Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Crunchy, soft, sweet, and salty - these cookie bars seriously taste like a peanut butter cup! Plus they are SO easy to bake.
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These cookie bars seriously taste like a Reese’s peanut butter cup! I’ve always loved peanut butter cookies, and just recently I started adding chocolate chips to mine. Okay okay, I know I’m a little late to that game, but at least I arrived and I’m happy to be here!
Why you’ll love best peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars
If you love chocolate chip cookies and you love peanut butter, these peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars are the perfect union of both savvy flavors! Crunchy peanuts are speckled throughout and chocolate chips add sweetness to the slightly salty bars.
These bars are also very easy to make. You can mix them up in one bowl and bake them in one baking dish. Barely any dishes to wash!
Recipe tips for the best peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars
Do not over bake them. The key to a soft and chewy cookie is to pull them out of the oven as soon as they puff up in the center and turn light golden brown around the edges. The same is true for cookie bars. This is not a secret, but it makes a HUGE difference in the texture of your cookie, and I think it also makes them last a little longer too!
Recipe Variations
If you love the peanut butter and chocolate combo, try adding ½ cup chopped peanut butter cups in place of the peanuts and chocolate chips, or add all three! Who says three’s a crowd anyway?
FAQ
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Cookie bars are actually a bar dessert rather than a cookie. Cookies are shaped or dropped onto a pan in individual serving sizes, while cookie bars are baked in a baking dish as one piece and sliced into individual sized pieces. The flavor outcome is very similar, and I find bar cookies to be even faster and easier than cookies!
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You either have too much flour in the recipe
Your dough will look crumbly and be hard to compact together. Add 1 tablespoon of melted and cooled unsalted butter at a time until until the dough is just able to stick together.
Or you left the pan in the oven too long
Sorry, there is really no way to fix this. The next time you bake this recipe, set a timer and check the bars five minutes early, then you can watch them closely until they are ready - they should be just lightly golden brown around the edges and puffy in the middle.
Helpful Kitchen Tools
8 x 8 inch baking dish
Parchment paper
Spatula
Ingredients
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled slightly
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup roasted and salted peanuts, coarsely chopped (optional)
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (optional)
How to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars
Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking dish with parchment paper.
Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
In a large bowl add granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Add flour and mix until well combined.
Fold in the peanuts and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
Pour the mixture into the parchment lined pan and spread it evenly to each corner. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown and the middle puffs up slightly.
Let cool and set in the pan for about 1 hour or until bars are completely cooled and slice.
How to store peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars
Store peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars at room temperature in an air tight container for up to five days, or store in the refrigerator for up to five days. If stored in the refrigerator, let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes, or pop in the microwave for five to ten seconds to warm to room temperature.
You can also freeze peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars easily. Just place (fully baked and cooled) in an air tight freezer container and store in the freezer for up to three months. Remove from the freezer and place in the refrigerator 24 hours prior to serving.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350℉. Line an 8 x 8 or 9 x 9 baking dish with parchment paper.
- Melt the butter and allow it to cool slightly.
- In a large bowl add granulated sugar, dark brown sugar, baking soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Mix in the peanut butter and egg. Add flour and mix until well combined.
- Fold in the peanuts and chocolate chips until evenly distributed.
- Pour the mixture into the parchment lined pan and spread it evenly to each corner. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges become golden brown and the middle puffs up slightly.
- Let cool and set in the pan for about 1 hour or until bars are completely cooled and slice.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
171Fat
9 gSat. Fat
4 gCarbs
20 gFiber
1 gNet carbs
19 gSugar
12 gProtein
3 gSodium
121 mgCholesterol
19 mg*Nutrition is auto-calculated by recipes generator.
