Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares
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With a chocolate cookie crust, peanut butter filling, and milk chocolate topping, these chocolate peanut butter squares are impossible to resist.
When it comes to sweets, I’ve learned that you cannot make people much happier than when you combine chocolate and peanut butter. In fact, I don’t know anyone who can resist these indulgent chocolate peanut butter squares. With a chocolate cookie crust, rich and creamy peanut butter layer, and smooth-as-silk milk chocolate topping, they are simply to die for.
How to make chocolate peanut butter squares
You start with the crust: simply combine Nabisco chocolate wafers (which you can find in the cookie aisle at most grocery stores), butter, sugar and a bit of peanut butter in a food processor and blitz to blend. Press the fine crumbs into a pan and bake.
Next, make the peanut butter filling by combining peanut butter, butter, confectioners’ sugar, dark brown sugar and salt in a mixer.
Melt the chocolate and cream gently in the microwave. When working with chocolate, always go easy on the heat so it doesn’t scorch.
Finally, put it all together: spread a thin layer of chocolate over the cooled crust (this “glues” the peanut butter layer to the crust, otherwise it won’t stick); spread the peanut butter mixture into an even layer over top; then cover with the remaining chocolate.
That’s all there is to it! These bars freeze beautifully so you can make them well in advance; simply defrost them in the refrigerator the day before you plan to serve them.
Be sure to cut them into small fudge-like squares…they’re very rich. Enjoy!
YOu may also like
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- Chocolate Peanut Butter Icebox Cake
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Squares
With a chocolate cookie crust, peanut butter filling, and milk chocolate topping, these chocolate peanut butter squares are impossible to resist.
Ingredients
For the Crust
- 22 Nabisco Chocolate Wafers, finely crushed (or about 1⅔ cups crumbs), from 1 box
- ¼ cup sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (I like Skippy Natural "No Need to Stir")
For the Filling
- 6 tablespoons firmly packed dark brown sugar
- 2 cups Confectioners' sugar
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
- 1⅓ cups creamy peanut butter
- Pinch salt
For the Milk Chocolate Ganache Topping
- 1 (11.5 ounce bag) milk chocolate chips (preferably Ghirardelli or similar quality)
- 6 tablespoons heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°F and spray a 9-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
- Make the crust: Combine the chocolate wafers, sugar, butter and peanut butter in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the blade attachment and pulse until the cookies are finely crushed. Press the mixture firmly into the prepared baking pan (I spread it with my hands first, then use the bottom of a measuring cup to even it out). Bake for 8 minutes. Set on a rack to cool completely.
- In the meantime, make the peanut butter filling: Combine all of the filling ingredients together in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix at low speed until just combined (do not whip). Set the bowl in the refrigerator while you prepare the rest.
- Make the chocolate ganache topping: Combine the milk chocolate chips and heavy cream in a microwave safe bowl and cook in the microwave at medium power (50%) for 1 minute. Stir until the bowl no longer feels warm. Continue heating at 15-30 second intervals, stirring until chocolate is smooth and melted. Do not overheat.
- Put it all together: Spread about ¼ cup of the chocolate mixture evenly over the cooled crust; place the pan in the freezer until the chocolate is set, 5-10 minutes. Spread the peanut butter mixture into an even layer over the chocolate (if it's firm, you can use your hands; if it's soft, use a butter knife or an offset spatula). Give the chocolate ganache a quick stir to smooth any lumps, then spread it evenly over top of the peanut butter layer. Cover the pan with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for 1 hour to set (or, if you're not in a hurry, you can just leave it in the refrigerator for a few hours). When firm, use a sharp knife to cut into squares (make them small as they are very rich!). Run an offset spatula underneath the bars to release the crust so it doesn't crumble. Keep refrigerated and serve cool.
- Note: Nabisco chocolate wafers have become very hard to find. If you can't find them, crushed Oreo thins make a good substitute (no need to remove the cream).
- Freezer-Friendly Instructions: These can be frozen tightly covered for up to 3 months. Let them thaw overnight in the refrigerator before serving.
Nutrition Information
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- Per serving (25 servings)
- Serving size: 1 square
- Calories: 281
- Fat: 17 g
- Saturated fat: 7 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Sugar: 25 g
- Fiber: 1 g
- Protein: 4 g
- Sodium: 51 mg
- Cholesterol: 18 mg
This website is written and produced for informational purposes only. I am not a certified nutritionist and the nutritional data on this site has not been evaluated or approved by a nutritionist or the Food and Drug Administration. Nutritional information is offered as a courtesy and should not be construed as a guarantee. The data is calculated through an online nutritional calculator, Edamam.com. Although I do my best to provide accurate nutritional information, these figures should be considered estimates only. Varying factors such as product types or brands purchased, natural fluctuations in fresh produce, and the way ingredients are processed change the effective nutritional information in any given recipe. Furthermore, different online calculators provide different results depending on their own nutrition fact sources and algorithms. To obtain the most accurate nutritional information in a given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients used in your recipe, using your preferred nutrition calculator.
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I made these for one of our Christmas Eve desserts and everyone loved it. Definitely cut these into small squares as suggested. They are very rich but delicious. Very easy to make, the filling is perfect and I had no trouble with the crust holding together. The addition of peanut butter in the crust did the trick.
These are amazing- and you can cut into smaller pieces because they are so rich (and utterly delicious!). definitely stick with the chocolate wafer cookies, in my opinion!
I’m not sure why but this just didn’t come together the way I hoped. I couldn’t find the chocolate wafers so I used chocolate grahams like someone else suggested. When I tried to spread the chocolate it kept lifting my cooled crust. I ended up dumping all the chocolate on – smoothing it out and PB on top.
I don’t understand what I did wrong. Heated chocolate for 1 min as you said and kept stirring.
Any suggestions? Thanks.
Hi Amy, It sounds like your crust didn’t set in the bottom of the pan, which makes sense — graham cracker crusts are very fragile. Try using oreos next time.
My crew absolutely loved these bars! Soooo rich!
I loved these bars! The ganache and peanut butter layers were absolutely decadent! I had some trouble with the crust, though. The 3 T of unsalted butter didn’t seem to be enough to hold the sugar and chocolate cookie crumb mixture together. I thought that maybe using the bottom of a glass to pack it into the pan and baking it would do the trick; but when I went to cut the bars, the crust was still crumbly. I’m not sure what I did wrong. Any advice?
Hi Cindy, I’m glad you enjoyed these but so sorry you had trouble with the crust. It’s a little crumbly by nature but you should still be able to cut it. That said, I don’t think you did anything wrong. A few others have said the same thing so I’m going to take the recipe down temporarily for some tweaking. I think adding a bit of melted chocolate or peanut butter to the crumbs will help bind the crumbs together and make the crust foolproof. Thank you for your feedback!
Hi All, The recipe has been adjusted so the crust isn’t so crumbly. It’s a cookie crust, so it will always crumble a little bit but by adding a few tablespoons of peanut butter to the crust, I was able to make it hold together much better. Enjoy!
My daughter made these yesterday. I’m not sure if she did something wrong, but the chocolate wafer crust totally crumbled when I cut the squares, so there was essentially no crust. Still delicious though! I’m a sucker for PB and chocolate, so I’ll try making them next time. And there definitely will be a next time!
I will have to try this! Sounds so delicious! Thanks Christy 🙂
I would like to substitute almond butter for the pb. Any suggested modifications?
Hi Deborah, Should work fine. Please come back and let me know how they turn out.
My daughter’s friends thought this was the best dessert they had ever eaten … they were in heaven! I made the chocolate early and then failed to reheat it and it was hard to get on the first layer; after the p-butter layer I reheated the chocolate and then it went on easily.
These things are irresistible. Cut them in smaller fudge squares and they still fly of the table. I’ve made them several times and like the other comments say, go for the OREOs. The graham crackers didn’t work out for me.
These were really good but I couldn’t find the chocolate wafer cookies so I substituted chocolate graham cracker crumbs – there wasn’t enough butter I guess because the crust didn’t hold together at all. Next time I will use oreos for the crust if I can’t find the chocolate wafer cookies. They are very hard to find where I live.
I used Oreo cookies instead of wafers turned out great.
If there is something better than chocolate and peanut butter, I’d like to know what it is…because this recipe is perfect. xoxo!
Delicious. I’ve made them three times… I keep trying to find people to make them for because they are dangerous things to have living at home.
I made these with gluten free chocolate cookies for my mother in law when she came to visit, as she does not eat wheat. Huge success. But I will agree they are very sweet and rich.
I used Oreo cookies without the filling and the crust seems ok so far. My problem is with filling. I put it in the fridge to chill while working on the chocolate ganache, but it was super thick and dried out by time I went to use it! I think I might have to use a chisel to get it out of the bowl 🙁 oh well
Just made these bad boys and wow you got two thumbs up from us! You have a new fan!!
What substitute could be used for the wafers? I live in the UK and can’t find anything similar. I can find graham crackers tho. Would those work? Or digestive biscuits?
Hi Francine, Some people have used Oreo cookies (without the filling) and it worked well. Hope that helps!
I made these to bring in for an office luncheon the other day and they disappeared in minutes! I’ve already received requests to make them and bring them in again, this is definitely a keeper!
These were the most delectable desserts I have ever made for a party! Don’t forget to do two layers of ganache (unlike me, who forgot the first one. Still delicious, just messier!)
Yummmmm yummm mmm…….mmmmm………..so good!!! Thank you for sharing.
These look wonderful!
Can’t wait to make them!
This is one of my Christmas regulars now. If I want any for neighbors and friends-I have to hide them from my family! They are crazy about them!
I had a problem with the bottom crust. I bought the Nabisco Famous chocolate wafers, but when I counted out 22 of them and put them through my food processor I only got about a cup. Your recipe said it should be about 1 2/3 cup. I was in a quandary. I know sometimes they change they size of cookies, so I thought I would be safer going with the 1 2/3 cups. Mistake. The crust was too thick and crumbled when I cut into the bars. I didn’t think I there was enough butter for that much crumbs but went with it anyway. Could you clarify please? One other thing. My ganache for the top was a bit greasy. I microwaved it very slowly with the cream and it didn’t seize, but it was greasy. Is that because of my chips? ( I didn’t Ghirardelli.) They still are delicious and I hope to get my questions answered so I can give them another try!
Hi Kim, Did you by chance pack the cookie crumbs into the measuring cup? That would explain the difference in measurement. 22 cookies is definitely the right amount if you try it again. Also, keep in mind that the crust is a bit crumbly by nature (all cookie crusts are) but you should be able to cut it without too much breakage. As for the chocolate ganache, I think your hunch is right. It’s important to use a good quality chocolate, especially when melting chocolate chips because there are additives. If you can’t find good quality chips, it’s best to use a baking bar instead. Hope all this helps. If you try it again, please let me know how it comes out.
Oh my, these are so YUMMY!! Everyone LOVED them!!
I entered this recipe in a Chocolate Contest held by my college HMR Club. I won second place!
these look really good! I think that my daughter would really like these!
Melting chocolate in the microwave is a lot easier because you don’t have to work over a double boiler. These bars look awesome – can’t wait to make them.
I made these for Christmas and included them in my cookie tin. It got rave reviews. Thanks! Very easy to make too.
What is confectioner’s sugar? I’m in the UK so it may mean something completely different over here! Icing sugar?!
Fern, It is the same as powdered sugar. Hope that helps.
These are rich and delicious for true chocolate lovers like my son who loves these!
Thanks, these were a HUGE holiday party hit!!
These are so easy and so delicious. I always make two recipes at a time. One to eat right away and one for the freezer. Although, sometimes the freezer batch never makes it to the freezer!
These are incredible and easy. Always have a pan in my freezer!
I just made these for a bunko party I’m hosting tomorrow night. They are delicious. I love your recipes and your balance of both healthful and indulgent, both of which I believe have a place in life.
Hi, any reason I couldn’t use a dark chocolate instead of a milk chocolate for the chocolate topping? I have a lot of really good dark chocolate and I am looking for some good easy recipes… Thanks in advance for your response.
Leslie
Just finished making this, came out perfectl delicious! Thank you so much, I’m bringing them to my best friend’s house-warming party and I’m sure they’ll be a hit!
Really tasty and easy to make! Although.. I used vanilla wafers rather than chocolate cookies, I thought the ganache was chocolate enough. I also used 3 tbls brown sugar and 2 tbls white sugar for the peanut butter layer and it tasted great. I don’t think that much sugar is necessary. Cutting the squares small is very good advice!
These are really easy to make (and eat!) with kids. We didn’t have chocolate wafers in the house so used Oreos instead, no problem. The cookies disappeared in no time.
“These are the most fantastic cookie things.” This is what everyone I shared these with over the holidays kept saying. Thank you for sharing these. I can’t believe they are so easy to make.
these look beautiful. my kids would be super happy if they found these sitting under our cake dome!
How many calories per square?
I might seriously OD on these! My favorite combo…they look absolutely AMAZING!!
Irresistible? I would say so!!!!! yUM
These look insanely good!!!!
YOU… are brilliant 🙂
One of my all time favorite combinations. And the pictures bring out their decadecnce. Beautiful and delicious!
Peanut butter and chocolate is the best. Thanks for the recipe!
Those look amazing! What a delightfully decadent dessert that is the perfect blend of the two best: chocolate and peanut butter. 🙂
Totes! Eye luv pb&choc! yeuh gurl!! LAWLZ
OMG those look so good! I’m going to buy a boatload of peanut butter and chocolate and sit in a stupor all weekend.
Thanks for posting this recipe!
Those look so good! I may have to add them to my cookie collection.