Perfectly thick, soft and chewy Peanut Butter Bars with a peanut butter and chocolate glaze
This peanut butter bars recipe has been a huge family favorite for many years. Simply put, they are completely addicting and you will want to eat the entire pan by yourself. Consider that my warning 🙂 .
How to Make Peanut Butter Bars:
Make the batter: In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar. Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix well. In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to creamy mixture.
Bake. Press firmly into a greased 9×13” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-21 minutes. Do not over-bake! They will look just barely set in the center, and they will harden as they cool. Allow to cool completely.
Spread with peanut butter. Once cooled, spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the bars.
Top with Chocolate Glaze. Add butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Once melted, stir in cocoa. Remove from heat and add milk, powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk until smooth, using electric beaters to get out any lumps, if needed. Spread chocolate frosting over the top of the bars.
Make Ahead and Freezing Instructions:
Peanut Butter Bars will keep well for up to 1 week, stored in an airtight container in the fridge. Freeze, covered well, for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator, then bring to room temperature before serving.
Consider trying these popular “bar” recipes:
- Snickerdoodle Bars
- Butterfinger Cookie Bars
- Caramel Crunch Bars
- Perfect Lemon Bars
- Oreo Cookie Bars
- Butterscotch Blondies
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Recipe
World’s Best Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 3/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (plus more for spreading over baked bars)
- 2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
For the chocolate frosting:
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1 Tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons milk
- 1 1/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl, cream together the butter, sugar and brown sugar.
- Add the eggs, vanilla, and peanut butter and mix well.
- In a separate bowl mix together the dry ingredients. Add dry ingredients to creamy mixture.
- Press firmly into a greased 9×13” pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 17-21 minutes. Do not over-bake! They will look just barely set in the center, and they will harden as they cool. Allow to cool completely.
- Once cooled, spread a thin layer of peanut butter over the bars.
To make the chocolate frosting:
- Add butter to a small skillet over medium heat. Once melted, stir in cocoa.
- Remove from heat and add milk, powdered sugar and vanilla. Whisk until smooth, using electric beaters to get out any lumps, if needed. .
- Spread chocolate frosting over the top of the bars.
Notes
Nutrition
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I originally shared this recipe in April 2013. Updated February 2018 and May 2021–Frosting recipe was amended.Â
The Best Peanut Butter Oatmeal bar in the world!!!
I was thrilled to find this recipe…. ticked every box for middle of winter blahs pick-me-up. I am a seasoned cook , followed recipe to the T, and was shocked at the awful ” salty” taste they had when completed. I finally figured out it was the amount of baking soda listed in the recipe, which I thought was quite a lot when preparing the dry ingredients. My husband concurred about the baking soda taste. Sadly, I threw the whole pan out, quite an expensive disaster. I was determined to get this recipe right, so I remade them using half the baking soda (i.e 1 1/4 tsp.), and they came out beautifully. I then came here to read the comments, and was interested to see more than a few commented on the “saltiness”….. it’s not the salt, folks, but the baking soda (which IS salty in and of itself!). Give it a try next time you prepare these
Great recipe. I use extra crunchy in the cookie. The mention of keeping in the fridge is laughable, if these aren’t gone in a few hours you need to sort out your priorities.
Because I can’t eat anything with chocolate in it I make the frosting using melted Reese’s peanut butter chips. My grandsons think it is better than chocolate frosting
!
Any adjustments needed if using a different nut butter other than peanut?