These are the easiest and tastiest Peanut Butter Bars -- they start with a thick and sweet peanut butter base and get finished with a smooth chocolate topping! These bars are only 7 ingredients and don't require any baking.
PREP: Line an 8×8-inch pan (thicker bars) or 9×9-inch pan (thinner bars) with parchment paper or foil. Set aside. Melt butter in microwave and then set aside to cool to room temperature. (Hot butter is going to melt the sugar and make these bars overly greasy.) Crumble graham crackers into a blender or food processor and blend to get crumbs. Otherwise, add crackers to a gallon plastic bag, seal it without air, and crush crackers to crumbs with a frying pan, rolling pin, or meat mallet. (Note 3)
MIX: Add melted (but cooled) butter, salt, graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, vanilla, and 1 cup peanut butter to a large bowl. Use hand mixers or a wooden spoon to mix until you have a thick dough. Press this dough into an even layer in the base of the prepared pan. Place in the fridge while preparing the topping.
TOPPING: Meanwhile, add the chocolate chips and the remaining 2 tablespoons peanut butter to a microwave safe bowl. Microwave in bursts of 15 seconds, stirring in between each burst for 10 seconds until the chocolate is melted and smooth. Pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter bars and tap the pan on the table a few times to get the chocolate in an even layer.
LET SET: Chill in the fridge until bars are firm, about 1-1/2 hours. Allow to sit at room temperature for 5-10 minutes before cutting. Cut into the bars with a hot sharp knife (run the knife under hot water, dry it off, and then immediately cut the bars).
STORAGE: Cover leftover bars tightly and refrigerate for 5-7 days. To freeze: wrap each bar individually in plastic wrap and then store the wrapped bars in a large plastic bag or freezer safe container. Thaw bars overnight in the fridge. Freeze for up to 3 months.
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Notes
Note 1: Peanut Butter: Any creamy and thick peanut butter will work; we love Skippy® Creamy Peanut Butter best. We don't recommend a natural peanut butter that needs stirring, it will make the bars overly greasy.Note 2: Chocolate: If you like sweet desserts and enjoy sweet chocolate-peanut butter candy (like Reese's), use milk chocolate as the topping. Otherwise, use semi-sweet or dark chocolate for a less sweet treat. Stick to whatever flavor of chocolate you like best or a combination of a couple of kinds. We like milk and semi-sweet chocolate mixed (half and half) or plain milk chocolate best! The better the quality chocolate chips, the better the flavor of these bars will be.Note 3: Crushing Graham Crackers: To ensure there aren’t large chunks of graham cracker in the bars, which will affect texture, blend the graham crackers until they are crumbs. Add any large pieces that didn’t blend completely back into the blender and blend again.