These soft, thick, chewy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars are the perfect dessert bar when short on time. Made in a few simple steps using a press-in pan method, these loaded bars with sweet chocolate chips, creamy peanut butter, and crunchy pretzels are ready in no time.
I've been making these incredible Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars for a couple of years now, and they are SO delicious. That peanut butter chocolate combination shines through with a crisp outside but chewy and fudgy inside. The pretzels on top at the most perfect salty crunch that offsets the sweetness.
The main bonus of these cookie bars is just how easy they are to make. There's no need to faff around rolling cookie dough balls. The dough gets made in only a couple of simple steps, and you just press it right into a baking pan and bake. Anyone can make these!
Try out my Brookie Bars, Banana Chocolate Chip Bars and Espresso Millionaire Shortbread Bars for easy baking inspiration.
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Fun Fact- I've been making these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars for the coffee van, Dear Coco that my husband runs by the River Thames here in London. It's one of the most popular items of baked goods. So much so, one of his loyal customers asked me to make a large batch to be handed out at there wedding. How cool is that!
🌟 Why You'll Love This Recipe
- Uses basic ingredients. All the ingredients are basic pantry or fridge staples. You can customise these bars to your hearts content.
- Can be made into cookies. Don't fancy a tray bake? Just roll the dough into balls, refrigerate for 1 hour and then bake. Simple!
- Simple to make. In just a couple of straightforward steps, you'll have these in the oven in next to no time.
- Perfect to travel with. Need to take something to a picnic, potluck, party, or housewarming? These make the perfect treat to bring with you. Bake them, cool them, slice them, wrap them. Even put them back in the baking pan once sliced to provide protection when travelling.
- So flavourful. The peanut butter smells incredible whilst baking and tastes even better. It adds so much to a simple cookie dough.
🧾 Ingredients Needed
The list of ingredients isn't extensive, and you'll need very standard items from your fridge and pantry (perfect for throwing these together last minute). I've made some notes below along with substitutions that can be made below.
- Butter - Regular unsalted butter must be at room temperature to whip with the sugar.
- Light brown sugar and white sugar - Combining the two helps provide extra moisture and a chew texture.
- Peanut butter - go for regular smooth or crunchy peanut butter, your choice. I tend to avoid the natural peanut butter as they can separate, and the natural fats make the cookie bars greasy.
- Egg and egg yolk - I found that two whole eggs made these cookie bars too cakey in texture, so I reduced them to one egg and yolk. The result is a texture that's perfectly chewy.
- Milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate chunks - Literally add whatever milk, white or dark chocolate, chips or chopped bars you have on hand. These are one of those bars that will taste amazing with whatever chocolate you throw in!
- Flaked salt - Along with the crunchy pretzels (such an incredible addition to these bars), the flaked salt helps cut through the sweetness of the cookie bars and brings out the chocolate flavour.
📖 Variations
- Add nuts: Add a half cup of almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts, pecans or macadamia nuts. It will only accentuate the peanut putter flavour and provide incredible texture.
- Add dried fruit: You can't go wrong adding a handful of dried cranberries or raisins into the dough
- Omit the chocolate: Shock horror!! I promise you these Peanut Butter Cookie Bars would taste sane without the flavour add-ins. Once baked, drizzle the top with some warmed peanut butter. Ok, I'm dreaming of this now!
👩🏻🍳 How to Make
I can't wait for you to see just how quickly these Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars come together. They're perfect for making with the kids, as they can lick the spoon at the end!
*Be sure to see the recipe card below for the full ingredients list & instructions!*
STEP 1. Cream the butter and sugars together. You can use hand-held beaters or pop the ingredients into the bowl of a standmixer fitted with the beater attachment. Cream the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and thickened (Images 1 & 2).
STEP 2. Add the eggs. Beat in the egg and egg yolk until combined (Images 3 & 4).
STEP 4. Add in the peanut butter and vanilla extract. These two ingredients get mixed in until the dough is looking smooth (Images 5 & 6).
STEP 4. Add in the dry ingredients and flavourings. There's no need to dirty up another bowl. Sift the flour and then the baking soda into the bowl. Add in the salt milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate. Then mix on low until only a few flour streaks remain (Images 7 & 8). NOTE: I tend to reserve a small amount of the chocolate to sprinkle ontop in the pan.
STEP 5. Press dough into the pan. You'll need to line and grease a baking pan. Tip the cookie dough into the pan and press the dough across the base with your fingers. The dough will look quite raggedy (Images 9 & 10).
Use a combination of moistened fingertips and an offset spatula to smooth the dough into an even layer. The water helps give the top of the dough a smooth finish.
Top with pretzels and chocolate. If you kept some of the chocolate aside- sprinkle that over the top, then scatter the pretzels (Images 11).
STEP 6. Bake! The Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven or until the top is lightly golden. Don't overbake, as this will dry out the interior, and you'll lose the fudginess from the bars. Once baked, make sure to sprinkle the bars with flaked sea salt (Image 12).
🥣 How To Serve
There are two ways to enjoy your Cookie Bars.
You can enjoy the warm. Put the whole or half a slab on a plate, dollop a couple of scoops of vanilla ice cream over the top, grab your friends and family and tuck right in - sharing style. Great fun!
Or, if you want to get neat squares cut, cool the bars to room temperature, then refrigerate. Once chilled, the cookie bars will slice with clean edges.
💭 Recipe Pro Tips
- Weigh the flour using scales, not cups. You'll achieve a far more accurate measurement. Too much flour will lead to dry cookie bars.
- Don't overmix the cookie dough. Mix until the flour is only just mixed through.
- Press the dough in with wet fingertips. It's the only way you'll get a smooth flat surface.
- Watch the bake time. These cookie bars need to be chewy and just a little bit gooey in the middle. It makes them all kinds of delicious this way!
📋 Recipe FAQs
Store Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
Yes! Allow the cookie bars to cool to room temperature. Wrap the cookie bar slab or individual squares in plastic wrap and then aluminium foil and freeze for up to 2 months. Thaw at room temperature.
🍪 More Cookie Recipes
You must use the category name, not a URL, in the category field.If you tried this Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars Recipe or any other recipe on my website, please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how you go in the 📝 comments below. I love hearing from you!
📖 Recipe
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 110 g unsalted butter, room temperature
- 110 g light brown sugar
- 100 g granulated sugar
- 100 g peanut butter, smooth or crunchy
- 1 large egg plus 1 egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 250 g plain flour (all-purpose)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 150 g dark chocolate 70%, chopped
- 75 g milk chocolate chips
- 20 g pretzels
Instructions
- Prepare a pan. Grease and line with parchment paper, a 23cm square (9 inch) baking pan. Ensure the paper overhangs the edges to use as a paper sling when lifting the bars from the pan. Preheat the oven 180℃ (350℉).
- Cream the butter and sugars together. Add butter, light brown sugar and white sugar into a medium mixing bowl. Using hand-held electric beaters, cream the butter and sugars for 2-3 minutes until light and thickened
- Add the eggs. Beat in the egg and egg yolk until combined.
- Add in the peanut and vanilla extract. These two ingredients get mixed in until the dough looks smooth.
- Add in the dry ingredients and flavourings. Sift the flour and the baking soda into the bowl. Add in the salt, milk chocolate chips and dark chocolate. Then mix on low until only a few flour streaks remain. NOTE: Reserve a small amount of the chocolate to sprinkle on top of the bars before baking.
- Press dough into the pan. You'll need to line and grease a baking pan. Tip the cookie dough into the pan and press the dough across the base with your fingers. The dough will look quite raggedy.Use a combination of moistened fingertips and an offset spatula to smooth the dough into an even layer. The water helps give the top of the dough a smooth finish.Top with pretzels and chocolate. If you kept some of the chocolate aside- sprinkle that over the top, then scatter the pretzels.
- Bake! The Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven or until the top is lightly golden. Don't overbake, as this will dry out the interior, and you'll lose the fudginess from the bars. Once baked, make sure to sprinkle the bars with flaked sea salt
All recipes are developed and tested in Metric grams. I strongly recommend that you bake using digital scales for a more accurate result. I have provided a conversion to US customary in the recipe but please note that I haven’t tested using this method.
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