This is my 10-minutes, ALMOST no bake chocolate peanut butter bars. And the best part? It only needs 4 main ingredients: graham crackers, peanut butter + dark chocolate or any chocolate you prefer and heavy cream turned into a velvety smooth gaanche.
If you have a toddler, this will be such a fun recipe to make together. It’s really decadent. I love sprinkling just a bit of coarse sea salt for that irresistible bite!
Do I need to bake the crust?
You don’t have to bake the crust and a quick internet search will show that many recipes have bars where the crust is not baked. Having said that, I HIGHLY encourage you to bake the crust. Since we are only baking the crust for 5 mins, the step is not going to add much time to the entire prep. Plus, baking the crust will ensure it does not crumble when you take it out of the silicone molds or bite into the squares.
What can I use if I don’t have a silicone tray?
These bars are set in silicone ice cube trays that are oven-safe up to 450F. Because the tray is made with silicone, the bars, once set (just an hour needed in the refrigerator) come right out. If you don’t have a silicon tray, you can line a muffin tray with parchment baking cups and proceed as normal.
How can I get rid of the smell that comes with the silicone tray?
Silicone tray has what’s called the “freezer smell.” The smell is not necessarily bad, just a bit pungent like burnt plastic. Unfortunately, none of the tips I have gotten off the internet has worked to erase that pungent smell. Here is an article that may come in handy. However, I always rub a bit of vanilla extract in each cavity before adding the crumbs and it works perfectly.
These 10-minute chocolate peanut butter bars are a real crowd please. You’ll have your guests asking you which gourmet bakery you bought them from!
Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
Graham Cracker Crust
- 15 graham cracker squares or 7 graham cracker sheets
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
- 3 tbsp melted butter
- 1 tbsp creamy peanut butter
Ganache
- 3/4 heavy cream
- 1 cup dark chocolate or semisweet if you prefer
- 2 tbsp creamy peanut butter
Instructions
Crust
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- For the crust, pulse graham crackers, then add the brown sugar, melted butter, and peanut butter and pulse again until it resembles wet sand. Drop a teaspoon in a silicone tray (ice cube trays are great!). Press firmly into the cavity and bake for only 5 mins.
Ganache
- Heat cream in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for one minute at 30 second intervals. Alternatively, you can do this on the stovetop in a double boiler.
- Add the chocolate chunks and let them sit in the cream for 30 seconds. Then, stir until smooth. If the chocolate is not fully melted, microwave at 15 second intervals.
- Add the creamy peanut butter and stir gently into the ganache.
- Pour on top of the cooled crust and top with sea salt.
- Refrigerate the bars for an hour to set and serve.
Notes
- If you live in a colder climate, the bars old nicely at room temperature. If you live in a tropical place, keep it refrigerated.
