Cooking with Grammie: Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I’ve been married to my husband for over twelve years now.  For the entire twelve years, I’ve been hearing about his mother’s mythical Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars that are, supposedly, better than a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup.  And yet…I’ve never actually had them before.  Or seen them, even.

And for those reasons, I decided that the next recipe I’d try for my Cooking with Grammie feature would be those Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (also, Valentine’s Day is right around the corner and I thought it would be fun to make something that we could share with our friends and neighbors).

As it happens, I’ve been missing out on something big these past twelve years.  Because OMG – These. Are. Delicious.

Here’s how to make them.

Grammie’s Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (or, the recipe that tastes like an extra delicious version of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups)

Ingredients

- 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

- 1 16 oz. box of powdered sugar

- 1 1/2 cups of smooth peanut butter (basically, an entire 16 oz. jar of peanut butter)

- 2 sticks of butter

- 12 oz (1 bag) of chocolate chips if you use a 9 x 13 pan, 24 ounces if you use a cookie sheet (which is what I did)

*TOTALLY* healthy, guys.

Time Involved

15-20 minutes or so, and then an hour (ish) to chill in the fridge

Servings

Many.  It all depends on how small you want to cut the pieces.  I probably got about 25 squares (using a cookie sheet), and I actually could have made more with the ingredients I had.

Suitable For

Dessert, treats for your kid’s classroom Valentine’s Day Party (or any holiday event, ever), neighbors, friends whose diets you are trying to sabotage…you get the idea.

How to Make Them

I used a food processor to grind up my graham crackers because I wanted the crumbs to be very fine.

Graham cracker crumbs.

Combine the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and peanut butter in a large bowl.

Melt the butter and add it to the graham cracker mix.  Use a mixer to mix it all together.  If you have kids, let them lick the beaters because THEY ARE GOOD.  If you don’t have kids, eat them yourself.  Both of them.

Scoop into a pan (either a 9 x 13 pan or a cookie sheet – I used a cookie sheet) and smooth out the top.

Yum.

Melt the chocolate chips (using the microwave – not over direct heat).  A note about melting chocolate for chocolate-melting-newbies like myself: stick it in the microwave for 45 seconds or so and then take it out and stir it up, then stick it in for another 30 seconds or so…stirring it really speeds the process along.  Maybe everyone knows that already, though??

Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter deliciousness and spread as thin (or as thick!) as you’d like (but keep in mind that when it hardens, it is going to be difficult to cut through)

Yes, please!

Stick it in the fridge for awhile, and when the chocolate has hardened a bit, cut into bars (I tried cutting it after 15 minutes, then 30, and finally just waited until it was completely hard – a little tougher to cut through, but much less messy…partially melted chocolate gets ev-er-y-where!).

And then?  ENJOY.

Super easy and super delicious.  My kind of recipe.

Now if I could get Grammie to create a calorie-free version…!

“Cooking with Grammie” is going to be a monthly-ish event on the blog!  I’m excited to practice my cooking skills and share with you some of Grammie’s most delicious (and easiest) recipes.

If you want to see more of Grammie’s greatness, check out her Homemade Hot Chocolate recipe (it’s great for gifts and is AMAZINGLY delicious!), or her amazing Corn Salad!