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Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are a soft and chewy peanut butter cookie baked in a pan. No scooping or chilling; just press and bake and eat! These have a ton of peanut butter flavor and you can add chocolate chips, candy, nuts or whatever you choose.

Three chocolate chip cookie bars are stacked on a white surface, with more cookie bars and crumbs scattered around in the background.

Are you looking for a peanut butter cookie bar that just SCREAMS peanut butter? This is my best peanut butter cookie recipe adapted for a 9×13-inch pan so you don’t have to spend time scooping and flattening them. I’ve been making these bars for so many years I’ve lost count (they’re one of Mel’s favorite desserts!)

Watch How to make Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars

Bowls on a counter labeled with ingredients: brown sugar, flour, peanut butter, chocolate chips, butter, milk, vanilla, an egg, baking soda, and salt, for making cookies.
  • Peanut Butter: This recipe has been tested with shelf-stable (no stir) peanut butter. It’s best to use a brand like Skippy or Jif, not a natural style peanut butter (although you can use Skippy or Jif Naturals, because those are shelf stable and do not need to be stirred).
  • Make sure to soften your unsalted butter at room temperature so it creams with the peanut butter and brown sugar more easily. If you only have salted butter you can use it, just omit the added salt.
  • Milk is my peanut butter cookie secret ingredient! It keeps the bars nice and soft. You can use any kind of milk or nondairy milk.
  • To keep them chewy, be sure to use the egg and baking soda (not baking powder, which would make them cakey).
  • I add chocolate chips to my cookie bars, but you can add white chocolate, peanut butter chips, nuts, peanut butter cups or Reese’s Pieces, anything you like (think of these as the peanut butter version of a blondie, where the basic recipe is a blank slate for your imagination).
A stack of four thick chocolate chip cookie bars sits on a white surface, with more cookie bars and crumbs scattered around them.

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Dorothy’s Testing Notes

  • This recipe is written for a 9×13-inch pan. I always line my pan with foil or parchment paper for easy removal and slicing.
  • Over-baking the bars will make them hard instead of soft and chewy. The first time you make them keep an eye on them and take them out of the oven once the edges are golden. The baking time in the recipe is just an estimate – always check early, especially the first time you make them.
  • The bars will set as they cool, so wait to slice them until they are thoroughly cooled.

Recipe Variations

  • Any chopped candy bar you like should work – peanut butter cups, snickers, Heath bars, Almond Joys are just a few ideas.
  • Add some nuts – chopped walnuts, almonds, and peanuts are all excellent choices.
  • Switch up the chips – use different kinds of chocolate chips or try white chocolate, butterscotch, or other baking chips that you like.
  • Make these LOADED Peanut Butter Cookie Bars by adding up to 3 cups of a mixture of mix-ins – I love cleaning out my pantry and making these cookie bars.
  • Add chocolate frosting on top!
5 from 1 vote

Easy Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Recipe

By: Dorothy Kern
Turn peanut butter cookies into bars by pressing my best recipe into a pan. Add whatever mix-ins you like!
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 25 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes
Servings: 24 bars
A stack of four thick chocolate chip cookie bars sits on a white surface, with more cookie bars and crumbs scattered around them.
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Ingredients

  • ½ cup (113g) unsalted butter, softened
  • ¾ cup (200g) peanut butter, (creamy or crunchy, use a no-stir brand)
  • 1 cup (200g) packed brown sugar
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon milk
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 ½ cups all purpose flour
  • 3 cups chocolate chips (or a mix of any add-ins you like)

Instructions 

  • Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13” pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
  • Beat butter and peanut butter until smooth with a hand or a stand mixer (fitted with the paddle attachment). Add brown sugar and cream until smooth.
  • Mix in egg, vanilla, milk, salt, and baking soda. Slowly stir in flour until combined, then chocolate chips or other mix-ins. Stir until combined.
  • Press the dough into the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown. Cool completely before slicing into bars.
  • Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days or freeze for up to one month.

Notes

Make LOADED Peanut Butter Cookie Bars: use up to 3 cups of any kind of mix-ins you like!
  • Chips: chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, toffee bits
  • Nuts
  • Chopped Candy Bars
  • Chopped Oreos

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 258kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 13g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 20mg | Sodium: 149mg | Potassium: 94mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 146IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 27mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

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A glass bowl filled with a smooth, orange-brown dough or batter mixture, placed on a white surface.
A glass bowl filled with orange-brown cookie dough sits on a white surface.
  1. It’s important to cream the butter and sugar with the peanut butter until it’s smooth. It’ll be a thick, orange, smooth batter.
  2. Once you’ve mixed in the egg, salt, vanilla, baking soda, and flour the dough will be thick and not sticky.

FAQ

How do you store peanut butter cookie bars?

Store these in an airtight container on the counter for up to 3 days.

Can you freeze peanut butter cookie bars?

Yes you can – just freeze them in an airtight container for up to 3 months.

Favorite Cookie Bar Recipes

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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23 Comments

  1. Those butterfinger bits sound amazing in here- also Target is totally amazing and terrible at the same time, I feel ya!

    Reply

  2. These look amazing, Dorothy! I know what you mean about Target, it’s like they spray some kind of spending-inducing-drug into the air and I suddenly remember that I need EVERYTHING;-)

    Reply

  3. The Sugar Mom, yep I can relate. Grape tomatoes and watermelon are nice and all but I’m totally in your camp with passing out desserts 🙂 When I go out to dinner with people, go on hair appts, etc. I whip out a half of a pan of brownies, cake, etc from my purse and am like HERE. And I want these bars! Glad Mel loved them!

    Reply

  4. Holy peanut butter – this looks fantastic! Target is evil. You can’t leave that store without spending $100! 🙂

    Reply

  5. You were just lying to yourself if you thought you could clear Target without spending about $200. I never leave Target without spending that much. It’s a constant in my life. I never mean to…but there were some pretty maxi dresses there last week!
    These are AMAZING. I want to hang out at the beach with you and get some of these!

    Reply