Triple Peanut Butter Monster Cookie Bars – Soft, gooey bars loaded with M&Ms, chocolate and made for serious peanut butter lovers! So good!
I make my fair share of treats, and have the hodgepodge of random add-ins in my pantry to show for it.
Half-used bags of chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, and a random assortment of candy were taking over the cupboard so I found a home for them.
In these bars.
They’re the perfect bar to toss in everything but the kitchen sink.
Use this flexible and forgiving dough base as your opportunity to stir almost anything that’s plaguing your pantry into it.
What else are you going to do with 1/3 cup chocolate-covered sunflower seeds from your last Trader Joe’s impulse buy or that small handful of butterscotch chips from your last batch of cookies, or a few stray marshmallows.
Use up last year’s Halloween candy or Easter candy. Those Fun-Size Twix bars are begging to be diced and tossed in. Don’t pretend you don’t discover random candy from months ago. Well, I do. Life of a food blogger.
The bars come together in 5 minutes in one bowl, no mixer needed. Unlike making cookies, there’s no dough to chill, and they’re ready in under 30 minutes from start to finish.
I used my go-to blondie base, with a half-cup peanut butter stirred in, before stirring in the kitchen sink.
I had partially used bags of Peanut Butter M&M’s, peanut butter chips, chocolate chips, chocolate chunks, toffee bits, and included them all.
Because peanut butter is used three times – peanut butter that’s stirred into the dough, Peanut Butter M&Ms, and peanut butter chips – they pack a bold, peanut buttery punch.
They’re very moist and soft. The edges turn slightly chewy, while the interior remains a squishy, soft heaven.
The crunchy candy coating of the M&Ms and their firmness, coupled with Heath toffee bits, are the perfect texture contrast to the buttery, peanut buttery, dense, melt-in-your mouth dough.
There’s plenty of chocolate, too. Chocolate and peanut butter just go together. The abundance of melted chocolate chips is practically mandatory with all that peanut butter.
Soft, chewy, fast, easy, peanut butter used three times, and you can clean out your cupboards. That’s success.
And let’s face it, any time you can bake candy into a dessert, you won’t hear too many complaints.
Cleaning out your pantry never tasted so good.
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Triple Peanut Butter Monster Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 stick, melted
- 1 large egg
- 1 cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- heaping 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, use Jif, Skippy, etc.; don’t use homemade or natural – too runny
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup Peanut Butter M&Ms
- ¾ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks, or a combination
- ½ cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips
- ⅓ cup Heath Bar Toffee Bits
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, vanilla, and whisk until smooth.
- Add the peanut butter and whisk or stir until smooth and incorporated.
- Add the flour and stir until just combined, don’t overmix.
- Add all remaining add-ins and fold to incorporate.
- Turn batter out into prepared pan, smoothing the top lightly with a spatula. I like to strategically place a few M&Ms on the top of the batter for a nice visual effect.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until top is set. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out clean, or with a few moist crumbs, but no batter. Allow bars to cool in pan for at least 30 minutes 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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What’s the last pantry cleanout recipe you’ve made? What do you put in your Monster Bars?
These were a big hit with my pb loving hubby and me too of course!
Wow that was fast – the next day after I posted them you made them! Love it! And so glad they were a big hit with you guys. Yay!
I need to do this! My pantry is horrible right now. Thanks for the idea!
Girl I bet between the two of us, we could open a full on retail candy store with all we have going on :)
I saw “triple peanut butter” in the subject of your blog post email and started drooling.
Lol – we must be twins. That happens to me all the time too :)
Oh Averie! These bars look incredible! You had me at peanut butter. And M&Ms. And cookies. Welcome to my brain. XO
I love the texture of these bars! They look so happy and colourful – like a birthday party that never ends. :D
I looove how simple and chock full of goodness these bars are!!
My mouth won’t stop watering! These look so delicious (just like everything else you have)! Thanks so much for sharing. Enjoy your day!
Thanks for such a sweet comment & have a great day, too!
I’ve been waiting for you to post these!!! YUM!!! I’m totally going to buy M & M’s Just. For. These. That blondie base looks chewy and moist and peanut butter dreamy for REAL. Love love love this recipe Averie!!
Girl you really do not have to buy anything to make them. I dunno, maybe with your crew, you don’t have candy coming out of the woodwork and as many odds and ends as I seem to have b/c they eat it rather than stare at it. But if you are going to buy candy, cannot go wrong with PB M&Ms :)
I second that.
Oh my. It’s like eating a spoonful of peanut butter and shoving a handful M&Ms into my mouth. Love it!
EXACTLY! :)
It’s like going to the second hand store and finding cool bits and pieces and then getting them home to combine them into one killer outfit! Super score! We definitely have leftovers of things laying around that we could utilize to make these delicious treats. Gonna have to scour my pantry and fridge tomorrow! I love the colorful m&m’s and the doughy looking dough! Soooo yummy! :-)
Your boys will love you even more :)
Time to go check out what I’ve got hanging out in the pantry. These bars are exactly what I need right now!
I know with all your baking, you’ve probably got plenty of odds and ends too!
Wow! Talk about rich and indulgent! These bars look insanely delicious and almost resemble fudge – candy fudge! Haha
Wow, Averie these look amazing! I love all the flavors. And the colors in these photos are so fun! You are a kitchen superstar. :)
You’re so sweet – thank you!
Add all the peanut butter!!!! You’re are the complete PB Queen Averie! I’m so excited to try these soon!
Oh these look like PB perfection, I just want to sink my teeth into one! Love your combination of mix-ins too!
Averie, this is definitely the best cookie bar base, ever! I have a ton of left over candy ‘n chocolate chips at home. Maybe I should make this tonight…my waistline says no but my taste buds win out every time!
Enjoy your panty cleanout. Tastebuds always win :)