Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie BarsAll the flavor and texture of peanut butter-chocolate cookies, but much faster and easier. The batter comes together in minutes by hand and in one bowl. In under 30 minutes, from start to finish, you can be eating one of these bars.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

Sometimes I think there’s no new way to combine peanut butter and chocolate.

But then I put my thinking cap on and something always comes to me.

I was craving something dense, thick, peanut buttery and chocolaty, and very easy. I wasn’t in the mood for stand mixers and dough chilling. I wanted something fast and not fussy in the least. Sometimes I can handle tedious baking projects and other times, I have the patience of a flea.

I planned to use browned butter in the batter and finish them with a melted peanut butter-chocolate chip drizzle, but kept them pretty bare bones and am so glad I did. The peanut butter flavor comes through, and the glorious hunks and chunks of dark chocolate shine in every bite.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

They’re made in one bowl, no mixer required, and the batter comes together by hand in five minutes. After a short 20 minute stint in the oven, you can be enjoying big chewy bites. I love recipes that don’t require hours of advance planning and that go from cupboard shelves and into my belly in under 30 minutes flat.

They combine many favorite recipes into one. They remind me of a pan-full of peanut butter-spiked Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Cups. As an aside, if you’re prone to cookies that spread, it’s impossible with those because they’re baked in muffin cups.

I love the soft, fudgy density of Peanut Butter and Jelly Blondies and this recipe is reminiscent of those, but because I used a pinch of baking soda and slightly more flour, they have more of a cookie-bar than a blondie texture. And, they’re loaded with chocolate chunks like my favorite Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chunk Cookies.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

To make them, melt the butter, about 1 minute in the microwave. Stir in an egg, sugars, vanilla, a hearty scoop of peanut butter, and the dry ingredients. After the batter comes together, fold in chopped dark chocolate. I used Trader Joe’s Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar. I love their Pound Plus Bars for baking and the 72% and the Dark Chocolate are my two favorites.

A tip when chopping chocolate is to put a piece of parchment paper on your cutting board before chopping. It makes it so easy to pick up and dump the whole shredded mess into your mixing bowl. Chocolate isn’t able to cling to the cutting board, making cleanup much easier. I chop many batches of chocolate on the same piece of parchment and tuck it inside the wrapper of my leftover chocolate bar for next time. I hate to waste, even paper.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

After the chocolate is folded in, transfer batter to the pan, and bake for about 20 minutes. Don’t overbake because the bars will set up in the pan as they cool. A toothpick test may or may not work because there’s so much chocolate in them and I had to insert a toothpick in four different spots until I stopped hitting chocolate and struck dough. Not a horrible problem to have.

They have all the benefits and taste of Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookies, but faster and easier. I love pans of bars because there’s no dough to chill or form into individual mounds. No mixer dishes to do, and nothing can accidentally spread out all over a cookie sheet since it’s baked a pan.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

The flavor of peanut butter is distinct and present but not overwhelming and doesn’t overshadow the buttery, sweet dough. The edges raised up and puffed a bit while baking and turned chewy, yet the interior remained dense, tender, moist, and soft.

The chocolate chunks are beautiful surprises that you can sink your teeth into in every bite.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

There are so many ways to doctor these up, from using browned butter rather than melted, or adding white, butterscotch or peanut butter chips. Sprinkle in a handful of marshmallows, M&Ms, or a favorite candy. The dough is ripe for add-ins.

Before serving, drizzle with chocolate, melted peanut butter or melted chocolate peanut butter. After the photos, I drizzled some Dark Rum Caramel Sauce over the top on a whim. Oh my, highly recommended and if only I gotten a picture. You’ll have to use your imagination or just make some for yourself.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

Those center cut bites are my favorite. Under-baked, gooey, rich, and flanked with hunks of dark chocolate.

Even after writing a cookbook with 100 Peanut Butter Recipes I don’t think I’ll ever run out of ways to combine peanut butter and chocolate.

They’re my favorite food groups.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars averiecooks.com

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars - Soft peanut butter bars with big chunks of chocolate in every bite! Faster & easier than making cookies!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars - All the flavor and texture of peanut butter-chocolate cookies, but much faster and easier. The batter comes together in minutes by hand and in one bowl. In under 30 minutes, from start to finish, you can be eating one of these bars.

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4.63 from 8 votes

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chunk Cookie Bars

By Averie Sunshine
All the flavor and texture of peanut butter-chocolate cookies, but much faster and easier. The batter comes together in minutes by hand and in one bowl. In under 30 minutes, from start to finish, you can be eating one of these bars. The peanut butter flavor is present, but doesn't overwhelm the buttery, sweet dough. The edges are chewy, and the interior remains dense, tender, moist, and soft. There's an abundance of chocolate in every bite, perfect for those who love pairing peanut butter and chocolate.
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 25 minutes
Servings: 9
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Ingredients  

  • ½ cup unsalted butter, melted (1 stick)
  • 1 large egg
  • Âľ cup light brown sugar, packed
  • ÂĽ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ½ cup creamy peanut butter heaping, like Jif or Skippy, do not use homemade
  • 1 ÂĽ cups all purpose flour
  • ½ teaspoon baking soda
  • pinch salt, optional and to taste
  • 6 ½ ounces dark or semi-sweet chocolate, roughly chopped (I used Trader Joe's Dark Chocolate Pound Plus Bar, 54%)

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. Allow the butter to cool momentarily so you don't scramble the egg. Add the egg, sugars, vanilla, and stir vigorously to combine, for about 1 minute. Stir in the peanut butter. Add the flour, baking soda, optional salt and stir until just incorporated. Stir in chocolate. Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing it lightly with a spatula. Bake for 18 to 22 minutes, or until center is just set and golden (a toothpick test should come out clean if you hit dough but because of the abundance of chocolate, hitting chocolate is more likely). Bars will firm up more in pan as they cool.
  • Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes before slicing and serving. Store extra bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week, or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
  • Bars may be kept gluten-free by replacing the flour with your favorite gluten-free baking blend.

Nutrition

Serving: 1, Calories: 428kcal, Carbohydrates: 50g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 24g, Saturated Fat: 12g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 11g, Cholesterol: 48mg, Sodium: 169mg, Fiber: 3g, Sugar: 33g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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What’s your favorite way to eat peanut butter and chocolate?

Recipes links welcome.

Thanks for the Barre Real Food Bars Giveaway entries

About the Author

Welcome to AverieCooks! Here you’ll find fast and easy recipes that taste amazing and are geared for real life. Nothing fussy or complicated, just awesome tasting dishes everyone loves!

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Please note: I have only made the recipe as written, and cannot give advice or predict what will happen if you change something. If you have a question regarding changing, altering, or making substitutions to the recipe, please check out the FAQ page for more info.

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Comments

  1. So long as there are food bloggers, there will always be a new way to combine chocolate & peanut butter – and these look particularly wonderful!

    1. “as there are food bloggers, there will always be a new way to combine chocolate & peanut butter” — Amen :)

  2. This right here is my mom’s recipe. I swear to you, it is identical, save the dark chocolate chunks. She’s a semi-sweet chip girl all the way, but otherwise, she could have written this. From the ease of mixing, to the instant gratification, to the lack of tons of dishes to clean.

    Now I’m hungry.

  3. Amazing how you can slice them so cleanly despite the chocolate chunks. I love those big chunks of chocolate and how dense and moist these look. Thanks for sharing the parchment tip. I’m always trying to clean out the chocolate stains from my cutting board.

    1. You have to let them cool completely, like overnight and THEN you can slice choc chunks like that. And with a super sharp knife. If you try to do it before it’s set up again, it will melt and ooze. Which is fine but a different ‘look’ photographically. And the parchment tip – such a timesaver!

  4. Your bars and cookies always look so perfect and SO delicious! I’m definitely going to get around to making some soon, and I’ll let you know when I do!

  5. These look killer, Averie! You amaze me with how much you get done. i seriously need a few lessons from you

  6. YUM! Those look delicious. It’s so funny that we both made peanut butter bar cookies today!

    1. And when I was writing my cookbook, I made something very close for the book that you made today!

  7. Any easy recipe that calls for peanut butter and chocolate sounds amazing. I go through moods where I don’t feel like spending tons of time on baking. Or sometimes my schedule just won’t allow it. But lack of time should never mean lack of flavor. These look absolutely delicious. And your pictures are beautiful!

    1. Thanks for the sweet comment, Elaine! And I totally agree….lack of time should never mean lack of flavor. As a busy working mom (right along with millions of others), making great food in a hurry is a must!

  8. Averie, the texture of your baked goods is always spot on. Usually I would have to taste something to say that, but every time you can just seeee how the centers are perfectly just set, but still soft, and the tops are perfectly cooked. Gahhhh, I just want to sink my teeth into like 10 of those right now!

    1. Thanks, Ari! It’s my goal to have my photography show that and I am glad it speaks the truth of how the bars REALLY are in person!

  9. Our patience is on the same level. ;) Sometimes hauling out the stand mixer, ridiculously-long refrigeration times, and a sinkful of bowls is…ok — sometimes it’s not. I’m always on the look out for instant-gratification desserts, these bare look marvelous!

    1. These are as close to instant-gratification as you can get without just dipping a spoon into the PB jar :)

  10. PB and chocolate NEVER gets old or boring and a quick bar recipe is always a winner! As always, these look fabulous…big chunks of chocolate and a little gooey-ness. I love that tip about chopping chocolate on parchment paper–I always hate doing it on a cutting board too and I’m all for less messiness and convenience!

    1. It’s going to really save you some time (and cleanup) b/c those particles just seem to grind in and embed into my cutting board but problem solved with the parchment!

  11. Yet another reason I need to buy the TJ’s 54% dark chocolate bar! I absolutely love one-bowl desserts, and especially those that are prepped and baked in less than 30 minutes. This is a winning recipe, for sure!

    1. Thanks, Eva! I always keep a stash of all chocolate types on hand, at all times. Woudn’t truly matter which % you use here; just go by your mood how dark you want to go!

  12. I can’t wait to try these. I love Trader Joe’s also. That’s great advice about using parchment under the chocolate when chopping. I have had chocolate cling to the chopping board in the past.

    Congrats on your book. It’s great for us peanut butter lovers and I think it would make a great gift.

    1. Thanks for the congrats about my book and yes, for any PB lover it will be a book I’m sure they’d enjoy. The parchment is going to really save you some time (and cleanup) b/c those particles just seem to grind in and embed into my cutting board but problem solved with the parchment!