Ooey gooey chocolate chip peanut butter bars…
The Ultimate Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
These chocolate chip peanut butter bars are one of the top most popular recipes on my blog – and for very good reason!
When you need a recipe that both meat eaters and vegans love, these bars are an absolute must-try, because they will never let you down.
Of every dessert I’ve ever made, these peanut butter bars are still one of my go-to recipes for parties, because they’re easy to transport, get rave reviews even from guests who aren’t into healthy eating, and you’re pretty much guaranteed no leftovers by the end of the night.
People go crazy for the soft, gooey, peanut buttery texture and melty chocolate in each delicious bite, and they taste like the lovechild of a chocolate chip cookie and a Reeses peanut butter cup!
*There’s now also a chocolate brownie version, so be sure to try the Brownie Batter Bars!
Above – watch the video of making the peanut butter bars!
The peanut butter bars can be:
Vegan
Keto
Gluten Free
Dairy Free
Sugar Free
Egg Free
Grain Free
Soy Free
Paleo
And Oil Free
(For high-protein peanut butter bars, make these Protein Bars.)
Homemade Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
With chocolate and peanut butter, is it any surprise how good these are?
If Nestlé and Hersheys were to collaborate on a dessert, I’m pretty sure they’d come up with something along the lines of these gooeylicious chocolate chip peanut butter bars.
The recipe was originally adapted from my Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies, and I’ve changed it over the years to make it even better (which I didn’t think was possible, because the original was so good!).
Below is the newest version, which now includes a keto friendly option for those who need it. Everyone should be able to enjoy these crazy delicious peanut butter bars!
(Above, bringing the bars to a party earlier this year. They did not last long!)
If you want a bigger batch, try the popular Ryan Reynolds Blondie Bars.
Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup applesauce, or yogurt such as coconutmilk yogurt
- 1 cup peanut butter OR allergy-friendly alternative – nut-free recipe here
- 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
- 1/8 tsp salt
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp flour – you can use spelt, white, sorghum, oat, almond, even or buckwheat (50g)
- 2/3 cup granulated sugar of choice or xylitol
- 1/4 cup chocolate chips, optional
- up to 2 tbsp milk of choice, only if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8-inch pan, or line with parchment. Gently heat nut butter if not already stir-able, then stir in the applesauce and vanilla extract. In a separate bowl, stir baking soda, salt, flour, sugar, and chocolate chips. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and keep stirring—it will seem very dry at first, so you’ll need to break up the nut butter and stop occasionally to scrape it off your spoon. If needed, slowly add up to 2 tbsp milk of choice as you stir. Don’t add more milk; it will eventually get gooey like cookie dough. Transfer the batter to the prepared pan. Smooth down evenly. (I press a second sheet of parchment on top to smooth, then remove this sheet.) Press some chocolate chips into the top if desired. Bake 10 minutes. When you take the peanut butter bars out, the top will look set but they will still be very undercooked underneath. This is okay! Leave them to cool for at least 20 minutes, during which time they will firm up. (They also firm up even more overnight.)View Nutrition Facts
Video
Notes
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These were AMAZING! Made them for my roommates and they’d barely had one before asking for seconds. They all said they tasted just like gooey cookie dough. Definitely keeping this recipe for the future (as in tomorrow when were all craving another batch to deal with midterm stress). Super quick and easy to make, and extremely delicious- regardless of the healthiness. Used my own oat flour blended with a magic bullet and it worked really well. Thank you so much for the recipe!
How much truvia should I have used in this recipe?
Tried these yesterday and they’re amazing! Highly suggest to PB and chocolate fans 🙂
Well, these didn’t last long. Made them tonight (Saturday) thinking I’d have some to take into work on Monday. BWAHAHAHA! In the slicing stage the still gooey chocolate chips said “eat me” so, like Alice…. I ate 2/3 of the pan. Ooops.
On a high note, these are very rich, so they actually stop you from demolishing the whole thing. Also, while rich they’re not sugar/crazy carb laden rich, so while full I don’t feel like I’m going to die because I over did it.
I think I’ll be making these again…. when there’s more people in the house to eat them when they’re ready to be cut…. or maybe just hold off on the slicing till I’m in a crowded room.
Oh. My. Gosh! Katie you have nailed this recipe. Im pregnant so *trying* not to just sit and devour a block of Cadbury chocolate to satisfy my sugar craving, and your website sprung to mind! This recipe was on the first page and yay i had all ingredients in the cupboard. I dont even know how to describe the deliciousness, and how guilt free it is but naughty it feels! Must stop myself from eating the whole tray before i share with the kids and hubby! You’re a star, thank you!
I used coconut sugar, white flour, homemade apple puree, natural peanut butter, almond milk and yes, i added chocolate chips 😉 but all in moderation right? YUM!
Katie,
I am hoping to make these for Thanksgiving tomorrow! What kind of peanut butter do you use? I have the Kroger brand creamy peanut butter with the ingredients being “roasted peanuts and Salt” Would this work?
This was sooooo good! I didn’t need to add any milk. I used white flour, and I also used 1/4 cup mini chocolate chips instead of regular size, I think it helps spread the chocolate out! I read some comments before making this that said it didn’t set up so I experimented by adding 3 tablespoons of quick oats to the batter and baked for 11 minuts instead of 10. Oh My Goodness! These were wonderful and came out perfect. I let them cool for 30 minutes and then tried them. Warm, soft, amazing and set up but still gooey enough. Thank you Katie for this amazing recipe, I will stick with this recipe from now on when I need a choco/PB fix.
Amazing! I used natvia (stevia based sweetener) in them and stevia chocolate to make choc chips and they were so good!
Literally just made these and of course only waited the minimum 20 mins for cooling. YUM! Gooey pb chocolate goodness! I used sprouted whole wheat flour, coconut sugar, and homemade pure peanut butter. I also cooked them for 12 min instead of 10 and the crispy edges are to die for. I already cant wait for tomorrow to try them cooled and solid!
Thank you for such a scrumptious recipe! I have made these bars four times now and they seem to vanish before my eyes. Definitely a favorite in this family! Yumm!