🥜🍫😍 My No-Bake Cornflake Peanut Butter Bars are rich, chewy, and loaded with nutty chocolate flavor. A great recipe for both kids and adults, this easy no-bake combines in one bowl with simple, failproof steps!
Best Ever Cornflake Bars
I love soft, dense, really chewy peanut butter bars made with Cornflakes. And these bars are really chewy!
You can whip them up in 15 minutes in one bowl. Best of all, there is peanut butter used three times in this recipe!
It’s used in the saucy mixture that holds the bars together, it’s melted with chocolate chips to create a chocolate-peanut butter fudgy topping, and it’s swirled into said topping.
Did I mention I wrote a cookbook with 100 peanut butter recipes? I can never have too much peanut butter, so three times in one recipe isn’t even over the top. Definitely the best that Cornflakes have ever tasted!
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Ingredients You’ll Need
The chocolate peanut butter cornflake bars are so simple to make and use ingredients you likely have on hand:
- Peanut butter – I recommend using a creamy peanut butter instead of crunchy peanut butter for easy mixing. Also, avoid natural varieties, as they tend to separate and can make your bars oily. Brands like Jif and Skippy are best. If you have allergies in your household or are out of peanut butter, use any no-stir nut or seed butter you like
- Light corn syrup – I haven’t tested this recipe with honey or agave, but imagine it would work. I think honey would work the best because it’s very similar in consistency to corn syrup
- Granulated sugar
- Light brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Cornflake cereal – Seeing as how these are Cornflake bars, it’s best to make the recipe with Cornflakes. However, I imagine Special K or Rice Krispies treats would be a good substitute
- Semi-sweet chocolate chips – Bittersweet chocolate or dark chocolate would also work
Note: Scroll down to the recipe card section of the post for the ingredients with amounts included and for more complete directions.
How to Make Cornflake Bars
These corn flake peanut butter bars are a cinch to make! You’ll have to be patient and let the bars set before cutting into them, though.
- Make the bars: In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine peanut butter, corn syrup, sugars, and heat on high power to melt. Then, stir in the vanilla, followed by the cereal.
- Turn mixture out into a foil-lined 8×8-inch pan, packing it down somewhat firmly with a spatula and smoothing the top; set pan aside.
- Make the topping: In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine chocolate chips, heaping 1/4 cup peanut butter, and heat on high power to melt. You can also melt the ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat or low heat, stirring frequently.
- Pour the melted chocolate mixture over bars, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula or knife; set aside.
- Add 1/4 cup peanut butter to a small microwave-safe bowl and heat to melt. Evenly drizzle peanut butter over the chocolate and swirl it lightly with the tip of a knife or toothpick. For extra flavor, feel free to add toppings like chopped nuts, coconut flakes, mini marshmallows, or a sprinkle of salt. Then, cover the pan with a sheet of foil, and place it in the fridge to set before lifting out with foil overhang, slicing, and serving.
Make the Marble Swirl Atop the Bars
To create the marbled pattern shown, do the following:
- Drizzle peanut butter over the chocolate in 5 wide, evenly spaced, parallel lines, each spanning the width of the pan. Like 5 rows of long train tracks.
- Rotate the pan 90 degrees.
- With a toothpick, starting at the top of the pan, “draw” 5 evenly spaced lines through the peanut butter. You’re dragging the toothpick perpendicularly through the first set of lines to create the pattern.
Double the Recipe
For a large batch of peanut butter cornflake bars, simply double the ingredients and use a 9×13-inch pan. The process will stay the same!
No-Bake Cornflake Peanut Butter Bars
Equipment
- 1 (8 inch) Square Pan
- 2 Large, Microwave-Safe Bowls
Ingredients
Bars
- 1 heaping cup creamy peanut butter, don’t use natural or homemade, it’s too runny to glue the cereal together
- ½ cup light corn syrup, light colored, not lite
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups corn flakes cereal
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Topping
- ½ heaping cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, melted
- ¼ heaping cup creamy peanut butter, melted with the chocolate
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter, for swirling on top
Instructions
Bars
- Line an 8-inch square pan with aluminum foil leaving overhang, spray with cooking spray; set aside.
- In a large microwave-safe bowl, combine 1 heaping cup peanut butter, corn syrup, sugars, and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt.
- Stop to stir. Mixture will be on the granular side, this is okay.
- Return bowl to microwave and heat for 1 more minute on high power.
- Stir in the vanilla.
- Stir in the cereal.
- Turn mixture out into prepared pan, packing it down somewhat firmly with a spatula and smoothing the top; set pan aside.
Chocolate-Peanut Butter Topping
- In a large microwave-safe bowl (the same one is fine, no need to wash it provided you scraped it with a spatula fairly clean) combine chocolate chips, heaping 1/4 cup peanut butter, and heat on high power for 1 minute to melt.
- Stop to stir. Chips may not be completely melted. Return bowl to microwave and heat in 10 to 15-second bursts until mixture can be stirred smooth.
- Pour chocolate mixture over bars, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula or knife; set aside.
- Add 1/4 cup peanut butter to a small microwave-safe bowl and heat to melt, about 30 seconds. Stir peanut butter smooth.
- Evenly drizzle peanut butter over the chocolate and swirl it lightly with the tip of a knife or toothpick. To create the marbled pattern shown, drizzle peanut butter over the chocolate in 5 wide, evenly spaced, parallel lines, each spanning the width of the pan. Like 5 rows of long train tracks.
- Rotate pan 90-degrees. With a toothpick, starting at the top of the pan, “draw” 5 evenly spaced lines through the peanut butter. You’re dragging the toothpick perpendicularly through the first set of lines to create the pattern.
- Cover pan with a sheet of foil (to prevent fridge smells), and place pan in fridge to set up for at least 2 to 3 hours, or overnight, or until chocolate layer is completely set before lifting out with foil overhang, slicing, and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Ritz Cookies (No-Bake Christmas Cookies) — If you need a ridiculously easy, no-bake dessert for a party, holiday cookie exchange, or just have a spur of the moment craving for chocolate and peanut butter, these Ritz cookies are perfect!
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Buckeye Fudge — EASY, no-cook, no-fuss, FOOLPROOF fudge that’s ready in 1 hour! Dense, chewy, and full of rich peanut butter flavor with a smooth, fudgy chocolate topping! It’s irresistible!
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I have made these often. They are always a hit. I have used several different gluten free cereals and every one of them were yummy. Thank you so much for your great recipes.
Thanks for trying the recipe and glad it came out great for you!
Can you use agave or honey in place of the corn syrup without affecting the recipe?
I haven’t tested for sure, so can’t speak absolutely, but I think you will be fine with either.
My daughter was ecstatic when she ate this. It put me in mind of a butterfinger-ey dessert. I only had bittersweet chocolate chips available and I think I’d prefer the semi-sweet ones but desperate times call for desperate measures. :) Thanks for another good dessert that I can add to my gluten-free and don’t-heat-up-the-kitchen options.
gluten-free and don’t-heat-up-the-kitchen options <--- AMEN And yeah I think b-sweet would be a little too bitter and semi-sweet would be better but as you said, use what's in the pantry. Always, yes! Glad you're happy with these - I love these bars too!
Oh, cornflakes!! One of my fav cereals now in bar form – this just made day. :D
I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to get these out of my head until I make them. They look amazing!!
And thanks for the pin! :)