Perfectly thick, soft and chewy peanut butter bars with a peanut butter and chocolate glaze.
You wont see me use the words “BEST” in too many recipes, because a lot of people have great variations of a lot of dishes. However, without hesitation I can say these are THE BEST peanut butter bars in existence!
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 🙂 
If I’m ever making these for a party I always have to make an extra pan for my family or else I’m in trouble! I’ve tried quite a few peanut butter bars in my day, and none compare to these.
First of all, they are thick, chewy, and soft. They’re in the same family as my Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, but with a peanut butter twist. I love the taste and texture that the oats add.
They have the perfect ratio of chocolate and peanut butter, without being overwhelmingly sweet.
The dough for the bars has 1/2 cup of peanut butter in it. Once they’re baked and cooled, you spread a very thin layer of creamy peanut butter over them.
Then, you make a warm chocolate frosting and pour it over the top. YUM!
These really are the World’s Best Peanut Butter Bars!
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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World's Best Peanut Butter Bars
Video
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 9x13'' 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.
Nutrition
I originally shared this recipe in April 2013. Updated February 2018.
Marie says
Can quick oats be used?
Lauren Allen says
Yes.
Caroline says
I used a glass 9×13 pyrex dish… I greased the pan with melted butter and then put down parchment paper and greased that with melted butter and dusted with some flour… I followed the peanut butter bar mixture exactly though i did use a bit less of the quick cooking oats… put that in the pan and baked it for 17.5 minutes…. it came out perfect… the chocolate frosting I followed the directions as instructed accept I didnt have milk on hand … so i tried it with heavy whipping cream and added in a table spoon of cold brewed coffee… it came out really good and covered all the bars but a quarter… I had to redo the chocolate frosting so this time what i did was … I used 1 stick of butter, and instead of heavy whipping cream I used hazelnut coffee creamer and added in the cold brewed coffee… Wow amazing!! it covered the whole dish…. these bars taste like a cross between a peanut butter cookie and a no bake at the same time!!!… Thank you for the recipe I will be making these again and again… It is pure heaven in my mouth so darn good and addicting!!! thank you again I wish i could post a pic of them up
Kimberly T says
Ok, the recipe needs to be rewritten to fix the errors. I didnt read the comments before I made it so things were off. But I will say even with the baking soda error, the cookie part came out fabulous. The icing isn’t great as some have already said. But I made do with what i had. I will use melted chocolate chips as well in place of the icing. I took some to work today and people loved them. I do too!
Kel says
It’s bars not cookies, the author verified this amount.
Catherine says
Tasted amazing – only thing was that the chocolate frosting portion of the recipe did not make enough to cover the pan- should be nearly doubled for a good covering. Thank you for this recipe I will hang onto it!
Emma says
Many countries don’t use cup measurements please can you also display the metric measurements like many cooks do on recipe web-sites to give everyone a choice then I might attempt this recipie ?
Lauren Allen says
Hi Emma,
You will find that new recipe on my site all have the option to convert to metrics. Simply reach out if you find any other recipes you wish to make that don’t have the conversion option :). This one has it now- look for it by the ingredients in the recipe card.
CatMcD says
Hey Lauren,
This recipe looks amazing but the link to convert to metric won’t work. Am I doing something wrong? Desparate to try these but dont have cup measures.
Lauren Allen says
Hmm. I’ve check it on my end. Why don’t you try one more time (the conversion button is in the recipe card). If it still doesn’t work, email me directly and i’ll send you the estimates! lauren@tastesbetterfromscratch.com
Kel says
It’s bars not cookies, the author verified this amount.
Kel says
Thank you Lauren Allen, these were terrific, wouldn’t change a thing! Reminds me of Elementary school, when they actually cooked in school.
Diane McClain says
Delicious! Now, I have to admit after reading the reviews, I thought about doubling the frosting. I didn’t and gave the recipe a chance. I think the reason there isn’t enough frosting for some people is because this frosting cools quickly and if you aren’t fast enough to spread it out, it melts the peanut butter and is hard to move or spread. Just be warned, the frosting amount is fine, as long as you move quickly and pour it in all 4 corners and then the middle. Thanks for the recipe!
andrew says
i love how they taste
Jackie says
Is 2 1/2 tsp baking soda accurate? Seems like a lot..
Lauren Allen says
Yes, it is.
Sherilyn Alexander says
I love the consistency of these bars — exactly as promised — soft and chewy mmmmm goodness. I’ll make these again down the road, but likely won’t use the chocolate frosting next time — for me, it almost overpowers the peanut butter flavor, and is a little too sweet. A thin peanut butter frosting would appeal to my tribe a bit more, and maybe a half-cup of chopped peanuts for a little crunch in the cookie batter.
Dana says
Is there another option to put on top instead of the chocolate?