It’s no secret I love peanut butter.
Between Peanut Butter Comfort and the peanut butter recipes on my blog, I’ve got hundreds.
So when there’s a layer of creamy peanut butter fudge sandwiched between peanut butter cookie dough, I’m in my peanut butter glory.
If you like big, bold, unabashed peanut butter flavor with rich, buttery undertones, you’re going to love these.
Last week I made Fudgy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars and had a half can of sweetened condensed milk left. It would have been a shame to throw out 65 cents worth of sweet milk when I could take a pound of butter and peanut butter and make something new. Makes perfect sense.
The bars are a peanut butter twist on last week’s bars and I tweaked my trusty no-mixer, easy blondie base by adding peanut butter like I did here as well as peanut butter chips. Some of the mixture forms the crust and the rest is crumbled on top.
The rich, creamy peanut butter filling is made with melted peanut butter chips and a half can of sweetened condensed milk. Make Fudgy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, 7-Minute Microwave Caramels, Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Dough Crumble Bars, or Milky Way Chocolate Cookie Crumble Bars with the other half can.
The base layer is extremely soft and moist with while the top layer has more texture. There’s a slight salty-and-sweet vibe too, which I love.
The cookie dough is saltier while the peanut butter fudge layer is sweeter, and it’s a great contrast to bite into, both in terms of texture and flavor.
The bars are hearty, dense, rich, and if you’re having peanut butter cravings, they’ll be squelched in no time.
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Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- heaping 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- pinch salt, optional and to taste
- one 10-ounce bag peanut butter chips, divided (3/4 cup stirred in and 1 cup melted)
- half of one 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk, just eyeball it
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F. Line an 8-by-8-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large, microwave-safe bowl melt the butter, about 1 minute on high power.
- Wait momentarily before adding the egg so you don’t scramble it. Add the egg, brown sugar, peanut butter, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour, optional salt, and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Add 3/4 cup peanut butter chips and stir to combine, don’t overmix or they’ll start to melt.
- Turn between two-thirds and three-quarters of the dough out into prepared pan, smoothing it with a spatula to form a crust; reserve remainder and set aside.
- In a medium microwave-safe bowl, add the remaining 1 cup peanut butter chips, pour sweetened condensed milk over the top, and heat on high power until the chips melt and mixture can be stirred smooth, about 1 to 2 minutes total, but stop to check and stir every 30 seconds so mixture doesn’t scorch.
- Evenly pour peanut butter mixture over crust, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. Work somewhat quickly because mixture begins to set up after a couple minutes.
- Evenly crumble the reserved peanut butter dough over the top. I find it easiest to make heaping 1-tablespoon-sized ‘blobs’, and after all the blobs are in the pan, smoosh and smooth them together with a spatula. The entire surface will barely be covered and there will be some gaps.
- Bake for about 27 to 29 minutes, or until top is just set; it should be very pale in color for soft bars and the darker it gets, the more crumbly the bars become. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 1 hour before slicing and serving. Bars will keep airtight at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 6 months.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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As a peanut butter lover, I approve of these bars 100%! I also approve of all of the other bars you have listed. I’m in sweets heaven right now. Great recipe, Averie!
Thanks, Julie!
Delicious! These look amazing! The combination of sweet and salty is one of my favourites! Is there a substitute for the peanut butter chips? – you can’t get them in Scotland.
I would say use white chocolate chips or butterscotch chips, although the flavors aren’t the exact same, I’d go with those.
Love love love. I need these.
THIS is why it takes me a year to try, say, your pink lemonade bar recipe. Too many tasty distractions. Throw in a few recipes with brussels sprouts and maybe I can catch up.
LOL you crack me up :) LMK if you try these!
You’re the perfect person to ask. Maybe this is in your book, but is there a best type of peanut butter to bake with (beyond creamy or chunky)? I had an oily disaster recently and can only guess it was my peanut butter. XOGREG
Well the honest answer is that the cheaper the PB, the better it bakes. That super cheap storebrand stuff that you can get like a half gallon for 2.99, that’s PERFECT :) And actually because I go through so much of it, I use Ralph’s storebrand honey roasted as my go-to and if I want to splurge, I’ll use Jif. But just cheap, nothing natural, nothing fancy, old-school and highly processed is the best for baking.
Oooh, it’s like you made a peanut butter caramel! I love. Too funny how we’re on the same wavelength these days. #greatminds (I made actual peanut butter cookie sandwiches with PB filling last week, but I’m not posting for awhile. :) ) LOVE these, pinned of course!
Thanks for pinning and when it comes to PB, lately I’ve been on your wavelength, and for pumpkin on Sally’s. It’s been overlap city for me. Thankfully there’s so many PB and pumpkin recipes out there, hopefully no one can keep anything straight that there’s lots of overlapping :)
Wow, this is one of the best ideas ever. I’m a PB junkie as well – it’s my desert island food. Could eat it all day forever and ever. These look *incredible*. Thanks for sharing!
Love this, Avery! Looks so rich and decadent!
Thanks, Karly! :)
These sound like the cookie butter sold at Trader Joe’s! If they’re similar, these would be GONE in an hour in my home, haha. Would love to make these soon.
These bars look heavenly, Averie! And your pictures are flawless, as always! I love the combination of peanut butter and cookies, sounds incredible!
These sound incredible- buttery peanut butter=fabulous!!! I can imagine the rich creamy taste of these right now ;-) totally delicious pinned!
Thanks for pinning!
These look delicious!! I love a good cookie bar. I imagine that these are amazing.
I’m a fan of anything with peanut butter, so of course this looks awesome to me!
Holy peanut butter heaven. Looks beyond good. Thanks for sharing!
You are the queen of cookie bars, Averie! These look fabulous.
Oh my heavens, Averie. You are not kidding around!
So it’s a relief that I’m not the only one who gets annoyed when there’s half a can of condensed milk left over in the fridge. Makes total sense to throw a pound of butter after it and make something new!
Especially if it’s this. I will not be able to stop dreaming about these until I make them!