If you love peanut butter and want to make a quick dessert you must try our peanut butter bars. A perfect combination of chocolate and peanut butter all made in one treat! The best part about this recipe is it is easy, comes together quickly, and is always a crowd pleaser.
What Kind of Chocolate Should I Use?
- Dark Chocolate
- Semi-sweet Chocolate
- Milk Chocolate
- White Chocolate
These peanut butter bars taste delicious with any version of chocolate. Use your favorite kind of chocolate and tailor make the bars to your taste. You could even switch it up and use a chunky peanut butter, if that is what you prefer.
If you are a person who does not like chocolate but can handle white chocolate, this is a great bar for you. Substitute white chocolate for the dark chocolate in the recipe, using a one-to-one ratio. You could always do one batch with dark chocolate and one with white chocolate and serve them side by side.
Can I Use Almond Butter?
If you prefer you can substitute almond butter for peanut butter. Use the same amount of almond butter as the recipe calls for.
How Should I Serve the Peanut Butter Bars?
- Add to a dessert tray
- Place on a dessert charcuterie board
- Serve with a variety of cookies
- Include with your favorite Christmas cookies
Cut the bars into small bites and you can add them to just about any dessert tray. If you prefer the peanut butter bars to be a stand-alone dessert, cut them a little larger.
What Are Some Helpful Hints?
- Melt the butter completely
- Grind the graham crackers as fine as you can
- Use a food processor for best grinding results
- Add the powdered sugar in two or three batches for best results
- Keep the mixture stiff, not runny or crumbly
- Use vegetable oil when melting the chocolate
- Chill the bars until the chocolate is set
- Remove the bars from the refrigerator before cutting them
- Use a sharp knife dipped in hot water to cut the bars
The graham crackers should be ground as fine as you can get them for these peanut butter bars. For this, we have found a food processor does the best job. If you do not have a food processor, you could try a blender. Or, you could add the graham crackers to a resealable bag and run a rolling pin back and forth over the bag. We have tried pounding on the bag, only to get graham cracker crumbs all over the counter. This is not our preferred method. Whatever method you use, make sure they crumbs are finely ground.
Why Do We Use Vegetable Oil When Melting Chocolate?
The reason we use a little vegetable oil when we melt the chocolate for the topping is to keep the chocolate from hardening too much when it sets. If the chocolate is too hard, the peanut butter bars will not cut evenly. You will probably get pieces instead of nice square bars.
Do I Have to Refrigerate the Peanut Butter Bars?
We chill our bars until the chocolate is set to make sure we can have nice even slices to serve. Once the chocolate is set, we remove the peanut butter bars from the refrigerator for about 10 minutes before we cut them. This is an important step. You can use a sharp knife that has been dipped in hot water and wiped dry for ease in cutting.
Want more great recipes using chocolate or would you like to know the best chocolate to use for your recipe? Look no further, no one ever says “no” to eating our brownies with extra flavor!