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Looking for a fast,easy, and delicious way to celebrate the Fourth of July? How about some Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark? Way easier than rolling truffles, this peanut butter cookie dough bark will be a hit at your party!

Stack of Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark on a white plate with patriotic straws around it and recipe title on top of image

I’m back! We got home on Saturday from our week at Disneyland. If you follow me on Instagram, you’re probably tired of all my Disneyland talk – I think I had way too much fun sharing. I have decided that 8 years old is the perfect Disneyland age for a kid. We didn’t have to worry about a stroller, and her 8-year-old energy kept her going throughout the day.

I got so much post material throughout the week, which I’ll be doling out in small doses over the next few weeks. But, in case you’re planning a trip to Disneyland this summer, I thought I’d touch on a few points I learned:

1. Go early. This seems obvious, but really: the park didn’t fill up until after 11am. The first day we had gone on ALL the big rides before the lines got really long. It’s not a vacation for sleep – go early for the best lines and the coolest weather.

2. Bring lots of snacks. I packed way too many, but we saved a ton of money. Especially on water. Bring your own. Who wants to pay $3.50 per bottle per person? As if $280 per person to get in wasn’t enough.

3. Your kid will drink an astonishing amount of lemonade during the day. You’ll realize that they’re “super strong never go” bladder really is that way because when you’re home? They never drink. Expect 345 bathroom stops per day.

4. If you’re in line for Indiana Jones and you’re almost to the front, and your kid has to go, tell a cast member. They’ll let you go backstage to use the cast potty, then let you get right on the ride. {Child’s plan to get out of riding Indiana Jones: foiled!}

5. 8-year-olds still sob when rides scare them. {See #4}. #worstmomaward

6. Use an App. I used the Lines App for Disneyland. It includes menus for all the restaurants, which is great when your kid is starving for lunch not snacks and you’re in the middle of New Orleans Square with nary a chicken nugget in site. (This was the most used part of my app – Jordan is extremely picky!)

7. Don’t cut in line. OMG what a story. It deserves it’s own post.

8. Go to California Adventure before it opens and get in the line immediately for a Radiator Racers fastpass. Let your family go do something else while you wait. Your Fastpass return will be early in the day and you’ll only wait 15 (or less) minutes to ride.

9. Get enough days in the park so you’re not rushed. It’s summer: it’s hot and crowded. We did 5 days, went early and left by 4pm each day. We did one evening activity because we knew that staying up until 11pm would not work more than once. We did every ride by day 3, and everything else was just gravy.

10. Lie to your daughter and tell her Rapunzel doesn’t do character signings. Otherwise you’ll wait in a non-line for an hour outside her house, then jockey for position to get in the real line at 10:40 when they open the ropes, then wait until 11:15 for them to actually open for a 1 minute per person viewing. #sonotworthit

11. Go see the fireworks. It truly is magical. Worth staying up until 11pm and waiting on a bench for 2 hours beforehand.

Speaking of fireworks, it’s almost the Fourth of July. I bet Disneyland does an amazing Independence Day firework show. I wish I could see it…from afar. I would not want to be in the park that day. #crazy

Instead, I’d rather be at home. Eating things like Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark!

Overhead shot of Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark on a white plate with red and blue striped straws on table

I realized the other day that the 4th of July is NEXT WEEK. Where did June go?

This blog has been sorely lacking on all things Red, White, and Blue, so I needed to get on it. STAT.

Enter: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark.

Stack of Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark on a white plate with patriotic straws around it

I’ve made sugar cookie bark before using eggless sugar cookie dough. This is the same concept…only better because it’s peanut butter cookie dough.

Peanut Butter Cookie Dough (eggless, no need to kill your guests) is sandwiched between layers of melted white chocolate candy and topped with patriotic colors.

Really, is there anything else I need to say to describe it?

Wonderful.

Amazing.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE DOUGH.

Heaven.

Stack of Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark on a white plate with patriotic straws around it

Magical. Like Disneyland…in the Winter Summer.

Stack of patriotic peanut butter cookie dough bars with red and blue sprinkles on a white plate on white wood table with words on top of photo

Patriotic Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Bark

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Eggless peanut butter cookie dough made into bark!
Total Time 2 hours
Yield 24 servings
Serving Size 1 serving

Ingredients
 

  • 1/4 cup butter softened
  • 1/3 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4  cups flour
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • 14 ounces white candy melts like Candiquik
  • Red and Blue jimmies or other sprinkles

Instructions

  • Cream butter, peanut butter, and sugar until smooth using a stand or a hand mixer. Beat in vanilla, salt, flour, and milk.
  • Melt the candy melts according to package directions. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper and spread half of the melted candy into about an 11”x8” rectangle using an offset spatula. Chill for a few minutes, so that the candy has started to harden but is still semi-soft (less than 5 minutes). You want the candy hard enough that it won’t absorb the cookie dough mixture, but still soft enough that it will adhere to the cookie dough.
  • Remove candy from refrigerator and spread the cookie dough evenly inside the rectangle, leaving small edges so that top candy layer will adhere to the bottom.
  • Spread the remaning candy on top of the cookie dough using an offset spatula, making sure that it meets the bottom layer to seal the edges. Immediately sprinkle with jimmies or other candies/sprinkles. Chill until the hardened, about 20 minutes. Break into pieces and serve.

Recipe Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 265kcal
Nutritional information not guaranteed to be accurate
Course Dessert
Cuisine American

Click here to see more PEANUT BUTTER recipes!

For other fun Fourth of July ideas check out these!

Peanut Butter Flag Dip

Patriotic Nutella Cookie Dough Pretzels

Sweets from friends:
White Chocolate Pretzel Candy Bark by The Little Kitchen
Circus Animal Cookie Bark by Sweet Bella Roos
Cookies ‘n Cream Peanut Butter Bark by Sally’s Baking Addiction

Last Updated on May 24, 2020



Dorothy Kern

Welcome to Crazy for Crust, where I share recipes that are sometimes crazy, often with a crust, and always served with a slice of life.

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92 Comments

  1. This looks amazing and perfect for a 4th of July party! Do you think this can be made a day ahead a stored in the fridge?

  2. For some reason Internet Explorer won’t let me reply to your comment. Anyway, 3/4 cup sounds much more reasonable! I bet the whole thing would work better AND taste more peanut buttery with only half the flour. 😉 Still, like you said, a little goes a long way (as I discovered after I binged on little pieces last night…sigh). If only more sprinkles would have stuck so that they were more patriotic! Oh well.

    As for the candy, I think I would use a little more and try to make the bottom thinner. I’m not suggesting that I would try to put the cookie dough on wet candy – I just don’t think that it requires chilling. Two or three minutes at room temperature would have been enough to make the candy partially dry and stick to the peanut butter better. Plus, not having to compact it so hard (because of less flour) would probably also help the sticking!

    Thanks for taking the time to comment!

  3. Hi Dorothy! I made this recipe last night, and unfortunately the proportions didn’t seem quite right to me. First, the dough was extremely dry, and didn’t stick together at all. I added an extra 3 tbl of milk (one tbl at a time) before it would clump even when pressed. In retrospect, I should have added the flour more slowly and just reduced that substantially. This is because for the amount of candy I could spread on the wax paper, I could only fit about 2/3 of the filling on the surface of the candy. I threw away the rest, because I had already eaten enough to feel sick! 🙂
    Second, I don’t recommend the chilling stage for the candy. By the time I had spread it in a semi-rectangle and chilled it for one-and-a-half minutes in the fridge, the peanut butter layer didn’t want to stick at all.
    Finally, because the the filling was still dry (despite the extra milk), little crumbs kept coming up into the candy, and it was very hard to spread. By the time I had gotten the candy to just b..a..r..e..l..y cover the surface of the peanut butter, it was too dry for the sprinkles to stick.
    I would make this again, but I would reduce the flour to no more than 1 cup (maybe less), and I would increase the amount of candy by probably half. Unfortunately, I only had 14 oz. Knowing that I had enough candy would allow me to cover the top layer in sections, immediately adding the sprinkles. As it was, I had to squeak every molecule of candy into the center so that it could cover the edges and not have any gaps. I hope these comments are helpful to someone!

    1. I’m so sorry about that Virginia! I looked at the recipe and you’re totally right about the flour. I was editing the normal peanut butter cookie recipe I always use but forgot to change the flour amount. I’m fixing that now (and am shocked no one has told me before now!)

      As for the candy, I always use between 14-16 ounces of candy. I have another recipe (sugar cookie peppermint bark) that has more dough and uses 16 ounces, so I suggest a thinner bottom layer. You can definitely try and spread it without chilling, but it won’t spread easily on melted candy. In a pinch, if you have white chocolate chips on hand you can use those too if you feel you need more coating. I have a feeling you didn’t have enough coating because of the flour error (OOPS!!)

      I hope you enjoyed it anyway – it is quite sweet (I mean, cookie dough + chocolate!!) so a little goes a long way. Perfect for a party!

  4. thanks for the insight into Disneyland. we are planning a trip next year!! already got the app you suggested! thanks

    1. Enjoy!! It’s so much fun. I also totally recommend the book that the app is based on – The Unofficial Guide to Disneyland. SO much great info in the book!

  5. This looks amazing – I can’t wait to make it for the 4th! I live in NYC so I highly doubt my tiny grocery store will have Candiquick. I tried Walmart.com and they only have vanilla flavor. That’s what I’m looking for? Thanks for the recipe and Happy 4th!

    1. Yes! You can use the Wilton candy melts or vanilla almond bark. Either one will work! Happy 4th to you too!

  6. Yum! This sounds delish- love the no eggs tip 🙂 haha. We took Bella to Disney for her 4th bday, OMG was it expensive. We are planning a trip to D-World this Christmas… looking forward to going, not looking forward to driving TX-FL. Thanks for including my cookie bark!

    1. That is a long drive!! Jordan would never make it. 🙂 I’ve never been at Christmas, always wanted to go!