Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
These soft and chewy Peanut Butter Cookie Bars come together in only 35 minutes. A homemade dessert that is perfect for the peanut butter lovers!
A RECIPE FOR PEANUT BUTTER LOVERS
These Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are the ultimate indulgence for anybody who loves peanut butter or peanut butter desserts (that’s me!) They’re made with a no-chill-required peanut butter cookie dough packed with Reese’s Pieces for that soft and chewy texture that everyone loves in a cookie bar. They’re simple enough to make and enjoy for a weeknight dessert to follow dinner yet can be fancy enough to bring to bake sales and holiday gatherings. Kinda the perfect secret recipe to have on hand for any quick dessert needs.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
Yes, but the texture of the bars will obviously be slightly different, with bits of peanut from the crunchy peanut butter.
Absolutely! You can use chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, M&M’s, or a combination of your favorite candies. Feel free to see what you have in the cabinets and give these cookie bars some new flavors and textures.
The edges of these Cookie Peanut Butter Bars should be set and lightly golden, and the center may look slightly underbaked. The bars will continue to firm up as they cool.
You can use a 9×9-inch pan, but the bars will be thicker, and the baking time will need to be adjusted. Start checking around 30-35 minutes.
Parchment paper is recommended to remove the bars from the pan easily, but you can grease the pan well with butter or nonstick spray if you don’t have parchment.
Over baking is the most common cause of dry bars. First, make sure you are baking on the middle rack. Too low and they may bake too slowly and too high and they make bake way too quickly. Be sure to check for doneness around the 25-minute mark, as oven temperatures can vary. It’s true! Unless you have an oven thermometer inside your oven, most ovens (even new ones) are not accurately measuring temperature. The bars should be golden brown around the edges and slightly underbaked in the middle. The bars will continue to bake as they cool in the pan.
Or you used too much flour. Over measuring flour is a guaranteed way to end up with dry homemade baked goods. Most folks do not own a kitchen scale so the best way to accurately measure flour is by using the spoon and level method. Spoon the flour from the flour bag or jar into your measuring cup. Do not pack it in! When it has created a mound over the top, take the flat end of a butter knife and scoop off the excess.
You can store the cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days.
You can freeze the cookie bars for up to three months. Then just thaw at room temperature before enjoying.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED: (SEE RECIPE CARD BELOW FOR THE FULL RECIPE)
- creamy peanut butter– When choosing which peanut butter to use, do not use natural peanut butter for this recipe. The bars will not turn out properly. Natural peanut butter (the kind with oil separation) can make the bars too oily or dense. Stick with traditional creamy peanut butter for best results.
- unsalted butter – if you only have salted butter, you can use that. Just skip the additional salt in this recipe.
- light brown sugar – light brown sugar is one of the only ingredients you want to pack into your measuring cup.
- granulated sugar
- large eggs – if you have time, allow the eggs to come to room temperature. It helps them mix into the batter much easier.
- vanilla extract
- baking soda
- salt
- all-purpose flour – see my tips above for making sure you don’t overmeasure your flour. It’s under the question “Why are my bars dry and crumbly?”
- Reese’s Pieces
HOW TO MAKE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS
Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal. In a large mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter, melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth.
Add the eggs and vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the top of the mixture and stir to combine.
Gradually mix in the flour until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
Fold in 1 cup of the Reese’s Pieces.
Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup of Reese’s Pieces over the top and press them gently into the dough.
Bake on the middle oven rack for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set and lightly golden. The center may look slightly underbaked but will set as it cools. Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan before slicing into bars.
CRAVING MORE RECIPES?
Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- ¾ cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
- 1 ¼ cups packed light brown sugar
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ½ cups Reese’s Pieces (divided use)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F degrees. Line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang for easy removal.
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled, 1 1/4 cups packed light brown sugar and 3/4 cup granulated sugar until smooth.
- Add 2 large eggs and 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and mix until just combined.
- Sprinkle 1 teaspoon baking soda and 1/2 teaspoon salt over the top of the mixture and stir to combine.
- Gradually mix in 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour until just incorporated. Do not overmix.
- Fold in 1 cup of Reese's Pieces.
- Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Sprinkle the remaining 1/2 cup Reese's Pieces over the top and press them gently into the dough.
- Bake on the middle oven rack for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are set and lightly golden. The center may look slightly underbaked but will set as it cools.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely in the pan before slicing into bars.
Notes
- Please refer to my FAQ’s (Frequently Asked Questions) and ingredient list above for other substitutions or for the answers to the most common questions.
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
“The Country Cook” is not a dietician or nutritionist, and any nutritional information shared is an estimate. If calorie count and other nutritional values are important to you, we recommend running the ingredients through whichever online nutritional calculator you prefer. Calories and other nutritional values can vary quite a bit depending on which brands were used.
Delicious. We will be making these again for sure.
Yummy but I love peanut butter and pecans instead of Reece’s