Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars
Flipping through Ina Garten’s cookbook, Barefoot Contessa at Home, it’s hard not to tag every single page as a must-try recipe, but it was the peanut butter and jelly bars that kept calling my name. Except, as I gazed at the recipe, I couldn’t help but imagine what these cookie/bars would be like with a rich chocolate layer instead of the jelly, so I decided to put my own spin on things and broke out the mixing bowls, preheated the oven and got busy making peanut butter and chocolate bars.
How to Make the Peanut Butter Cookie Batter
The first time I made them I went the “room temperature butter” root, impatiently waiting for the butter to soften before making the bars. It’s a step I absolutely hate because it puts a lot time between me and a freshly baked batch of peanut butter and chocolate bars. So, the next time I made them I took a wild chance and melted the butter first and I liked the new bars just as much as the originals. With no butter-softening to worry about these bars are ready to go in under an hour.
How to Assemble the Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars for Baking
Once you melt the chocolate – a simple microwave operation – assemble the batter and chocolate in an 8×8 baking dish. For the bottom crust, I like to use my hands to press it into an even layer. I use a spatula to smooth the chocolate into an even layer for the middle section. Add for the top crust, I find it’s easiest to scoop the batter so that it’s sort of spread out (instead of piling it all in the middle). This makes it a little easier to press it into an even layer without messing up the chocolate layer too much. Bake them for about 30 minutes, or until they are lightly golden on top.
These peanut butter and chocolate bars are a decadent baked treat that is perfect with a cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk.
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Peanut Butter and Chocolate Bars
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 50 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Description
These decadent peanut butter and chocolate bars, adapted from Ina Garten, go great with a cup of coffee or a cold glass of milk.
Ingredients
- 1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted, plus 2 tablespoons unmelted
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 8 ounces milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8×8 glass baking dish with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine the melted butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and egg. Add the peanut butter and stir until well combined.
- In a medium-sized bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt until combined. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones in batches until just combined.
- Place the chocolate chips and butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the chips in 30-second increments, stirring after every 30 seconds, until the chocolate is melted.
- Scoop half of the peanut butter batter into the baking dish. Press it into an even layer. Top the batter with the melted chocolate smoothing it into an even layer with a spatula. Scoop small mounds of the rest of the peanut butter batter and drop them on the chocolate in an even layer. Gently press the batter into an even layer.
- Bake the bars for 30 minutes to 35 minutes or until lightly browned on top. Cool in the pan completely before slicing. Store in an airtight container.
- Category: Desserts
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 412
- Sugar: 21.5g
- Sodium: 279.7mg
- Fat: 27.1g
- Saturated Fat: 11.6g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 38.2g
- Fiber: 3.1g
- Protein: 8.8g
- Cholesterol: 40.9mg
Keywords: peanut butter chocolate bars, peanut butter cookie bars
The nutrition information in this recipe is an estimate only and was calculated using Nutrifox, an online nutrition calculator.
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