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Enjoy the deliciousness of our Small Batch Peanut Butter Bars, an easy, no-bake recipe featuring rich peanut butter and a luxurious layer of chocolate. Ideal for peanut butter lovers, it’s a quick, simple, and utterly delightful treat. With easy-to-find ingredients and a simple method, you’ll want to make these bars often.
If you’re on the hunt for more delightful single serving and small batch recipes featuring peanut butter, you’re sure to enjoy our bite-sized Buckeyes, creamy Peanut Butter Pie, chewy Peanut Butter Cookies, and rich Peanut Butter Fudge.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
This small batch peanut butter bars recipe is perfect for those who want to enjoy a homemade dessert without having to make a large quantity. With just a few ingredients and simple steps, you can create a scrumptious dessert that is:
- Easy to make: Only 5 ingredients are needed to make the best peanut butter bars. These ingredients are pantry staples that you may already have in your pantry.
- Perfectly portioned for a small household or a single serving treat: We make our peanut butter bars in a small baking dish and you cut them as large or as small as you want. They’re ideal for a simple indulgence without any leftovers.
- Incredibly delicious: Our recipe works because it features a perfect balance of ingredients that create a rich and flavorful treat. They taste just like peanut butter cups!
- Recipe doubles well: This easy peanut butter bars recipe yields 4 fairly large bars. If you’d like to double the recipe to make additional peanut butter bars, just double the ingredient amounts and use either two 5×5-inch baking dishes or use one 6.5×6.5-inch baking dish, or one 4×8-inch baking dish.
RELATED: Cooking For One – Tips To Eat Healthy And Save Money
Ingredients
- Butter: Butter helps to bind the powdered sugar and the graham cracker crumbs. I prefer using salted butter.
- Graham cracker crumbs: Graham crackers are sweet whole wheat cookies made from graham flour. They are commonly found in the US in the cookie aisle of the grocery store. You can also use ginger snaps or vanilla wafers. In the UK, you can use digestive biscuits and in Australia, Arnott’s Granita biscuit is a good substitute. You will need about 3 full-sheet graham crackers for 1/2 cup of graham cracker crumbs (45 g). You can buy pre-made crumbs or crush your own graham crackers in a food processor or by hand using a rolling pin. Use leftover graham crackers in a S’mores Dip, an Icebox Cake, and a mini Key Lime Pie.
- Powdered sugar: Powdered sugar adds sweetness and helps to hold the ingredients together.
- Peanut butter: Peanut butter is used in the bars and also in the topping. For the best texture and consistency, I suggest using a smooth, standard mainstream brand like Peter Pan, Jif, or Skippy. I don’t recommend using natural peanut butter because it has a higher oil content.
- Chocolate chips: Peanut butter and chocolate are a classic combination! I prefer using semi-sweet chocolate chips but feel free to substitute with milk chocolate or dark chocolate chips, depending on your preference. Extra chocolate chips can be used in a Chocolate Lava Cake, Blondies, a mini Chocolate Pie, and Double Chocolate Chip Cookies.
If you have any ingredients leftover from this peanut butter bars recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder.
Recipe Variations
- Gluten-Free Peanut Butter Bars: Use crushed gluten-free cookies instead.
- Use Different Cookies: Try using crushed Oreos, graham cereals, or vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers.
- Add A Topping: Add chopped nuts, crushed pretzels, or chopped candies to the top.
How To Make Peanut Butter Bars
These step-by-step photos and instructions are here to help you visualize how to make this recipe. See the recipe box below for ingredient amounts and full recipe instructions.
- Line a 5×5-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
Pro Tip: To line your baking dish with parchment paper, first cut a piece long enough to cover the bottom and extend over the sides. Then, trim the corners to create a cross shape where the center matches the size of the dish’s base. Lightly grease the dish and fit the parchment paper inside. This step makes it easier to lift the bars out of the pan later.
- Make the bars. Melt the butter and add it to a medium-sized bowl.
- Add peanut butter to the bowl and mix on low speed with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Sift the powdered sugar and add it to the bowl.
Pro Tip: To sift powdered sugar smoothly, use a sifter or a fine-mesh strainer. If using a strainer, place the powdered sugar inside, hold it with one hand, and gently tap it with the other to filter the sugar through the mesh. This process removes any lumps, ensuring your peanut butter bars have a smooth texture.
- Mix on low speed until well blended. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the powdered sugar.
- Fold in the graham cracker crumbs with a rubber spatula until fully combined.
Pro Tip: To create graham cracker crumbs, you have two options. First, you can use a food processor: put the cookies in and pulse until they become crumbs. Alternatively, put 3 sheets of graham crackers in a ziplock bag, seal it, and use a rolling pin or a heavy can to crush them. Note that using a food processor usually results in finer crumbs and slightly less volume, yielding just under 1/2 cup. Crushing them with a rolling pin gives you a bit more, about 1/2 cup, which equals approximately 48 grams.
- Pour into the lined baking dish and spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Prepare the topping. Place the chocolate chips and the peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 20 to 25-second intervals, stirring between each interval until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the chocolate and peanut butter topping over the peanut butter base and spread evenly to the edges.
- Chill in the refrigerator until firm, for at least 2 hours. Lift the parchment paper out of the dish.
- Slice into squares and enjoy!
Yield: This recipe is based on using a 5-inch by 5-inch pan and slicing the bars into 2 1/2-inch squares, resulting in 4 squares. However, the actual number of bars you get may differ depending on the size you choose to cut them.
RELATED: 15 Easy Single Serving Dessert Recipes
Expert Tips
- Read through the entire recipe and the Ingredient Notes section of the post and gather your ingredients. These no-bake peanut butter bars come together quickly so it’s a good idea to have everything ready before beginning.
- Line your pan: This will make it easier to remove the bars. Just line the dish with parchment paper or foil.
- Combine the ingredients well: Ensure your peanut butter mixture is well-combined and not too crumbly or dry, as this will affect the texture of the bars.
- When melting the chocolate, be careful not to overheat it, as this can cause the chocolate to seize and become grainy.
Storing Peanut Butter Bars
Store peanut butter chocolate bars in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 1 week.
To Freeze: After the bars have chilled, slice and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container between sheets of parchment paper for up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
Frequently Asked Questions
The dish you use when making these peanut butter bars matters. We recommend using either a 5×5-inch baking dish which has a base area of 25 square inches, a 5×7-inch baking dish with a base area of 35 square inches, or a 4×6-inch baking dish that has a base area of 24 square inches.
Yes, if you’d like to make additional bars just double the ingredient amounts and use a 6.5×6.5-inch dish or a 4×8-inch baking dish.
Crunchy peanut butter will work for the bottom layer, but a smooth top layer might be preferred. I recommend using smooth peanut butter for the chocolate topping.
Yes, you can substitute almond or cashew butter, but the flavor and texture may be slightly different.
Ways To Use Leftover Ingredients
If you have any ingredients leftover from this recipe, check out our Leftover Ingredients Recipe Finder or you might like to consider using them in any of these single serving and small batch recipes:
For more information on the cooking and baking dishes I use in our “recipes for one”, please visit our FAQ page.
For examples of the dishes used at One Dish Kitchen, please visit our Store page.
If you’ve tried these peanut butter bars or any recipe on One Dish Kitchen please let me know how you liked it by rating the recipe and telling me about it in the comment section below.
Also, if you take a picture please tag us on Instagram (@onedishkitchen) we’d love to see it!
Small Batch Peanut Butter Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup butter , melted and slightly cooled
- ¼ cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons powdered sugar , sifted
- ½ cup graham cracker crumbs , (3 full graham cracker sheets – 48 g)
For the topping
- ⅓ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Line a 5×5-inch baking dish with parchment paper.Pro Tip: To measure out the correct amount of parchment paper you will need, cut a length of parchment paper long enough to line the bottom of the dish with extra hanging over the sides. Next, cut the corners so that the paper looks like a cross with the middle being the same size as the base of your dish. See the photo in Step 11. Finally, lightly butter the baking dish and press the parchment paper into the pan. Lining the baking dish helps to remove the bars from the pan easily.
- Add the melted butter to a medium-sized bowl.
- Add peanut butter to the bowl and mix on low speed with an electric hand mixer until smooth.
- Sift the powdered sugar and add it to the bowl.Pro Tip: The best way to sift powdered sugar is with a sifter or a fine-mesh strainer. To use a mesh strainer, simply add the powdered sugar into the strainer, hold it with one hand and tap it against the other hand to move the powdered sugar through the holes. Sifting the powdered sugar helps to remove lumps which ensures that the peanut butter bars are smooth.
- Mix on low speed until well blended. Make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to incorporate all of the powdered sugar.
- Fold in the graham cracker crumbs with a rubber spatula until fully combined.Pro Tip: You can make graham cracker crumbs by placing the cookies in the base of a food processor and pulse until the cookies turn to crumbs. Alternatively, place 3 sheets of graham crackers in a ziplock bag, seal, and roll with a rolling pin or heavy can to crush. If using a food processor, which tends to yield finer crumbs you will get a little less than ½ cup of cookie crumbs. When using a rolling pin, the amount of crumbs is closer to ½ cup, approximately 48 grams.
- Pour into the lined baking dish and spread the batter evenly in the pan.
- Prepare the topping. Place the chocolate chips and the peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl and microwave on high in 20 to 25-second intervals, stirring between each interval until the chocolate has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Pour the chocolate and peanut butter topping over the peanut butter base and spread evenly to the edges.
- Chill in the refrigerator until firm, for at least 2 hours. Lift the parchment paper out of the dish.
- Slice into squares and enjoy!
Notes
-
- Read through the entire recipe and the Ingredient Notes section of the post and gather your ingredients. These no-bake peanut butter bars come together quickly so it’s a good idea to have everything ready before beginning.
-
- Line your pan: This will make it easier to remove the bars. Just line the dish with parchment paper or foil.
-
- Combine the ingredients well: Ensure your peanut butter mixture is well-combined and not too crumbly or dry, as this will affect the texture of the bars.
-
- When melting the chocolate, be careful not to overheat it, as this can cause the chocolate to seize and become grainy.
-
- Gluten-free peanut butter bars: Use crushed gluten-free cookies instead.
-
- Use different cookies: Try using crushed Oreos, graham cereals, or vanilla wafers instead of graham crackers.
-
- Add a topping: Add chopped nuts, crushed pretzels, or chopped candies to the top.
Nutrition
The information shown is an estimate provided by an online nutrition calculator. It should not be considered a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
These peanut butter bars far exceeded name brand store bought peanut butter cups. I used good quality chocolate and no sugar added creamy peanut butter. Store bought has a waxy , processed essence they didn’t have when they 1st hit the market.
These bars were absolutely satisfying. They were superior to name brand peanut butter cups. I used regular smooth PB without added sugar and high quality semi sweet chocolate chips.
That’s fantastic to hear! Quality ingredients really do make a difference, don’t they? Thrilled you found these bars superior to store-bought peanut butter cups. Thanks for sharing your ingredient choices—always helpful for others looking to switch things up.
Love these! I was trying for some portion control and so I made little peanut butter cups. They don’t look very nice, but they sure taste good!
I’m so happy you enjoyed them!
This recipe is an alternate way of making Buckeyes, if you roll the peanut butter batter into balls and then dip in melted chocolate. It is a TERRIFIC recipe.
Thank you!
You do not have to make the oat flour if you have a bag already.
I think you probably could, although I haven’t tried it. If you do, please let me know how they turn out.
Joanie
These were so good, the topping is a must-make! Thanks for the yummy recipe!
I’m seriously loving all your small batch recipes!!! These peanut butter bars are the perfect amount for my husband and I and look so so tasty!