together as a sticky, heavy batter with grittiness present from the graham cracker crumbs. I could just foresee this being delicious….
I decided to stuff this heavy batter into a 9 inch square pan. These bars would be nice and thick!
As the bars were baking in the oven, I had this novel idea: why don’t I just top the whole thing off with a milk chocolate peanut butter frosting? Why the heck not?
I wanted to use a stovetop frosting, so I could just pour it on top of the bars while they were warm. I tend to lean towards the “cook & pour” method when it comes to frosting treats. This is because you don’t have to wait for the baked goods to cool, so you don’t have to keep waiting to complete it until later. I love to just get a baking project done as soon as possible, not only because I don’t want it hanging over my head later, but I also want to get the dishes and kitchen cleaned up ASAP as well.
The frosting is DELICIOUS by the way… I had to sample it once it was made!
Some time later, after cooling, I finally get a chance to taste the completed project, and this is seriously one of the best things I’ve ever tasted. I couldn’t believe it tasted so good with so few ingredients. It is not lacking in peanut butter flavor, and the texture is super soft and kind of creamy, I guess I would call it a “fudgy” texture. The only reason I didn’t classify them as “brownies” is because they are a peanut butter base, rather than chocolate. The chocolate frosting matched it perfectly. This was super peanut buttery, rich and chocolatey. I could not stop eating it. You really need to try this out!
Recipe:
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INGREDIENTS
BARS:
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 (14oz.) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter
- 3 eggs
- 1 2/3 cups (10oz package) milk chocolate & peanut butter morsels
FROSTING
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1/3 cup half & half
- 3 TBS butter
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- 2 TBS creamy peanut butter
BARS:
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Coat a 9 inch square pan with nonstick cooking spray
- In a large bowl, combine graham cracker crumbs, sweetened condensed milk, peanut butter and eggs, and beat together until thoroughly blended.
- Stir in the milk chocolate & peanut butter morsels.
- Spread into the prepared pan.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes.
- Prepare frosting
- Frost warm bars with hot frosting
- Allow to cool completely before cutting.
FROSTING:
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, whisk together sugar and half & half.
- Add butter, continuing to whisk until butter is melted.
- Once butter is melted, allow mixture to come to a boil.
- Without stirring, boil for 1 minute.
- Remove from heat and immediately add vanilla, chocolate chips and peanut butter.
- Whisk vigorously (be careful not to splash it; it’s hot!) until the frosting is smooth and begins to thicken slightly.
- Immediately pour the hot frosting and evenly spread onto the warm bars.
- The frosting will set as it cools.
- Cool completely before cutting
NOTES:
- I’m sure these would be delicious without the frosting as well, but I really think the frosting makes these even more tasty!
