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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Hi Katie, is it preferable to use natural peanut butter (i.e. just ground peanuts) or a standard shelf brand (e.g. Skippy, Jif, etc) that has added sugar, oil, etc? Which do you use? Have you used both?
Katie usually uses natural peanut butter in general but has made these both ways and both are good! Readers have made them with all sorts of different peanut butters (or also other nut butters). It seems to be a very versatile recipe that can work with different options 🙂
Hi, I’ve got a question:)) What is the measurement of the cup which you use in all your recipes? Because i guess it’s not typical Europe size. Thank you for response :))
It would be a US cup. Gram measurements would depend on whether it’s a solid or liquid being measured, so I’d recommend googling a specific ingredient. Example, 1 cup peanut butter is around 240g.
Your recipes are good and it rely on many of them to help me with my sweet tooth. But this, THIS! It is amazing. Salty and sweet and chewy. Everyone I’ve shared it with cannot believe it’s not bad for you!
These are sooooo good! I used Jif natural for the nut butter, almond flour for the flour option, and coconut sugar. Better than a Reese’s egg!!!
Made these last night and the were gone by today, so I’m making another batch right now! YUM, Yum. YUM!! Thank you Katie, you are a bloody genius.
What kind of applesauce? Unsweetened??
Yup that works!
Mine didn’t come out as I expected. It was very soft and the consistency of cookie dough after I baked it. I followed the recipe, not using more than 2 tbsp of milk, etc. I’m wondering, does it need more flour or less peanut butter or something? Suggestions??
Just let them fridge overnight and they firm up. Let me know if that works!
Jason
What is the best kind of flour to use? I’m making them for a meat-eating friend and I don’t want them to taste “healthy”…
Oat flour is really good in these! But spelt or white are great too!
Hi Katie, this recipe looks amazing and I am dying for a treat since being on Keto Diet for 5 days now. I was wondering how big a serving size it. I read they were 36g per serving, but I not all grams are equal (ex. 1/4 C of stews or soups or rice can vary between 29g to 33g.) Just wanting to give this dumb diet my best effort for the whole 28 days…. until I can slowly add carbs back in. Thanks!
Serving is per bar, based on the larger number of bars 🙂
Jason
I love these awesome delicious bars, so easy to make and comes out perfect every single time.