Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Bars
I woke up yesterday thinking about peanut butter. Specifically, I wondered what kinds of things I could make from peanut butter. I took a quick tour of the internet to see what other people were doing. There were lots of peanut butter and chocolate tarts and they all looked amazing, but a tart? That requires a tart pan and I somehow think that new cooks and bakers might not have those. So, I thought some more and this popped into my head: chocolate peanut butter cup bars.
First, I’m going to need someone to explain to me why all my titles are so long. For an experienced writer, I seem to be struggling with naming my recipes. While we figure that out, let’s get to this incredible treat: the peanut butter here tastes EXACTLY like the peanut butter in a Reese’s. I was amazed. And subsequently full of peanut butter. Pro tip: you can’t eat too many of these things at once, friends!
In order to make these, you need a graham cracker crust (otherwise you just have candy, no?), a thick, creamy peanut butter center, and a crispy chocolate top layer. To be honest with you, I did struggle with the peanut butter layer. I had envisioned mixing powdered sugar and peanut butter together to get a smooth center. Instead, I got a bowl full of peanut butter crumbs. Looking into the bowl, I realized I needed some kind of liquid to pull it all together. Sweetened condensed milk. I dumped in half the can. Better. I scraped in the rest. Way better. But it still needed more. Rummaging through the fridge, I realized I had heavy cream. I tossed in a little, then a little more. Finally! Perfection.
Now for the chocolate layer. I had pictured a marble swirl. I melted two bars of semisweet chocolate and poured it over the peanut butter layer. I stuck in the knife and started to swirl. Nope. Too thick. So I grabbed a spatula and spread it over the surface, hoping for the best. With a little finishing sprinkle of flaky salt, the whole thing went into the fridge to firm up.
Wow! The results were way better than I could have imagined – especially after all of the experimenting I had to do. The chilled chocolate made a thick, crispy layer and the peanut butter? Well, like I said, the peanut butter is exactly like a Reese’s – all on top of a graham cracker crust that pulls it all together.
What is the moral of this very long story, friends? It is that cooking is not an exact science and you won’t always get everything right the first time. The most important thing is to have fun with the process and to learn along the way.
Happy experimenting!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs about 9 full sheets
- 4 tbsp butter
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 2 cups confectioner's sugar
- 14 oz sweetened condensed milk one can
- 1/2 cup heavy cream
- 8 oz semisweet chocolate
- flaky salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 9 inch square pan by lining it with parchment paper. Lightly spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray.
- If you are using full graham crackers, crush them into crumbs. You can do this with a food processor. If you don't have one, put the graham crackers into a Ziploc-type bag and whack them with a rolling pin.
- Melt the butter. I just pop it into the microwave for a few seconds.
- Put the graham cracker crumbs into a bowl and mix in the melted butter.
- Pour the graham cracker mixture into the prepared pan.
- Press down the crumbs, making sure to make an even layer. I usually use a metal measuring cup to do that.
- Bake for 5-7 minutes until set.
- Let the graham cracker crust cool completely.
- Mix together the peanut butter, confectioner's sugar, sweetened condensed milk, and heavy cream using the paddle attachment of a stand mixer. You can also use a hand mixer or, just do it the old-fashioned way, with a spoon.
- Make sure you scrape the mixing bowl to incorporate everything.
- Pour the peanut butter mixture onto the cooled crust.
- The peanut butter mixture is thick and it is difficult to spread. I mushed it down with a spatula and then with my fingers.
- Break the chocolate into small pieces and put it into a heatproof bowl.
- Melt the chocolate in the microwave in 30 second increments.
- Don't have a microwave? See the tips below for melting instructions.
- Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter mixture and smooth it out with a spatula.
- Finish with a light sprinkle of flaky salt. I use Fleur de Sel – because some people in this house are actually French.
- Put this very heavy pan into the fridge and chill until set. You can certainly cover it with foil if you'd like. I left it overnight.
- When it is thoroughly chilled, remove the mixture from the pan using the parchment paper overlap.
- Cut into bars. I would recommend making them relatively small because these are SUPER rich.
