No bake peanut butter chocolate bars

Growing up, the Starbucks near my school had these incredibly delicious peanut butter bars that I used to get quite often. They had a thick peanut butter base and a thin milk chocolate top layer, very reminiscent of a holiday Reese's.

I've always wanted to recreate them at home, so I started by making a peanut butter cup version. It took a few iterations, but I finally found the right balance of peanut butter flavor with a thick, almost crunchy texture, and a chocolate shell that wasn't too thick. I knew once I got this right that it was time to recreate the peanut butter chocolate bars I loved so much!

These bars come together in under 30 minutes and just require some chill time. I store them in the fridge and they have quite a long shelf life. And best of all? No baking needed. They are the perfect treat to have on hand or to bring to friends, though I wouldn't blame you if you don't want to share!

One note on the ingredients before we get going. I tried this recipe another time after writing it originally with a new brand of peanut butter and found that the bars didn't solidify. I was stumped as to why, and then I looked at the ingredients on the new jar of peanut butter. I found there was an additional ingredient, palm oil. I looked back at the ingredients of the original peanut butter I used, and it was ONLY peanuts. The bars still tasted delicious, but I found that they were much more difficult to slice, and were not quite the same consistency. The kind I used for my initial batch and the one I would recommend is the Organic Creamy Peanut Butter from Whole Foods, or you can find a similar one that also only contains peanuts!

Since I originally published this recipe, I have tried it successfully switching the type of chocolate and using one of my favorite brands of granola butter (Oat Haus) to swap in for the peanut butter. I love that no bake recipes give endless options for customization!

Ingredients:

Peanut butter layer:

• 2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter 28g

• 1 cup peanut butter (a natural peanut butter with no added palm oil)* 256g

• 3/4 cup powdered sugar 90g

• 4 sheets graham cracker (about 2/3 cup) 60g

Chocolate topping:

• 2/3 cup (4 oz) milk chocolate chips

• 1 tablespoon neutral oil or melted unsalted butter

Total time: About an hour

Assembly time: 15 minutes

Chill time: 30 minutes to an hour*

Servings: 8 or 16

*If you do need to use a peanut butter with added oil, you'll have to chill overnight or freeze prior to slicing

Assembly instructions:

First, crush your four sheets of graham crackers into a powder. You can do this in a plastic bag using any flat tool or use a food processor.

In a large bowl, combine your peanut butter and melted butter. Use a spatula or large spoon to stir together.

Then, add in your powdered sugar and crushed graham cracker. You'll find that the mixture gets a bit dry, but continue to mix until it forms a dough like consistency and you can see that your ingredients are fully incorporated

Grab a loaf pan and line it with parchment paper. Spread your peanut butter mixture smooth across your loaf pan using a spoon or flat tool, like an offset spatula. Place your pan into the freezer. Note: if you don't have a loaf pan, you can use a square pan and just spread your peanut butter mixture to cover half of the pan.

Meanwhile, in a small bowl melt your milk chocolate chips in a microwave. Start at 30 seconds, and then switch to 10-15 second intervals stirring each time until fully melted. Then, add in your one tablespoon of oil or melted butter and stir together until fully combined and your chocolate should now look glossy.

Remove your chilled peanut butter mixture from the fridge and pour your chocolate topping on. You can use a flat tool to smooth it out carefully if needed. Place your bars into the fridge for about 30 minutes to an hour to set and then slice! Note: if you used a peanut butter that has any added oil, you'll need to freeze your bars overnight before slicing, and then I recommend storing in the freezer.

You can slice into 8 squares, or keep going and create 16 triangles. Once sliced, you can store in the fridge for about two weeks. You can place into the freezer, though I recommend putting them back into the fridge or out at room temperature to defrost before enjoying. The ingredients stay fresh for quite a while, so if they last, they'll remain good for a while :)

Carb and serving info:

Servings: 8 or 16

Carbs per serving (1 of 8): 39

Carbs per serving (1 of 16): 20

Carbs in full recipe: 313

Carbs from chocolate: 73

Carbs from graham cracker: 48

Carbs from peanut butter: 96

Note: Carb information is calculated based on the specific ingredients I used to cook with to help guide my own insulin to carb ratio when dosing before I eat my home cooked recipes.