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No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Thanks for sharing!

Peanut butter, graham crackers and chocolate come together in these fun no bake peanut butter bars. They are sure to get rave reviews everywhere you take them.  Luckily they only take 6 ingredients and a few minutes to put together, so the are a perfect easy dessert.

Stack of peanut butter bars topped with chocolate topping and chopped peanut butter cups.

Layers of peanut butter and chocolate no bake goodness come together in this easy to make treat.  They are like buckeye bars with graham crackers for a lovely texture and amazing flavor.

I wouldn’t blame you if you start keeping some in your fridge at all times.  Not. One. Bit. 

So go ahead and whip some up, just don’t say I didn’t warn you how good they would be!

Ingredients: creamy peanut butter, powdered sugar, graham cracker crumbs, butter, vanilla, chocolate chips and peanut butter cups ready to be made into peanut butter bars.

Our love story with these deliciously easy treats started in the summer of 2016.  We were at my aunt and uncle’s for a summer BBQ.  

My cousin Emily is known for her cupcakes and sweets, so she was the dessert committee and her parents handled dinner. She pulled out an old favorite recipe of hers, these buckeye bars, and when she served them everyone gobbled them right up.

Now our affinity for chocolate and peanut butter is well documented. Whether they appear together in ice cream or sheet cakes, we love it all!

So it shouldn’t strike you as a giant surprise when you hear that we were immediately drawn to these over the other offerings.  In fact, my husband kept going back for more.

Apparently everyone took notice because they sent him home with a plate of them. It was one of those take these to save us from eating them deals, the kind I do all of the time.

Now sometimes he will have satisfied his sweet tooth for the month on his first binge and then the rest sits around until little dude and I eat it or I find it in the garage a month later and throw it away.

That was not the case with these.  No way! They quickly disappeared.

So of course I had to get the recipe. But then the weather cooled off and it seemed like the summer was the right time to share a quick, easy, no-bake treat like these.  Finally the time seemed right and I whipped up a batch.

Finished pan of peanut butter bars topped with chocolate and chopped peanut butter cups.

You guys, these are so easy, like dangerously easy. They are also so good, definitely dangerously good! They only take a few minutes to make.

In the heat of summer, I would recommend letting them firm up in the refrigerator for a bit before slicing. But that is the hardest part, the waiting!

Of course we shared these at a family dinner. My husband again helped himself to two big hunks. Then we brought some to share at his mom’s where they got rave reviews.

Stack of peanut butter bars topped with chocolate and peanut butter cups.

I sent the rest out to the garage refrigerator to keep myself from eating them. My husband was nice enough to share with a buddy who put them in his top three desserts of all time! Now that’s really saying something!

If you love peanut butter and chocolate treats as much as we do, these are a perfect treat.  What are your favorite chocolate and peanut butter recipes?

Tip for cutting nice bars

I find it easiest to cut these bars when the chocolate topping isn’t super cold. So I like to let it set at room temperature, then cut the bars.

After the bars are cut, put them in the refrigerator to set completely. They are easiest to serve cold.

Hand holding peanut butter bar with chocolate topping, ready to eat.

They taste amazing cold or at room temperature. They will get soft in warm weather.

Don’t worry though, they will still taste amazing. You just might have to lick the extra chocolate off of your fingers!

More great no bake peanut butter chocolate treats

If you like these, you are going to love buckeyes. They are on of our favorite Christmas treats, but there is no reason you can’t make them year round!

Or try chocolate peanut butter bites for a crunchier treat. The filling goes between two pretzels and the whole thing is dunked in delicious chocolate.

No bake oatmeal cookies are another great option. They come together in a just a few minutes and they are loaded with this tasty flavor combination.

Love this recipe? Give it a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ review in the recipe card below!

Yield: 24 Servings

No Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Stack of peanut butter bars topped with chocolate topping and chopped peanut butter cups.

No bake peanut butter bars are basically like buckeye bars, but with graham cracker crumbs mixed in. They taste amazing and are really easy to make. They may just become your new favorite no-bake bar!

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 5 minutes
Total Time 15 minutes

Ingredients

  • 2 cups creamy peanut butter, divided
  • 3/4 cup salted butter, softened
  • 2 cups powdered sugar
  • 3 cups graham cracker crumbs (about 1.5 sleeves)
  • 1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • optional: 12 mini peanut butter cups, chopped

Instructions

  1. In a large mixing bowl, beat room temperature butter until smooth. Add 1 1/2 cups of the peanut butter and mix until combined.
  2. Stir in the powdered sugar and vanilla.
  3. Add the graham cracker crumbs and mix until uniform. The mixture will be a little bit crumbly.
  4. Dump the peanut butter mixture into a lightly greased 9×13 pan and press to form a cohesive layer of peanut butter.
  5. Put remaining 1/2 cup of peanut butter and chocolate chips in a medium glass bowl. Microwave on high in 30 second increments until you can stir the mixture smooth.
  6. Once the chocolate mixture is melted and smooth, spread over the peanut butter layer. Top with chopped peanut butter cups if desired and refrigerate until set.
  7. They are the easiest to cut and serve while still slightly chilled, but taste best at room temperature. They will get soft in the summer heat but still taste amazing!

Notes

We use salted butter for these bars. If you use unsalted, you may want to add a pinch of salt or even a heavy pinch if you like more salt in you sweet and salty treats.

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Nutrition Information:

Yield:

24

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 320Total Fat: 21gSaturated Fat: 8gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 11gCholesterol: 15mgSodium: 204mgCarbohydrates: 30gFiber: 2gSugar: 20gProtein: 6g

All nutritional information is estimated and will depend on the exact ingredients you use.

Did you make this recipe?

I'd love to see it! Share a picture on Instagram or Pinterest and tag me @carleecooks to let me know how it went!

Peanut butter, graham crackers and chocolate come together in these fun no bake peanut butter bars. They are sure to get rave reviews everywhere you take them.  Luckily they only take 6 ingredients and a few minutes to put together, so the are a perfect easy dessert.

Thanks for sharing!

Andrea Nine

Monday 22nd of March 2021

Oh Yes! My entire family and myself are going to need these yummies!!!!

Big Rigs 'n Lil' Cookies

Friday 11th of August 2017

One of my all time favorite treats!

Carlee

Saturday 12th of August 2017

Mine too! We could probably live on these alone and be perfectly happy ;-)

Carlee

Monday 7th of August 2017

It's never too early! Besides no bake is perfect for this heat!

Debra

Sunday 6th of August 2017

I love the flavors of chocolate and peanut butter together. Plus it is an easy recipe so how can you go wrong?

Carlee

Monday 7th of August 2017

Easy and delicious is always a winning combination (just like chocolate and peanut butter!) Thanks, Debra!

Beverly @Across the Blvd

Saturday 5th of August 2017

It's hard to beat a combination of chocolate and peanut butter! These bars look delicious. I can see why they go fast when served! Thanks for sharing at Snickerdoodle, Carlee! This is the Most Clicked Feature at today's party. It's featured in our party email and all of the co-hosts will be featuring it.

Carlee

Monday 7th of August 2017

I agree completely! Chocolate and peanut butter belong together. Thank you so much for the feature and the party!

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