These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars taste like Reece’s peanut butter cups! A soft peanut butter biscuit base topped with a peanut butter flavoured chocolate, all you need are 5 ingredients: biscuits, butter, chocolate, peanut butter and sugar.
This is the ultimate emergency sweet-treat!
NO BAKE Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
When it comes to sweet treats, these No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are probably what I make the most often because it’s so quick to pull together, no bake, and WHO DOESN’T LOVE PEANUT BUTTER CUPS???
Plus, I almost always have everything I need to make these. Even though biscuits aren’t part of my weekly shop, usually if I dig deep into the giant baskets into which I toss everything that doesn’t have an obvious dedicated position in the pantry, then usually I’ll find some sort of biscuit suitable to use.
A month past the due by date, perhaps. Pffff! That’s fine. Everyone knows that the used by date for things like dried goods are conservative. Right? 😜
And actually, here’s proof of how frequently I make these: I just realised as I was pulling together the photos for this post how they don’t fit together like a set, and it’s because I shot them all on different days.
The photos you see in this post are from 3 different batches where I snapped a quick photo thinking hmm, I really should re-publish these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe with a video soon, and finally I got my butt into gear and actually did it.
Albeit I’ve ended up with a weird set of photos from three different days. Four actually – because the step photos were taken while making the recipe video! 🙈
This Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe truly is pure gold. It was given to me by a reader, the lovely Dorothy from Tennessee, way back when I started this blog. It’s only 5 ingredients – crackers, peanut butter, chocolate, icing sugar (confectionary sugar) and butter. That’s it.
And it’s NO BAKE. Waiting for it to set is the hardest part of this recipe.
I usually approach “5 ingredient” recipes with caution. I find that many “5 Ingredient” recipes I see usually include a store bought sauce or similar. Like 5 ingredient BBQ chicken which includes a “bottle of your favourite barbecue sauce”.
When I see recipes like that, I instantly think that’s cheating!! 😂
Please don’t ask me why in my twisted mind, this counts as a 5 ingredient recipe “made from scratch” even though it is made using crackers. It just is.
#FemaleLogic
– Nagi x
For the Peanut Butter Obsessed
-
Peanut Butter Caramel Pie – dangerously easy, outrageously decadent
-
3 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies – just 3 ingredients!
More irresistible bars and slices
-
Brownies!! AND Salted Caramel Stuffed Brownies – ooh la la!
-
Caramel Slice (aka Millionaire’s Bar!) – the great Aussie favourite!
-
Strawberry Bars – made with tons of fresh strawberries!
-
Easiest Ever Raspberries Jam Bars and Lemon Bars
And more emergency sweet treats – 3 Ingredient Desserts!!
-
1 ingredient Dulce de Leche – Slow Cooker Caramel
-
Classic Scones – and faster Lemonade Scones – both 3 ingredients!
WATCH HOW TO MAKE IT
Sometimes it helps to have a visual so watch me make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars!
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5 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (NO BAKE!)
Ingredients
Base
- 115g / 1/2 cup / 1 US stick melted salted butter (or unsalted butter + 1/4 tsp salt)
- 1 cup crushed Arnott's Marie crackers (11 crackers) or graham cracker crumbs (8 crackers) (Note 1)
- 1 cup icing sugar / powdered sugar
- 3/4 cup peanut butter (smooth)
Topping
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips - the melting kind (US: semi sweet) (Note 2)
- 2 tbsp peanut butter (smooth)
Instructions
- Butter and line a 8" / 20cm square dish or pan with baking paper.
- Place the Base ingredients in a bowl and mix until combined. Press into the prepared pan.
- Melt the Topping ingredients (I do it in the microwave in 2 x 30 second bursts). Pour and spread over the Base - smooth the top or do swirls (see photos for examples of each).
- Refrigerate until set - about 1 1/2 hours. Remove from fridge, allow to come to room temp slightly (so top cuts neatly). Cut into 16 squares (or whatever shape you want!). Best served at room temperature.
Recipe Notes:
Nutrition Information:
This Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars recipe was originally published January 2018. Updated for some housekeeping matters in October 2018, no change to recipe!
LIFE OF DOZER
That time he snuck on mum’s couch and we wondered how many cushions we could pile on him. We ran out of cushions.
Made this super easy dessert last night in the camper van! Everyone else also finds the dark hard top separates when cutting through? Also I used CSR Soft icing mixture and finding it incredibly sweet- anyone try this with a different type of sugar? 🙂
Do you think I could use gingernut biscuits? Would this taste good with peanut butter?!
Thanks
L
Delicious 😋
Thank you very much for sharing.
Stay strong and be safe everyone 🙏.
These are delicious and easy.
I share with my 90 + year aunt. She loves peanut paste, so , of course she loves these.
Made these bars and they turned out great. Took some to work and they were popular. So easy to make too. Will definitely make again.
Sensational recipe. Make weekly. I use crunchy 100% nuts peanut butter which gives great texture and less chocolate (150g). Much loved by my sons rowing team here in Buckinghamshire, UK.
Hi Nagi I was wondering if it’s ok to leave out the icing sugar in these and substitute the biscuits with almond meal? Also could I use coconut oil instead of the butter? Thank you!
These are so so soooo delicious. My wife had to tell me to stop making them as we could NOT stop eating them!
About to make this for the 3rd time. I use crunchy peanut butter- only because that is what I have in the cupboard. Always disappears in minutes. I have to hide it to make it last 2 days! Thank you
My (adult) son doesn’t love cake, so I made this in a round cake tin for his birthday last year and stuck candles on top. It was perfect. No leftovers 😁. He has asked for it again this year. Thank you, Nagi x
Awwww! I am glad that he enjoyed the dessert!! Happy Birthday!! N x
Absolutely delicious and so easy.
I wonder if you could substitute the biscuits for scotch fingers from Arnott they have even more flavour. Or do you think it would spoil the other flavours?
Yes, scotch finger will work.I often use scotch finger biscuits as my cheesecake crumb base, since I like the flavour
Thanks for that tip Josh!! N x
Made a mistake somehow and I didn’t want to waste so rolled it altogether into balls and it is now a staple sweet in the fridge! Beautiful recipe Nagi
Nice save! Thank you! N x
Great little treat for the kids in lockdown, my daughters loved these, as did I!
So easy to make as well.
Thanks! N x
Another alternative was to omit the sugar. I used maybe 2 Tblsp of Stevia instead.
Oh, and I used oats instead of biscuits, but I recently discovered coeliacs, so I will be trying the GF alternative next
Delicious and simple. Granddaughter loved them – grandpa did also!
Lovely recipe. Absolutely delicious! I used a slightly smaller tin as my base was going to be to thin otherwise.
Ohhh my! Some of your recipes are very good Nagi, some are even great, and then there are those that are addictive such as these peanut butter bars! It was bad enough when I discovered your carrot cake cupcakes – quite possibly the best cupcakes ever created. Now I’ve found these and I don’t really know how I’ll manage two addictions! (But thank you, anyway😊)
NEVER EVER have all these ingredients in the house at the same time. On lockdown, raining, bored, made these – how do you not eat them all!
Thanks for your reply. However it is the peanut butter and icing sugar I needed converting to grams as the recipes states cups which we don’t use in the UK.