Reeses Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
Chocolate and peanut butter collide in this decadent peanut butter cup cookie bars recipe. If you are a lover of cookies you have to try these homemade chocolate chip cookie bars that are stuffed with peanut butter cups, walnuts and the perfect amount of chocolate chips in each bite.
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This Reese’s dessert is one of my favorites for potluck events, birthday parties, or even a family gathering. Just mix, pour, bake, slice and serve. Easy peasy dessert that requires minimal effort on your part.
Cookie bars are always a must for me. I love not having to make individual cookies. Try my cake mix cookie bars, or even these fun churro bars. Both are so delicious and hard to eat just one.
Table of Contents
What are Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars are a chocolate chip cookie base that is then filled with chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups and walnuts. You spread in a baking dish and bake up these decadent bars. Slice and serve up a peanut butter and chocolate flavored dessert.
You get all the flavors of a cookie but in a bar form. Many love this as you don’t have to make individual cookies for serving your friends and family. Just make bars for easy prep on your end.
This Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bar Recipe Is…
- A made from scratch dessert. No shortcuts in terms of ingredients used so you get that homemade flavor you know and love.
- Easy prep as you can just dump and bake the bars without needing extra steps like making cookies.
- Sliceable bars that are perfect for a crowd or just serving up your family at the end of the day.
- A kid friendly dessert little ones might enjoy helping with. Let them mix it up and you pour and bake and together you created a fantastic dessert.
What is in Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars
Butter – I do recommend using real butter not margarine. Unsalted butter that is room temperature is important to create the proper texture. Now if you use salted butter just leave out the salt in the recipe.
Sugar – Brown sugar and granulated sugar are both used to create the perfect dimension of sweetness in these easy cookie bars.
Egg – Room temperature eggs are a must for making cookie bars. It will help create the right creamy texture for the dough.
Vanilla – I used vanilla extract but if you have real vanilla on hand go ahead and swap it in. The vanilla adds a nice balance of sweet with the rest of the ingredients.
Salt – Salt is used to enhance the flavors of the ingredients. Without salt your cookies will lack a bit of flavor.
Flour – All purpose flour was used. Make sure to use a scoop and add it to the measuring cup, and then level off the top of the measuring cup. You don’t want to pack the flour in the cup or it will cause cookies to be dry.
Baking Soda and Baking Powder – Two ingredients that will help to create fluffy and delicious homemade cookie bars.
Peanut Butter Cups – I just chopped up my cups into bite size pieces. Then divide them as some will be used in the the batter and others will be used for topping.
Chocolate Chips – I reached for semi-sweet chips. This is going to create an extra sweet cookie. If you prefer milk chocolate works just as good. It is a preference of how sweet you want these peanut butter chocolate chip bars to taste.
Nuts – Walnuts add a nice crunch factor to the cookies. Give it a try and see what you think of the nuts.
How To Make
The complete list of ingredients, quantities, and instructions can be found in the printable recipe card below.
- Preheat your oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Set aside. (Photo 1)
- In a large bowl, cream together the softened butter, creamy peanut butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy. This takes about 2-3 minutes. You will find the color lightens, and the texture is fluffy. (Photo 2)
- Beat in the eggs, one at a time, followed by the vanilla extract. (Photo 3)
- Gradually mix in the dry ingredients until just combined. (Photo 4)
- Stir in the semisweet chocolate chips and chopped peanut butter cups until evenly distributed. (Photos 5 & 6)
- Spread the dough evenly into the prepared baking dish, using a spatula to smooth out the top. (Photo 7)
- Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges are lightly golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. (Photo 8)
Tips from our Recipe Developer
- Make sure to take time to cream the butter and sugars together. This is going to create a really light texture that will help the cookies to become extra soft and delicious.
- Use different candies instead of Reese’s. Snickers, Twix, or any chopped candy bars work for this cookie bar recipe.
- Slowly add in the flour making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl. Otherwise you might not get an even mix on the dry ingredients.
- If you are not a fan of semi-sweet chocolate you can swap it out with milk chocolate, dark chocolate, etc.
- Any type of peanut butter cups work. Even the Justin brand works great with this recipe if you don’t want to use Reese’s.
- Let the cookie bars cool a bit before you go to slice so you get a nice clean cut.
- You can drizzle with melted peanut butter and chocolate once the bars are set up if you would like.
Storing Tips
Room Temperature
You will want to store your cookie bars in an airtight container at room temperature. Just place in a single layer with parchment paper or wax paper between stacking to prevent the cookies from sticking.
These bars will last around 5 days. They will begin to dry out a bit as they sit.
Freezing
Freeze any of the bars you do not eat right away. Feel free to place in a freezer bag or freezer container. Then freeze for 3-4 months.
When you want to eat one, just remove and thaw on the counter. Then enjoy.
Reheating
Want a warm cookie bar? Just place on a plate and warm it up in the microwave for a few seconds. Don’t overheat or it will burn the chocolate.
What to serve or eat with cookie bars
Looking for a dinner to pair with your cookie bars? Serve up this baked Swiss chicken and finish it off with these cookie bars. Or even try out this sloppy joe bake.
Recipe FAQs
A 9×13 baking dish is what you will use to make these cookie bars. Now some recipes will use a different size of a pan so make sure to read the instructions.
You can make these cookie bars a day ahead of time if you want. Just whip them up and once cooled down cover and store at room temperature until you are ready to serve.
Make sure to use a cooking spray to coat the pan before you add your cookie bars in. This will help prevent the bars from sticking in the pan.
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Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
Equipment
- Parchment Paper (optional for easier removal)
Ingredients
- 1 cup (236 ⅗ ml) 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
- ¾ cup (177 3/7 ml) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (236 ⅗ ml) brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon Salt
- 3 cups (709 ¾ ml) all purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ cup (354 ⅞ ml) chopped Reese’s peanut butter cups minis divided
- 1 cup (236 ⅗ ml) semisweet chocolate chips
- ½ cup (118 2/7 ml) chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly grease the bottom of a baking pan and line it with parchment paper. Set it aside.
- In a medium mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl using a hand mixer on medium-high speed, cream the butter and both sugars together.
- Add in the eggs, vanilla, and salt and mix on medium speed until just incorporated.
- Slowly add the flour mixture and mix until you get a cookie dough consistency. Then fold in 1 cup chopped Reese’s peanut butter cup minis, ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips, and ¼ cup chopped walnuts until evenly distributed in the dough. Set the remaining aside for topping.
- Spread and press the cookie dough down into an even layer in the prepared baking pan. Sprinkle on the remaining toppings and lightly press them in so they stay in place.
- Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- After baking, leave the bars in the pan and set it on a wire rack. Allow it to cool at room temperature before cutting into squares and serving.
Notes
- Cream Butter – It is important to cream the butter and sugar together for at least 3-4 minutes.
- Chocolate Chips – You can use any type of chocolate chips you would like. Just make sure that you use whatever you would like.
- Dry Ingredients – Add a little dry ingredients at a time, mixing and scraping down the sides.
- Store – Store at room temperature in an airtight container. Or you can freeze for a few months.
- Candy – You will want to make sure your candy is chopped into bite size pieces. You can always swap the Reese’s with other candy bars or chocolate.
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Nutrition Information
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