“Reese’s” No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars: A Family Fave

These no-bake peanut butter bars may change your life.

No, really. They’re the best thing ever.  And they’re perfect for the summer heat.

This recipe has been in my family for as long as I can remember. It’s the perfect chocolate-peanut butter-graham cracker combo. The only way you wouldn’t like them is if you don’t like peanut butter, and then I just don’t know what to do for you. Because peanut butter is the best.

On a complete tangent, I was doing some research for work on Cinnamon Toast Crunch—CTC in my world. I seriously lived on CTC and other crazy, terrible things my freshman year of college, though it’s been years since I’ve let myself buy that kind of cereal. But in the course of my research today I learned that they have PEANUT BUTTER Cinnamon Toast Crunch. It was all I could do not to run across the street to Kroger and buy it immediately.

This recipe’s also great because you don’t have to bake them, so these are perfect when you don’t want to start the oven and heat up the house during the summer.

You might also like:  No-Bake Cookies (a.k.a. Haystacks)

So first you’re  going to crush the graham crackers into crumbs. We’ve found that the easiest way to do this is to put them in a giant ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin. Pour the crumbs into a large mixing bowl.

Add the powdered sugar and stir into the graham cracker crumbs.

Melt the butter and 1 cup of peanut butter in the microwave. If you’re lazy like me and don’t want to actually measure the peanut butter, you can melt the butter first in a 2-cup measure, then add peanut butter to it until it reaches an additional cup.  Volume displacement. Who said you wouldn’t use science class again??

Stir this into the graham cracker-powdered sugar mixture.

You’ll get this nice, messy mixture. Don’t taste it—it’s like crack, you won’t be able to stop. Press it into a 9×13″ pan, it should be about 1/2-inch thick. Get your hands in there and get messy, it’s definitely the best way. And voila, you have a crust!

Melt the chocolate chips and other 1/2 cup of peanut butter together. Be careful not to microwave it for too long or you can burn the chocolate chips, though once you’ve stirred the chocolate and peanut butter together, you’re fine. Stir together until it becomes the most magical, creamy, chocolatey goodness ever.

Pour over the crust, and smooth out evenly. Lick the rubber spatula when you’re done (this is a very important part of the recipe) but be careful not to burn your tongue!

Chill for a couple hours to let it set up. And make sure you cut it into small pieces—a little goes a long way!

Mmmmmmagical! Seriously, these no-bake peanut butter bars are one of my favorite desserts in the world, and what’s great is how easy they are.

Other family-favorite desserts you’ll love:

• Pear-Apple Pie with Struesel Topping
• Banana Cake with Caramel Frosting
• Jam Diagonals
• Grandma’s Chocolate Chip Banana Bread
• Chocolate Cornstarch Pudding
• Want a very different, healthier & delicious version? The Best Copycat Honey Mama’s Peanut Butter Cup Truffle Fudge Bars

No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

Yield: 20+ small pieces

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 15 minutes

These easy and addictive no-bake peanut butter bars have been a favorite in my family since I was a kid...they only take 15 minutes to put together, and are perfect for summer when you don't want to turn the oven on!

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Ingredients

• 1/2 pound of graham crackers (about a half box, but be careful because they've changed box sizes recently)
• 1 pound of powdered sugar
• 1 cup of butter (2 sticks), melted
• 1 cup of peanut butter
• 6 ounces of chocolate chips (half a bag)
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter

Instructions

1. Crush the graham crackers into crumbs. I put them in a giant ziploc bag and crush them with a rolling pin.
2. Pour into a large bowl and stir together with the powdered sugar.
3. Melt the butter and 1 cup of peanut butter, stir together, then pour in the graham cracker-powdered sugar mixture.
4. Stir together, then press into a 9x13" pan, should be about 1/2-inch thick.
5. Melt the chocolate chips and other peanut butter, stir together. Pour over the crust, and smooth out evenly.
6. Chill for a couple hours to let it set up. Cut into small pieces---a little goes a long way!

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