No-Bake Peanut Butter Squares
These are amazing. I know I get excited about food, and especially desserts, but trust me, these are good. They’re like Reese’s peanut butter cups in bar form! I got the recipe from Mike’s cousin Laura, who is an incredible baker. I was at her house one day and she pulled these cookies out of the refrigerator and said “Here, you have to try one of these.” I took one (I don’t often turn down desserts), thinking they looked kind of like a scotcharoo – you know, those rice krispie treat barsΒ with chocolate on top? I took one bite and said “oh my gosh, these are amazing!” And then I asked her for the recipe.
The thing that got me most was the texture. The peanut butter part was soft and smooth,Β yet they’re firm enough to pick up and eat (especially if kept refrigerated). They’re also incredibly rich and full of huge peanut butter and chocolate flavor. Mike doesn’t normally like any sort of peanut butter bar, but even he loved these, and he also compared them to Reese’s peanut butter cups. I definitely recommend you try these. They’re no-bake, and incredibly easy to make. A perfect treat for summer π
Β 
No-Bake Peanut Butter Squares
Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup margarine or butter, softened
1 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs (36 squares)
1 cup chopped peanuts
1 package (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)
1/4 cup peanut butter
Directions:
**you can use chunky peanut butter and omit the peanuts if you want
Line square pan, 9x9x2 inches, with aluminum foil, leaving 1 inch of foil overhanging on opposite sides. Mix powdered sugar, margarine, 1 cup of peanut butter and the vanilla in large bowl. Stir in cracker crumbs and peanuts (mixture will be a little stiff). Press in pan. Heat chocolate chip and 1/4 cup peanut butter over low heat, stirring frequently until smooth. Spread over crumb mixture. Cover and refrigerate about 1 hour or until chocolate is set. Remove from pan, using foil to lift. Fold back foil; cut peanut butter mixture into 36 squares. Refrigerate uncovered about 2 hours or until firm. Cover and refrigerate any remaining squares.
from Laura Perron, originally from Betty Crocker
Welcome! I'm Megan and it's my hope that here you'll find food that has been made with love and recipes that are shared with joy. Thanks for stopping by! 
I love anything with graham cracker crumbs! Yum. That looks incredible.
oh I definitely just saved this recipe! WOW!
Saving!
For some reason, no bake recipe scare me. But these look amazing and I guess I can overcome my fear this once π
No oven? perfect recipe for summer (please no heating the house when it's already toasty). these look great
Katherine
Oooh. I'm a totally sucker for anything chocolate and peanut butter! I will put them on my list!
your baked pasta over on CNC definitely makes me want to make that for dinner tonight! Good work!
You would not believe how addicted I am to Reese's peanut butter cups. These look like a perfect substitute (and marginally healthier, hehe!)
I have a very similar recipe (pretty much the same but for a 9×12 pan) and I get rave reviews whenever I take them anywhere. I omit the peanuts, though, to make them more like Reese's…
Yumm, I have all the ingredients already… Gonna go make these right now. Hubby loves Reeses.
Chocolate! Peanut butter! No BAKE! It's the whole package. I must make this!
Looks good!!! Have to give it a try…
awesome. i'll make some as soon as i get home
How funny is this!?!?! I put out all the stuff in the pan last night, to soften the butter whie at work. Going to go make them as soon as the news is over. We also use a 9X13 and no peanuts. My mother kept my little brother supplied with these in the summer when we were growing up.
They look so good I'm making these tonight. My boyfriend loves peanut butter cups and I know he will love these! Im so glad I've discovered your blog!!
Hi. Megan! Found you on FB and added you on Twitter. Love your site and these bars.
These DO look & sound yummy! All I need are graham cracker crumbs. Headed to the store right now to get some!
just got back from the grocery store, went on line and saw this recipe. headed back to the store… they look and sound soooo good!
These look great, going to try to make them with splenda for my kids who need low sugar and see how they turn out.
These look so good.. wish i had one with my coffee right now! I LOVE Chocolate and I LOVE peanut butter.. the best food groups ever!! Thank you for sharing them.
Oh yum these look good. Definitely going to try this recipe sometime!
Going to my nephews 6th birthday party and think I will make these (might have to have two batchesLOL! I will be all the rave, and by the way, any leftovers,come home with Auntie!!!!
Gonna make these this morning with soybutter and minus the peanuts! (We have severe nut/peanut allergy in the house) So excited, cause I love these, and have missed eating them! Now I can make them for all of us!
After seeing the post on Facebook, then sharing it on there, a request was sent by a family member to make these for the family get together this weekend!!
Thanks so much for all the positive feedback everyone! If you end up making them, please stop back and let me know how they turned out! π And thanks for sharing on facebook – that really made me smile π
I made your "trading up – pasta bake" w/a few changes. I added a T of superseed (flax,etc), a half of can of drained rotel to add spice, a few black beans and 1 carrot pureed into the sauce. Everyone loved it!!! The husband asked me to put aside some after first bite for work lunch today. Also through your guest post I now signed up for your blog. Please keep using NuVal system whenever possibe…it's a great health tool.
These look incredible… I'll have to make these for my next family gathering since everyone in my family LOVES chocolate and peanut butter.
These make well non-dairy as well, so they're perfect for kids with a dairy allergy. I used Fleishmen's unsalted butter and a store bran semi-sweet chocolate chunks. They are great!
I made these for our dinner guests this evening. Everyone LOVED them! I got recipe requests as well. I mentioned they were from your blog. Thanks for the post!
Try using walnuts and semi sweet chocolate make a big difference.
I am making these for my husband for Father's Day. I can't wait! Thanks so much!
This is a terrific recipe. I didn't have a 9 x 9 pan, so I used an 8 x 8, and they were really thick. Next time I'll try a larger pan and see how we like them thinner. There will be a next time!
i'm liking that very thick, very luscious layer of chocolate on top. i'm liking it very much indeed. π
I think I have a recipe similar to this, and I have never made it! So yummy and easy, perfect for summer!
nursegirl – I'm so glad you and your guests liked them! Thanks so much for stopping back to let me know π
Kel – thanks for the positive feedback!
Anonymouse – good idea on the walnuts as well!
I don't think there is any way this recipe could be bad. I mean, peanut butter and chocolate are pretty much a perfect meal in my house. I will be making them this morning. Thanks Megan!
A Cooks Quest – Hope these turned out well for you! π
A Cooks Quest – Hope these turned out well for you! π
I tried these yesterday and they turned out sooo yummy! Thanks Megan π
So glad you liked these!! π
I will be making these for our snack day!!
I’m always looking for no-bake desserts in the summer and these were delicious! The only problem I had was that the peanut butter layer was a little dry and crumbly. I made my own graham cracker crumbs in the food processor and it took a lot more than “36 squares” for me to make 2-3/4 C. I will definitely make these again, but I’m gonna stick to the “36” squares in the recipe. My whole family loved them! (and the neighbors did too!)
I’m glad you liked it! thanks for the feedback on the graham cracker issue as well. π
each time i used to read smaller articles or reviews which also clear their motive, and that is
also happening with this piece of writing which I am reading now.