These Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars are truly the most delicious dessert! Loaded with gooey peanut butter cups, these are buttery, dense and melt in your mouth yummy. Grab a cold glass of milk and you’re all set!
Hello holiday treat season! It’s good to see you! Who else is excited for all of the yummy baked goods to come over the next couple of months?!
Here at OBB, I have plenty of delicious baked goods planned. I’ve already shared a few of my favorites including my Glazed Apple Fritter Bread and Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins but I especially love these bars!
Plus, today is the day after Halloween and I couldn’t think of a better day to share these delicious cookie bars.
Especially when you may or may not be like me and always go the day after Halloween and load up on my favorite candy – peanut butter cups!! It’s a win win!
Why You’ll Love These Bars:
First off – *who doesn’t* love cookie bars?!? Don’t get me wrong, I love classic circular cookies but these are just over the top because they are in thick, dense bars. The insides are so gooey, moist and just oh so delicious.
I could probably just eat them as is with no mix-in’s but hello….why wouldn’t you want gooey dark chocolate peanut butter cups melting in every single bite?!
These also have creamy peanut butter in them which has a perfect nutty flavor throughout but is never overly intense. The dark chocolate from the peanut butter cups themselves helps tone down the sweetness overall.
They are just perfect when they are warm and eaten with a cold glass of milk!
So let’s get into what you need to bake them!
Ingredients You Need:
- Salted butter
- Dark chocolate peanut butter cups
- Eggs
- Creamy peanut butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- All purpose flour
- Salt
Best Baking Tips for Cookie Bars:
As always with baking recipes, go ahead and preheat your oven.
Next – I melted both the butter and peanut butter together to make a delicious buttery salty sweet combination! Did I want to eat it with a spoon? Yes. Did I? No. But I wouldn’t judge you if you did 😉
I used the classic creamy peanut butter – it wasn’t the “natural” kind either, it was very much just the classic cheaper kind you pick up at the grocery store.
In a large bowl – mix together your eggs, sugar and vanilla extract until combined. Then add in that buttery peanut butter mixture until it’s combined.
Finally, add in the all purpose flour! Switch from a whisk to a large wooden spoon or spatula at this point because the dough is going to be THICK!
And of course, the best part…PEANUT BUTTER CUPS! I chopped mine up into smaller pieces and just gently folded about ⅔ of them into the dough. Leave the other half for topping the dough!
I highly recommend trying out Trader Joe’s dark chocolate peanut butter cups – I personally think they’re a million times better than Reese’s!
Grab a baking pan – a glass 8×8 should do the trick. Grease or butter it well (or add parchment paper) and then carefully spread the dough out evenly.
Take the rest of those chopped peanut butter cups and gently push them into the top of the dough.
Annnnd now it’s time to bake and have your house smell delightful. Seriously, who even needs candles when you can bake instead?
I baked mine from 40-45 minutes. You *don’t* want to overbake these or they will be dry and cakey.
I would recommend starting to check them at 35 minutes and then go from there. If you stick a toothpick in the middle, you don’t want it to come out completely clean – it’s okay if there is a little amount of dough left on it because they will continue to bake in the pan when you let them cool.
Trust me on this!
After they have cooled for a little bit in the pan (think about 5-10 minutes), remove them to a cooling rack and if you have more self control than me, let them cool for a little while longer before you cut into them and slice them.
Although, I won’t judge you if you can’t. I couldn’t wait! Ha!
I loved to sprinkle some flaky salt on top and dive right in. Gooey, chocolatey, loaded with oozing peanut butter. Just the BEST. Enjoy!
Storing Leftovers:
If you have any leftovers – be sure to store them in a tightly sealed tupperware container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Of course, they are best fresh!
Did you enjoy this recipe? Here are a few others you might like:
Pumpkin Snickerdoodle Blondies
Thank you so much for following along here, friends! Want to see more? Be sure to follow ourbalancedbowl on Instagram and tag me with your photo if you end up making a recipe! You can also post a photo of your recipe to the Our Balanced Bowl Facebook page! Like a recipe that you saw? Follow me on Pinterest here! I always love to see your re-creations! If you do make a recipe, it would make my whole day if you were to rate and comment so I can get your feedback! Lots of love! – Haylie
Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
These Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars are truly the most delicious dessert! Loaded with gooey peanut butter cups, these are buttery, dense and melt in your mouth yummy. Grab a cold glass of milk and you’re all set!
Ingredients
- 1 stick (8 tbsp) salted butter
- 1 cup dark chocolate peanut butter cups, chopped
- 2 large eggs
- 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1/3 cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 and 1/3 cup all purpose flour
- 1/4 tsp salt
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
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Add the stick of butter and peanut butter to a bowl. Microwave for 30-40 seconds and then stir until it's fully melted and stir until smooth. Let this cool for a couple of minutes.
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In a large bowl, add the 2 eggs, vanilla extract, granulated sugar, brown sugar and salt. Whisk together for about 10 seconds, until combined.
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To this mixture, add in the peanut butter/butter mixture and mix until fully combined.
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Next, add in the flour. Mix with a large spoon (not whisk!) until it's fully combined. The texture should be like very thick frosting.
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To the batter, gently fold in about 2/3 cup of the chopped peanut butter cups.
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Line an 8x8 glass baking dish with parchment paper.
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Add the batter directly to the pan, spreading it out evenly. Top with the extra PB cups.
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Bake for 40-45 minutes, but begin to check them at 35 minutes. If you stick a toothpick in the brownies, it still might not be fully clean but that's okay because the brownies will continue to cook longer in the pan after you take them out. This is what makes them extra fudgy! Note: If you overbake them - they will be dry and cakey. Please trust me on this one!
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Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then gently remove them onto a cooling rack.
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Let cool for another 10-15 minutes and then slice them into cookie bars. Top with flaky sea salt if desired and enjoy!