Peanut Butter Squares are the classic school lunchroom treat from your childhood. This no-bake dessert has a thick layer of peanut butter topped with a layer of chocolate. 🍫
Peanut Butter Squares
Summer is coming. Warmer weather is almost here which can sometimes mean that you don’t feel like turning on the oven when that sweet craving hits.
No Bake Dessert
Today I have a no-bake recipe for you that was one of my mom’s favorite childhood treats. She says that these Peanut Butter Squares were served in the lunchroom cafeteria several times a week, and she absolutely loved them. She tells me sometimes instead of buying a lunch, she’d use her lunch money to just buy Peanut Butter Squares.
She’d never let me get away with that!
Even after my mom got married, she still got to enjoy this sweet treat. Her mom (my grandma) taught at the school so every now and then she got some to take home to my mom. And then…my grandma got the lunch ladies to give her the recipe!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
When I first tried these chocolate-peanut butter-dreams, they reminded me of the peanut butter balls that my family makes every Christmas season. Peanut butter balls require careful and tedious work, dipping each separate ball into a saucer full of rich chocolate. The result is a sugary peanut butter ball coated with milk chocolate that melts in your hand if you hold it too long. It amazed me how easy it was to make these Peanut Butter Squares. They basically tastes the same as the peanut butter balls that I love so much and are so much easier to make.
Easy Peanut Butter Bars
This recipe is easy, but let me give you a few hints to help things go smoothly.
- Mix the peanut butter, butter, sugars and vanilla in a stand mixer until nice and creamy. It would probably be good to mix this on medium speed for 2-3 minutes. A note here that the peanut butter “batter” is very soft. These do not have a firm texture like a brownie bar. The bottom layer is meant to be soft. If you’d like to make the bars firmer, add a little more powdered sugar. (You can see us make these bars on Facebook Live here.)
- Put foil or wax paper in the bottom of a 9×13 pan. And you can use a pan that is a little bit bigger or a tad bit smaller …it will just mean your peanut butter will be either thicker or thinner. The foil keeps the pan nice and tidy. Plus, if you use foil, these bars are super easy to remove and cut neatly. Spread out the peanut butter mixture evenly over the foil. It is perfectly OK to use your hands.
- Then you simply use some melted chocolate and spread it out on top. I used semi-sweet baking squares so that the chocolate would melt easily and smoothly. You can put on more chocolate if you’d like a thicker layer, but I only put on enough to hold it together. The peanut butter is the most important part for me:)
- Let the chocolate harden slightly by putting the dish in the fridge for about 20 minutes. Remove the dish from the fridge pull the foil out of the pan. You can then lay the bars on a flat surface and use a knife or pizza cutter to cut the bars into squares.
By letting the chocolate set only for a short time, you’ll get a nice clean cut. If the chocolate completely hardens, you might end up with some broken chocolate. Which is still completely edible, but just not quite as perfectly pretty.
Lock these bars up somewhere safe. I’m telling you….they’re addicting. And I’d love to hear if you have a favorite school lunchroom food that you remember enjoying!
Peanut Butter Squares
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 cups peanut butter creamy
- 3/4 cup butter softened
- 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 6 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Mix peanut butter, butter, sugars and vanilla in a stand mixer. Beat on medium speed for about 3 minutes. The peanut butter will be very soft. If you feel it is too sticky, feel free to add a little more powdered sugar for a firmer bar.
- Put waxed paper (or aluminum foil) in an 9x13 pan (allowing the waxed paper to hang over the sides of the pan) and press the peanut butter mixture down in it evenly.
- Melt the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl in 20 second increments, stirring between each interval. Be careful to melt the chocolate slowly...chocolate will burn quickly if it gets too hot.
- Spread the chocolate evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Allow the bars to set in the refrigerator for about 20 minutes.
- Remove the dish from the refrigerator. Pull up on the sides of the wax paper and place the bars on a flat surface.
- Cut into 24 bars and allow the chocolate to set completely.
- Store the bars in an airtight container.
One of my many weaknesses!! I can’t wait to try these!! Thanks for linking up with us at One Sharendipity Place this weekend!
Sue @thet2women.com
That looks so decadent! And no bake is awesome! Thanks for sharing at Sweet & Savory Saturdays #15.
~Amber @ Dessert Now, Dinner Later!
http://dessertnowdinnerlater.blogspot.com
I make buckeyes for my sister a lot and they take a lot of work – I think I’ll make these for her next time!
Visiting from Think Pink Sunday on Flamingo Toes!
Oh. My. Word.
I think it goes without saying that I pinned this. Great recipe! I think this will be my next baking project for sure!
These look so delicious, and if it’s no bake that’s even better.
All of your food on blog looks soooo good. This is definitely going to my favorites.
Jeannie
I’m 53 yo & still remember how yummy these cafeteria treats were. I don’t have a stand mixer, can I get by with a hand one?
Wow. To think I began by clicking on grilled food recipes, which led me to your quesadilla burger and the Pico de Gallo recipe which I just printed out and now my 2 favorite sweets chocolate and peanut butter together! I am downloading this recipe too! I appreciate how you list the helpful hints for following your recipes. Thanks I look forward to reviewing and trying other recipes.
I just copied off 10 of your awesome recipes from this one email I got from you and the last one I copied was the Peanut Butter Squares. These look yummy! I can’t wait to try these Peanut Butter Squares along with the other recipes I copied! I love your recipes! and I love the fact that you make the recipes so easy to print. I’ve seen some websites where a person can’t print the recipes. Thank you so much for all the wonderful recipes! 🙂 Blessings to you! 🙂
I love peanut butter & chocolate together. I know that these would be faster to make then some other recipes. Thanks for sharing with us the recipe.
Love your recipes
I’m such a huge fan of PB and chocolate – this is a keeper recipe for sure 🙂
So dangerous!! LOL. I would have to hide these from myself!
These look awesome….and you can’t go wrong with the lunch lady’s recipe!
Wow, Our lunch ladies made the choc oatmeal no bake cookies. I wish I went to your school.
These were my favorite in school as well. I’ve played with different recipes….and they’ve never quite turned out the same, but I’ve gotten close. I’ll have to try your recipe! Thanks
Can you use the “natural” stirring required to use Peanut butter?
These are pretty sticky when they come out of the mixer, so I used a sheet of plastic wrap to get them in the pan. I stuck the pan in the frig and when they were cooler, I was able to use an offset spatula to smooth them right out. I used semi-sweet chocolate chips to top then dough and it worked out really well. Now, if I can just keep them hidden from the boys…
These look fantastic!!! I love anything with chocolate and peanut butter 🙂
Oh my gosh, these look so yummy and easy to make!
I tried to make these. They never would set enough to be a bar. In fact, they had to be spooned off the foil. I was bummed because I made too batches with the same results. Any thoughts?
I made these today (just half a batch in an 8x8in pan), and wow!!! They are amazing!! I used natural peanut butter and am not a fan of super sweet things, so I left out 1/4 cup of the powdered sugar. The pb layer is super soft, which could be because of a lesser amount of powdered sugar, but they firm up perfectly in the refrigerator. I used sea salted dark chcocolate for the top layer (Lindt, of course!). They are absolutely delicious, I just want to eat the while pan in one go!! Thank you for sharing the recipe!… Read more »
my granddaughter make these all the time but she use sugar not brown sugar. she put more peanut butter for better taste plus she roll them into balls instead.
I tried this recipe today and followed it to the tee. My peanut butter layer was not setting up at all. It was super soft and when you cut into the bars the peanut butter stucked to the foil and oozed out under the chocolate layer. It was a mess. Do you have any suggestions on how to remedy the problem? I used creamy peanut butter and real butter. Thanks for your time!
That dessert looks amazing in those pictures!!! I just love chocolate and peanut butter !!! Definitely going to try making it. Thanks for sharing:)
These look so deliciously fudgey and peanut buttery!! Yum.