Chocolate and peanut butter is a match made in heaven. These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are incredibly quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Chocolate & Peanut Butter – a delicious flavour combination
Chocolate and peanut butter is definitely one of my favourite flavour combinations. And it’s definitely not just me! Loads of people can’t get enough of it either.
One of the most famous examples of this flavour combination is Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups. I think they are absolutely delicious. If you do too, you will be very pleased to know these No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars taste exactly the same!
A british version of an american recipe
These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are my adapted version of an original recipe by Sally’s Baking Addiction.
One of the ingredients in the original recipes was graham crackers. This isn’t something we have in the UK so this had to be changed!
I have also changed the dark chocolate for milk chocolate and played around with the quantities of the other ingredients.
only five ingredients
These delicious No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are made using only five ingredients! What could be more simple than that?!
They are also ingredients that most people will already have in their kitchens.
- Salted butter
- Digestive biscuits
- Icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- Smooth Peanut Butter
- Milk Chocolate
No bake deliciousness
As well as only using five simple ingredients, these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are no bake which makes them even easier.
No bake literally means there is no baking involved. You do need to melt some of the ingredients but that isn’t very involved at all!
No bake treats are especially perfect for when the weather is really hot. You want something sweet, but you don’t want to spend ages in the kitchen with the oven on making things even warmer!
If you’re looking for more no bake treats, check out my Peanut Butter Chocolate Rice Krispie Bars.
Easy & quick to make
I have even more good news for you. As well as these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars only using five ingredients and being no bake; they are very easy and quick to make!
As these bars are so easy to make, they are a great for children to get involved with.
Which biscuits are best to use?
After doing some research, I think that digestive biscuits are the closest we have in the UK to graham crackers.
Digestive biscuits are very easy to get hold of but you could also use rich tea biscuits if you happen to have them instead.
Make sure you don’t use chocolate digestive biscuits though as you don’t want chocolate in the base of these bars!
How to blitz the biscuits
The easiest and quickest way to blitz the digestive biscuits is by using a food processor.
If you don’t have a food processor, you can bash them with a rolling pin. Put the digestive biscuits in a plastic bag and then bash them with a rolling pin.
Keep crushing the biscuits until they are very fine. You want them to be almost sand texture.
Which chocolate is best to use?
Although the original recipe used dark chocolate, I prefer to use milk chocolate.
This is because I prefer milk chocolate in general. But I also wanted them to taste as close to Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups as possible.
which butter should be used?
The recipe recommends using salted butter. This is slightly unusual for baking as you typically use unsalted butter. By using salted butter it offsets the sweetness slightly which really works for these bars.
You can absolutely use unsalted butter and these No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars will still be delicious. Alternatively, you could use unsalted butter and add a pinch of salt.
I would not recommend using margarine for this recipe. Butter is definitely the best option.
Which peanut butter is best to use?
I use smooth peanut butter for these bars as it means they are a similar texture to Reece’s Peanut Butter Cups.
If you would prefer, you can use chunky peanut butter to add some texture.
Can these No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter bars be made gluten free?
Yes, you can definitely make these bars gluten free.
Gluten free digestive biscuits tend to be slightly softer in texture. This could mean that they crumble slightly more when you cut them into squares, but this shouldn’t be a problem.
How many bars does this recipe make?
You can cut these bars as big or as small as you like.
I tend to cut them into 24 pieces because I think that is the perfect size. You could cut them into smaller pieces, but I wouldn’t go much bigger because it might be a bit rich!
do these bars need to be kept in the fridge?
They do, yes.
They tend to melt if it is a bit of a warmer day which can get messy! I also think they taste even nicer when they are straight from the fridge.
How long with these Chocolate Peanut butter bars keep?
These bars will keep for up to one week. They need to be kept in an airtight container in the fridge.
You can freeze these bars if you would like. Place them in a freezer safe container and add a piece of baking parchment between each layer. Defrost them them in the fridge.
Other recipes you might like
- White Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Chocolate Crinkle Cookies
- Peanut Butter Cup Cookies
- Banana & Peanut Butter Muffins
- Peanut Butter & Chocolate Banana Bread
- Chocolate & Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies
Pin for later
No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Chocolate and peanut butter is a match made in heaven. These No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars are incredibly quick and easy to make and absolutely delicious!
Ingredients
- 120 g salted butter melted
- 130 g digestive biscuits crushed
- 120 g icing sugar (powdered sugar)
- 185 g smooth peanut butter
For the topping
- 40 g smooth peanut butter
- 200 g milk chocolate
Instructions
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Line a 20x20cm baking tin with parchment paper
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Melt the butter in a heatproof bowl in the microwave and set aside
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Blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor into a fine crumb and add to the melted butter along with the icing sugar and 185g peanut butter
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Spread the mix evenly onto the bottom of the prepared tin
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Melt the chocolate along with 40g peanut butter in heatproof bowl in the microwave making sure you check and stir the mix often
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Pour the melted chocolate and peanut butter mix over the biscuit base and smooth out evenly
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Allow to full cool in the fridge for at least 4 hours. Cut into small squares and enjoy!
Recipe Notes
Keep in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
Nutritional information is given as a guide and may vary.
Janice Pattie says
Oh my goodness, so much yumminess in one traybake should not be possible, but somehow you have done it!
Curly says
Haha thank you Janice 🙂
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
One of my favourite flavour combinations! I love that they’re no bake too!
Curly says
So good isn’t it! Yes super easy 🙂
Chloe Edges says
So I will be doubling the base mix next time because silly me ate half of it straight out the mixing bowl And the chances of it sitting in the fridge for the next 4 hours untouched is slim to none. So I’d call that a roaring success!
Curly says
Haha! That is the problem with them, they’re just so bloomin’ tasty! Glad you liked them 🙂
Helen - Cooking with my kids says
I love a good no bake treat. I’m a big fan of Reeces Peanut Butter cups, so I like the sound of these!
Curly says
You would definitely like these then 🙂
Michelle Rolfe says
Yeah I have a weakness for peanut butter and chocolate. Like Chloe I am a tad scared to make these and they won’t last long! Michelle x
Curly says
Haha that is the thing! They are dangerous!
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
These look so delicious! Such a great flavour combo 😀 Eb x
Curly says
Thanks Eb 🙂 x
Lesley says
I love peanut butter – something I can scoff straight from the jar. These look delish and I’m off to see if I’ve smooth peanut butter as I usually have crunchy! If not then it’s getting added to my shopping list!
Curly says
I have never actually eaten peanut butter by itself or on toast. I always use it in baking. oooh you will love them.
Lesley says
Delicious. I made these tonight and substituted the peanut butter with almond butter instead as my daughter has a peanut allergy. Really simple to make and we all had a slice tonight. It’s a big thumbs up from all the family, I’ll be making these again!
Curly says
So pleased you liked them 🙂 That is a great idea!
Jools says
Loved the traybake but used half crunchy, half smooth peanut butter as like more texture. Also put a thin layer of caramel between the peanut butter mix and chocolate…..yum.
Curly says
That sounds amazing Jools! So happy you liked it 🙂
Jennifer says
I came upon this recipe while searching for something else but it looked so good I went straight to the kitchen to try it. The peanut butter we have is Meridian smooth and it looks to be a lot softer than the one you show in your recipe so I was a bit concerned that it may not work and we’d be eating it with a spoon ! I’ve just checked in the fridge and it looks fine and firmed up. Just two hours and thirty seven minutes before I can try it. ( not clock watching !! )
Curly says
Haha I really hope you like them Jennifer!