Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
One bowl peanut butter chocolate chip bars! Soft and chewy and deliciously decadent served bite size…or warmed up with a little scoop of ice cream.
I really, really, really wish these glorious peanut butter chocolate chip bar cookies weren’t so easy…and so tasty.
Then I wouldn’t feel so bad about posting them the second week of January. But I DID try and warn you. Don’t check back around this time if you’re trying to new year’s resolute on healthy eating and all that.
I have plenty of healthy fare to make up for it the rest of the month, but I also think a little peanut butter and chocolate is good for the soul. Even in January. 🙂
There aren’t really any secrets to divulge about these babies. One bowl, one pan, bake ’em on up.
Your hardest decision is whether to dig in while they are warm and pile on some ice cream. But if you want to go the healthier route, let them cool, cut them into bite-size squares and maybe share a few.
My only recommendation is make sure not to overbake these peanut butter chocolate chip bars! Leave them a little soft and you’ll be very happy.
I haven’t tried using natural peanut butter in this recipe or swapping PB out for another nut butter. But I think you should if you feel so inclined. And also, I think popping some M&M’s on top pre- or post-baking would not be a bad idea at all either.
One Year Ago: Healthy Dark Chocolate Almond Joy Bites
Two Years Ago: Southwestern Chicken Barley Chili
Three Years Ago: Cheesy Black Bean Lasagna
Four Years Ago: Whole Grain Honey Bran Muffins
Five Years Ago: Amazing Spinach Salad with Sweet-Spicy Nuts, Apples, Feta and Bacon
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (170 g) salted butter
- ½ cup (128 g) creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ cups (318 g) packed light brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups (284 g) all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 cups (340 g) chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch metal baking pan with foil (the foil part is optional but helps the bars come out in one big slab after cooling and provides easy clean-up). Spray the foil with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter. Whisk in the peanut butter, eggs, brown sugar and vanilla extract.
- Gently stir in the flour, baking soda and salt until just combined. Add the chocolate chips and stir until no dry streaks remain and the chips are evenly combined.
- Press the dough evenly in the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set in the middle and lightly browned on the edges. Don’t overbake! We’re going for soft and delicious here. Let cool completely in the pan before cutting into squares.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (originally published in my eCookbook that is no longer for sale)
How can you increase the recipe for a 10×15 inch pan?
You could make the recipe as is for thinner bars. Otherwise you’d need to tweak the recipe and increase the ingredients just slightly – I’m not sure exactly by how much since I haven’t tried it.
I made these last weekend and they were a huge hit! I want to make them again as individual cookie bars though, curious if anyone has tried this? I was going to make the dough and use cookie cutters. 🙂
Just commenting to say I made it with Kirkland Signature Natural Peanut Butter and it was AWESOME.
Just finished making these and I loved the way the turned out. They’re the perfect texture, fluffy and gooey! Just what I was craving! I made mine vegan with an egg replacer and it was so simple! Thanks for sharing!
Oh my goodness these are absolutely incredible!! So easy as well! Moist and the perfect balance between chocolate and peanut butter. Thanks Mel! These are addicting haha
iwant a a salsa respie
Your bar recipes are the best! I was so excited when I saw this one had only brown sugar. Awesome recipe!
Delicious!!! So fast and easy + minimal clean up because it’s all in one bowl! Thank you, Mel!
Excellent bar cookie. Very moist, not gummy or heavy, perfect crumb and the peanut butter flavor is just right! A slight variation from the recipe, I did use crunchy peanut butter and added 1/2 cup of finely chopped lightly salted dry roasted peanuts. The bars were a huge hit and will now be a part of my regular rotation of baked goods for the office staff. Thank you for sharing this recipe!
Can these be made in an 8X8 pan by cutting recipe in 1/2?
Yes
Mel, you have done it again! I needed an easy dessert recipe for a funeral dinner. I found these peanut butter bars, and oh my gosh! After making a batch for the funeral dinner, I made a batch for my own family. I can’t stop eating them.
Going to make today. You stated ok to add oatmeal? Making for a future trip. Can they be frozen?
Thank you!
Yes, these freeze great.
Hi Mel! I’m new to your site, but this is the third recipe I’ve tried in two day. Yum! They just came out of the over and smell soooooo good. My only question is, how long does it take for them to cool so I can devour them?!
Hi Shannon – probably about an hour or so!
I made these today with my kiddos and they were delicious! We used natural peanut butter with great results. We cut into 20 bars and swiftly delivered to several neighbors so I didn’t eat the whole pan! My 5 year old immediately asked which of Mel’s recipes we are going to try next!? You’re a favorite around here!
Thanks, Lisa! 🙂
Huge win. Like, sixteen weeks of hard workout effort down the drain for this 9×13 pan! 🙂 #worthit
These are like a perfect giant rectangular cookie and I love that it only took one bowl to make!
I did use crunchy peanut butter because I like to have some texture differences and I did just shy of 9 oz of chocolate chips (well, a mix of mini Reese’s Pieces, dark chocolate and milk chocolate chips– I needed to finish off three different bags) and that was plenty for us, cookie to chocolate ratio-wise.
I baked mine in a glass 9×13 (no foil, just well sprayed) at 325 degrees for 30 minutes and that was perfection (soft in the middle, a light crunch around the outer edges).
So yummy! Thanks for sharing it 🙂
These were amazing! We ate them all within 5 minutes. Thanks for this amazing recipe!
Everyone in my family enjoyed these. My husband who is not a huge peanut butter fan even liked them. We shared them with neighbors and they loved them as well.
I made these for both a potluck and a bake sale. The perfect bar for bake sale bars! Nice that you can mix everything in one bowl and don’t even need to get out the electric mixer, and get a little bit of an arm workout in the process 🙂 I’ve been following your blog for a several years, and your recipes are always my go-to when I want to try something new — I know that it will turn out and be delicious! Thank you!
Thank you so much, Jennifer!
I made these with sunbutter and they turned out great! Thanks Mel!
These are so delicious and decadent! I opted to use the large milk chocolate chips (either Ghiradelli or Guittard–I forgot which one it was) in these and it was a great combination. They cut so perfectly and baked up very evenly. I cooked them for 25 minutes and they were just perfect. Loved them so much and gave a bunch to my brother’s family, who also loved them. Thank you!!!
Thanks for the review, Teresa! So glad you loved them!
Made these for game night last night- I used crunchy peanut butter, 2 c. of milk chocolate chips and about 3/4 c of peanut butter chips because I wanted to boost the peanut butter factor. Kids and husband tried them warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream when they came out of the oven in the afternoon-rave reviews! This recipe is so good, and so easy. Thank you for another delicious addition to the rotation.
Can glass or stoneware pans be used?
Yes, but those types of pans can bake differently so you might try decreasing the oven temp by 25 degrees.
Delicious – and easy to make with a baby strapped to you too!!! (Which is my new recipe requirement these days… lol)
Thanks as always!
Haha, way to go powering through having a child attached! 🙂
Really turned out excellent, Mel! I’m impressed with how light in texture they are (I kind of expected a brick, given how much butter and sugar!). So good and so easy!
I love your recipes Mel! I like how I can adjust them to my dietary needs. This one for me however fell a little short. I thought that they were just, ok. They looked so yummy I was willing to take the pain later for the dairy, gluten, and sugar. It’s a triple threat for me. Maybe it’s because I have a go to peanut butter chocolate chip cookie recipe that’s amazing and I’m used to that one. I would do this one again and try it using ghiradelli milk chocolate chips. I’m sure my kids will still eat them tomorrow in their lunch box though. My husband and 10 yr old son are in love with your focaccia recipe (wejuat aub honey for sugar in that one). And my go to yellow cake is YOUR yellow cake!!!! We love it! I must admit though, I use 2 tbsp vanilla in that recipe and use my own chocolate buttercream, but I don’t know what I’d do without finding that hidden gem! My mother in-law just bought me an IP for Christmas and I’m scared to death of the thing! I’ve never been one for the crock pot, I always liked the way things just come together as you build it … but your IP recipes are actually pulling at my curiosity!!! Thank you❤️
Sorry you didn’t love this one, Nikki!
On a scale of 1 to 10, these are a 13. Easy delicious!
Thanks, David!
LOVE THESE!! They’re basically a peanut butter blondie. Which may be the best thing I’ve ever heard of. Used some milk and some semi-sweet chips and they were perfect! My edges ended up really tall. Any idea as to why? But they didn’t dry out, so it turned out fine!
Do you live at high elevation, Patti?
Just an FYI that I live at high elevation (Denver) and mine ended up tall also.
I wondered if the elevation might be the culprit of the super tall sides. Thanks for checking in on that.
I live in Provo, so yes.
Made these this morning for a family get together. They’re basically a peanut buttery blondie, which is maybe the best thing ever!! My edges were much higher than the rest of the bars once they cooled, but they weren’t hard or dry, which was remarkable. Very delicious and going to make them again for sure!!
I made these twice in the last week, with dark chocolate chips (heaven!). The second time I cut the butter down to 1/2 cup and the brown sugar down to just over 1 cup and they were still decadent and wonderful. I could have a bigger piece if they had less butter and sugar….. Signed – The Rationalizer
Haha. 🙂
Made these today and put half chocolate chips and half butterfinger chunks …. delish!
Yum!
Made this for my coworkers and everyone loved them. I doubled the recipe and used a large sheet pan. I still baked them for only 20 minutes. They were perfectly done and delicious!
So glad they doubled well for a large group!
I made this with the natural peanut butter and it came out glorious! Thank you so much for sharing with us your best!! Love that it was made in a 9×13 size dish…because we’re a family of seven and some other recipes only make enough for an 8×8 dish which, in my opinion, is tragic. Lol.
Glad to hear natural peanut butter worked great!
Made these today- sooooo yummy!!! Thanks Mel! This is my favorite blog!
Thank you so much!
These baked up perfectly! Such a quick and easy recipe and a great alternative to the routine cookie-making!
Thanks, Breanna!
Hi Mel! I was going to give these a try today. One question, do you use salted or unsalted butter? Thanks! Excited to try them!
I always use salted butter. 🙂
Sooooo . . .can I call them breakfast bars if I add in oatmeal?
Haha, of course!
Yum! I love a good bar recipe! I especially like the brownie-esque method of melting the butter first and whisking the wet ingredients in! My girls will be very happy after school today!
“I also think a little peanut butter and chocolate is good for the soul.” I’m with you, Mel! Always!
In the oven now. The primary care department at the VA will be happy tomorrow.
Made these for my kid’s YM and YW combined activity tonight. They were a big hit! I had some mini reeese ‘s pieces so I pressed them into the top of the bars as well as using the chocolate chips. So good!!! Thank you for all your great recipes. You are my go to food blog. I love to cook and you cook very similar to the way I do. I believe we would be great friends if we lived next door to one another. I feel like I know you by just following your blog. Plus I grew up in Montana!
Thanks so much, Jessie!! Love Montana connections. 🙂 And I’m super happy these bars were a hit. Adding mini Reese’s pieces was such a fun/yummy idea!
Mel, is your go to semi sweet or milk chocolate chips for recipes like this that don’t specify?
I always use semisweet (or bittersweet). 🙂
So easy and so good! We loved them!!
Thanks, Sharon!
Can I use parchment paper instead of foil? And why to choose one over the other?
Yes, you can use parchment! I like foil because I can press it into the corners and it covers the whole pan without lifting up.
Stop itI am so making this, at the mo I have a lot of natural peanut butter so I think I’ll use that up and see how it goes, thanks for another fabulous recipe,
Fi
I just made these, and they turned out great. I didn’t read the instructions when making them and didn’t melt the butter, I just used softened butter and creamed it well with the PB. I realized my mistake when I scrolled down to see how long they bake for. They still turned out just fine and I am sure my boys will devour them after school today.
Thanks for the review! Hope your boys love them!
Could you use a glass pan instead of a metal one? I don have a metal pan in this size. Since you specified I wasn’t sure if that made them bake differently.
Hey Amanda – you can but I’d suggest cooking them at 325 instead of 350 degrees since glass pans conduct heat differently and tend to cook the outside edges faster than the middle.
hi , ive heard that this recipe is amazing but i was wondering if i could make this with almond flour as aposed to all purpose flour
I haven’t tried that, but you could experiment, especially if you’ve used almond flour in place of all purpose flour in other baking recipes like this before.
Yum! These are right up my alley, can’t wait to try them! I’ve been having the urge to bake but trying to hold off a bit until more of the holiday candy from grandparents has left the house haha!
Haha, I hear you on that one!
I whipped these up this morning. Can’t wait to dig in!