Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars are chocolate chip cookie bars filled with creamy peanut butter and Reese’s peanut butter cups! They’re the perfect treat for chocolate + peanut butter lovers.
For more treats with peanut butter cups be sure and try Reese’s Stuffed Monster Cookies and Chocolate Peanut Butter Icebox Cake.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars With Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups
My family can never get enough of all the chocolate & peanut butter treats! These cookie bars are an easy way to make peanut butter chocolate chip cookies but in bar form, so there is no need to scoop out individual cookies.
They’re soft, chewy, and loaded with tons of peanut butter flavor thanks to the creamy peanut butter and Reese’s peanut butter cups.
Ingredients Needed
- Butter : The recipe has been tested with salted butter as that is what I use in my kitchen for all my baking. You can use unsalted butter, but you may want to increase the salt and double it.
- Granulated Sugar
- Light Brown Sugar : The cookie bar recipe calls for this to be ‘packed’, meaning that you pack it into the measuring cup when measuring, instead of loosely scooping and measuring. When you dump the brown sugar into the mixing bowl it should hold it’s measuring cup shape and that’s how you know it was packed.
- Creamy Peanut Butter : Use normal creamy peanut butter and nothing labeled ‘all-natural’ and nothing with that thick oil layer resting on top. The all-natural peanut butters can make the bars either too oily or make them dense and drier once baked. I have found that it doesn’t set the cookie bars as nicely either. So yes, you could experiment and see what you think but I don’t like the results when using all-natural peanut butters in baked goods.
- Large Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Baking Soda
- Salt : I use kosher salt or sea salt. If using unsalted butter, you will want to double the salt amount in the recipe.
- Miniature Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups : These are the little tiny ones that come in the orange bag and are unwrapped. You can use any Reese’s but I find these work best because they’re already small in size and all you have to do is halve them.
- Mini Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips : Normal sized chocolate chips can be used but I love the minis! They’re so cute and they disperse more evenly in the cookie bar dough.
How To Make Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars (Printable Recipe Card)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray. I recommend using parchment paper for easy removal.
In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined.
Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to medium speed just until combined and no flour pockets or streaks remain in the dough.
Add the miniature Reese’s peanut butter cups and the chocolate chips. Beat on low speed just until they’re incorporated evenly into the dough.
Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Use a spatula, spoon or clean hands to smooth out the top. Sprinkle and gently press the remaining Reese’s and chocolate chips over the top of the dough.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only moist crumbs and not wet dough.
Allow the bars to cool complete inside the warm pan, at room temperature, before cutting into squares. Enjoy!
How To Store Leftover Cookie Bars
- Room Temperature : Place the bars inside an airtight container, or Ziploc bag, and leave them out at room temperature for up to 3 days.
- Freezer : To freeze the baked cookie bars, wrap each bar in plastic wrap and place them inside a freezer-safe Ziploc bag or container, and freeze for up to 3 months. When ready to eat, let it thaw at room temperature or in the fridge. You can also heat them up in the microwave for serving.
Recipe FAQ’s
What Is The Best Peanut Butter To Use?
It’s best to use regular creamy peanut butter and nothing that says ‘all-natural’ on the label and nothing that has that thick layer of oil at the top. Using all-natural peanut butter can result in either dense and dry bars, or it can make the bars too oily. I have also found that the cookie bars don’t set as well when using all-natural peanut butters.
This recipe has been tested using Peter Pan creamy peanut butter and Jif creamy peanut butter.
Why Are My Cookie Bars Dry?
Make sure to not overbake the cookie bars. Remember that they will continue to cook slightly as they cool inside the warm pan. You should not be taking raw bars out of the oven, but you should be taking the bars out of the oven when they’re soft but still no raw dough in the center, and the edges are set and lightly golden brown.
Can I Use A Different Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup?
Yes! There are so many varieties of peanut butter cups out here so go ahead and use whatever you want. I have made these bars using the white chocolate Reese’s peanut butter cups, the Reese’s Pieces peanut butter cups, and then the dark chocolate peanut butter cups. You can also use any size of peanut butter cup, just make sure to chop them into a small size.
Can I Add Other Mix-Ins?
Yes, you can but be sure to keep the measurement the same for the mix-ins. The recipe calls for 2.5 cups of mix-ins, so use whatever you want or mix and match, but keep it at the same measurement called for. Finely chopped nuts are a great addition, coconut flakes, peanut butter chips, are all great options.
More Peanut Butter Recipes You’ll Love
- Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Bars
- Triple Peanut Butter Monster Cookies
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Lush
- Easy Peanut Butter Pie
- 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies
- Peanut Butter Bars
Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter melted
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt (I use kosher salt or sea salt)
- 2 cups miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, halved (reserve some for the top of the bars, about 1/2 cup)
- 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips (reserve some for the top of the bars, 2 tablespoons)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉. Line a 9×13 baking pan with parchment paper or spray with nonstick cooking spray.*I recommend using parchment paper, with an overhang, for easy removal.
- In a large mixing bowl using an electric mixer, or use the bowl of a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, add the melted butter, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, peanut butter, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat on medium speed until thoroughly combined.1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, 1 cup packed light brown sugar, 1 cup creamy peanut butter, 2 large eggs, 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Mix on low to medium speed just until combined and no flour pockets or streaks remain in the dough.2½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ¼ teaspoon salt
- Add the miniature Reese's peanut butter cups and the mini chocolate chips. Beat on low speed just until they're incorporated evenly into the dough.2 cups miniature Reese's peanut butter cups, halved, 1/2 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Use a spatula, spoon or clean hands to smooth out the top. Sprinkle and gently press the reserved Reese's and chocolate chips over the top of the dough.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only moist crumbs and not wet dough.
- Allow the bars to cool completly inside the warm pan, at room temperature, before cutting into squares. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
The post Peanut Butter Cup Cookie Bars appeared first on Together as Family.