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If I had to pick my favorite flavor combination of all time, I have a a quick answer: chocolate and peanut butter. They are both good, and I love both of them on their own, but the sum is always greater than the parts. Whenever I find a peanut butter recipe, I automatically think about how I can add chocolate to it.
I found a recipe a long time ago that made peanut butter bars with a jelly layer, and while that sounded OK, I decided to replace it with chocolate. They did not disappoint. These easy chocolate peanut butter bars are perfect for an afternoon snack with a cup of coffee or even a breakfast treat!
Easy Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
This recipe is great because it uses mostly pantry staples (at least, these are all staples in my pantry!).
You just need flour, sugar, peanut butter, salt, vanilla, baking powder, butter, an egg, and chocolate chips.
You’ll cream together the butter and sugar.
Then add the peanut butter, egg, and vanilla.
You’ll get this nice creamy mixture, and then it’s time to add the dry ingredients.
You’ll end up with a thick, somewhat crumbly dough that tastes delicious!
Line a 9×13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
Take about half the batter and press it with your fingers into the pan. Bake this at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes.
It won’t be fully cooked yet, but don’t worry.
Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
Then crumble the rest of the dough on top of the chocolate chips.
Bake for another 20-25 minutes until the top is golden brown. Let it cool completely in the pan.
Once they’re cooled off, lift the foil out of the pan and cut the bars into squares.
They’re great right out of the oven when the chocolate is still melty, but they’re also great at room temperature. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 12 tbsp. butter, softened
- 1.25 cups sugar
- 1.25 cups peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Mix together butter, peanut butter, sugar, vanilla and egg in a bowl.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir to combine.
- Line a 9x13 pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- Spread about 1/2 of the dough into the bottom of the pan and use your fingers to spread it out.
- Cook for 20 minutes.
- Take the pan out of the oven and sprinkle the 1/2 cup chocolate chips on top.
- Then use your hands to crumble the rest of the batter over the top of the chocolate chips.
- Cook for another 20-25 minutes until the top begins to brown.
- Take the pan out of the oven and let the bars cool. Then lift the foil out of the pan onto the counter and cut to serve!
