These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are perfect for a lazy girl like me who just really wants a cookie, and doesn’t feel like spending a whole lot of time or effort to make them happen. The dough comes together in five minutes, and then you just bake, cool, cut and eat! Oh, and not to rain on your cookie parade, but I guess you will probably have to clean up the kitchen somewhere in there… Unless you’ve got one of those, “I bake, you clean” kinds of understanding with your significant other? Those are the best…
These cookie bars stay impressively soft and chewy for 3-4 days (maybe longer, we ate ours by then). Making cookies in bar form not only cuts down on time because you don’t have to scoop individual cookies, but it makes them quite efficient for dunking into a cold glass of milk. Bonus!
Plus you get the benefit of having “edge” pieces and “middle” pieces for those who have a personal preference. I’m an edge girl myself, though I definitely would NOT consider myself an “edgy” girl, which has a completely different connotation. Any who, it’s getting late, and I think you have some cookie bars to make so I’ll say goodbye for now!
PrintPeanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
These Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are perfect for when you need a soft, chewy cookie in a hurry!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 42 minutes
- Yield: 18 bars 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/2 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1/2 cup creamy or crunchy peanut butter
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Prepare a 9 by 9 inch baking pan by spraying with nonstick spray, and then lining with parchment paper, leaving excess paper hanging over two sides of the baking pan (for easy removal later).
- In the bowl of an electric stand mixer, cream together the butter and sugars on medium speed. Add the eggs and mix. Then add the peanut butter and vanilla extract. Mix until smooth.
- In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking soda, and salt. Add to the wet ingredients on low speed, mixing until a dough forms. Mix in the chocolate chips, and then scoop the batter into the prepared pan and smooth into an even layer.
- Bake for 22-23 minutes. The edges should be starting to turn light brown.
- Let the bars cool in the pan, and then use the parchment paper to lift the cookie out of the pan to transfer to a cutting board. Use a sharp knife to cut into bars. Store in an airtight container.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 Bar
- Calories: 234
- Sugar: 16g
- Sodium: 185mg
- Fat: 12g
- Saturated Fat: 5.7g
- Unsaturated Fat: 5.6g
- Trans Fat: 0.2g
- Carbohydrates: 29g
- Fiber: 1.5g
- Protein: 4.3g
- Cholesterol: 34mg
could you use whipped peanut butter??????(pretty much airated peanuit butter)
I haven’t tried that before so I’m not sure, but I don’t see why not. If you make the dough and it is more dry and crumbly than it should be, just mix in a tablespoon of oil until your dough holds together.
What if I have an 8×8 size pan?
That is fine too, just know they will be a little thicker and may take a bit longer to bake.
How much longer should I leave them in the oven?
Hi,
I made these bars tonight, and the dough was really crumbly. Any suggestions on how to get the dough not to crumble?
Hi Robyn, just adding a little more oil should do the trick.
Robyn, I just wanted to let you know that I had a few more people tell me that this recipe was crumbly for them, so I reworked it (added an egg and switched to butter) and so now the dough holds together and is not dry. Thanks for letting me know about the problem!
Would butter work, in place of the oil?
Hi! Thanks for your question. I haven’t tried that substitution before so I’m not sure if it would work or not. Let me know how it goes if you decide to try it!
I did try it with a stick of butter and a tad extra peanut butter. Once it got it all mixed up it seemed a little too stiff so I added about 3/4 T of oil and it moistened up a bit. I just had one and it was a tad too crumbly, so I think a bit more oil or some milk would do the trick. Still very tasty!
Thanks for the update Nelissa, good to know!
Hi Julie I tried this recipe twice today and both times it was very crumbly – like wet sand. The bars fell apart when I cut them. They were delicious but not so pleasing to the eye 🙂 The 2nd time i tried a little more oil an a little less flour but same problem. What am I doing wrong? Thanks for your help and Happy Thanksgiving!
Hi Tammy, I’m glad you liked the way it tasted, but I’m not sure why so crumbly. I may need to revisit this recipe as it as been a little while since I made it, but it might help to work the dough a little more with your hands to get it to come together. I don’t think you did anything wrong though- it could be something as simple as a variation in the oiliness of our peanut butters or the way we measure flour.
Tammy, I just wanted to let you know that I had a few more people tell me that this recipe was crumbly for them, so I reworked it (added an egg and switched to butter) and so now the dough holds together and is not dry. Thanks for letting me know about the problem!
so sorry but these were not my favorite cookie bar, way too dry, fell apart, not chewy at all. I looked at this recipe over and over thinking I did something wrong, soooo dissapointed
Belinda, I’m so sorry they did not turn out well for you. Though it’s been a while since I made these, I remember loving the texture! I’m going to try and remake them soon and see if I have an error in the recipe. Once again, I apologize!
Belinda, I just wanted to let you know that I worked on this recipe tonight, and after adding an extra egg and changing from vegetable oil to butter, it is much better!
Julie,
Do you have the old recipe on hand anywhere? I made them before you switched them and loved how crumbly they were! Thanks!
I’m sorry Christina, I couldn’t find it.