Before Christmas I made Peanut Butter Blossoms. They disappeared so fast and I was craving peanut butter (what’s new) so I made another batch.
Except I made them as cookie bars rather than individual cookies.
Bars are faster, easier, there’s no dough to chill, they’re made in one bowl, and you don’t even need a mixer.
I adapted my infamous blondie base recipe. With 30+ versions and counting, it never lets me down.
The bars are dense, soft, chewy, buttery, and have plenty of rich peanut butter flavor. It feels so good sinking your teeth into them.
And of course each piece is topped with a Kiss.
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Peanut Butter Blossom Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- ½ cup peanut butter, I use Jif, Skippy or similar; natural PB can separate and/or be too oily
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- about 9 unwrapped chocolate Kisses, if you cut your bars smaller, you’ll need more Kisses
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- To a large, microwave-safe bowl add the butter and heat on high power to melt, about 1 minute.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the peanut butter, egg, brown sugar, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula.
- Bake for about 21 to 24 minutes, or until done. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter.
- After removing pan from the oven, evenly add the Kisses, pressing each one down slightly so that it adheres.
- Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Bars are best fresh but will keep for up to 1 week in an airtight container at room temp or up to 4 months in the freezer.
- Adapted from Peanut Butter Cup Peanut Butter Bars
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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I wrote a Peanut Butter Cookbook with 100+ recipes using Peanut Butter!
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How would you convert to a 13 x9 inch pan?
I’d make this and double the recipe https://www.averiecooks.com/peanut-butter-blossom-cookie-bars/
I tried these tonight and i thought they were good but too sweet If i try them again i will use 3/4 cup of sugar!! My husband loved them!!!
They are sweet but it sounds like your husband loved them just the way they are which is great!
These cookie bars are phenomenal! I made a batch last night for my family of six. We loved them so much that I made a second batch this morning. And I already have the super simple recipe memorized. I’m sure I will be making these many more times. (Your fudgy oatmeal bars are in the oven as I type this.) We didn’t have any Hersheys Kisses so we sprinkled chocolate chips on top (Ghirardelli dark chips…so yummy). Thank you for sharing your gift! I look forward to trying many more of your recipes in the near future.
I can see where with a family of 6 that you needed to make another batch in the morning! Glad you are loving them!
And I hope you love the fudgy oatmeal bars as well!
Oh Averie, just made these with a small tweak of adding a sprinkling of cane sugar over top of the batter before baking. I love blossom cookies , have no patience for making them! These bars are soooo good. Thanks for this recipe and I like your blog a lot.
Thanks for trying the recipe and I’m glad it came out great for you! And yes bars are so much faster and easier than cookies!
hey girl- yummy for my tummy!
Wow. Looks delicious. I usually make Chikki (a traditional Indian sweet generally made from groundnuts / peanuts and jaggery). BTW, very beautiful snaps.
Sounds yummy. I think tomorrow is baking day!
Such a genius idea. So easy!! I love making bars for that reason.
Yes to saving time with bars!
Happy New Year Averie!!Love your blog and should have said so AGES ago!!?Am certain that I have pinned and printed out EVERY recipe I have seen,BUT;I dare not risk it.So am printing them all and adding more to my peanut butter board.Can ALWAYS count on a yummy anything EVERY post!!Your soups?Cookies?Cookiebars?…GAH!!Bug hugs ?
Thanks for being a loyal reader and so glad you love my recipes!
Great idea for bars! Clean and simple with one of the best flavor combinations on the planet!?
You got that right! :)