This easy, no bake peanut butter bars recipe is the answer to your Chocolate and Peanut Butter craving! Buckeye Bars are decadent bites of candy that melt in your mouth!
Love chocolate and peanut butter? Be sure to try our fudgy peanut butter brownies! Or give our chocolate chip peanut butter bars recipe a try next!
Why this Recipe is Best
If you are a true lover of Chocolate and Peanut Butter then this recipe is made for you!
If you LOVE buckeyes, today’s recipe is even better.
Yes you heard me. Better because it’s EASIER. And who doesn’t love easy dessert recipes? Especially our delicious chocolate peanut butter pie!
- Tastes like a Reese’s peanut butter cup.
- Easy no bake dessert!
- Chocolate and peanut butter in every bite.
- Great for a crowd!
Next time you’re craving chocolate and peanut butter, you’ll want to add our peanut butter brownies to your list next!
Ingredient Notes
Five ingredients are all you need to make these easy no bake peanut butter bars.
- Butter- Either salted or unsalted butter will work great in today’s recipe. Avoid margarine as it can be too watery. You’ll need some for both layers!
- Powdered Sugar- Use this to sweeten the peanut butter mixture. Avoid granulated sugar because you don’t want it grainy.
- Peanut Butter- We prefer using a shelf stable peanut butter, like Skippy or Jif. Natural peanut butters can be too oily.
- Semi-Sweet Chocolate Bar- semi-sweet morsels can be used instead.
PRO TIP- We love making our own homemade vanilla extract, but if using store bought, be sure it’s pure extract, not imitation (for best flavor).
I’ve seen other recipes that use graham crackers crushed into the bar, and while I’m sure that is delicious, this recipe has no graham cracker crumbs.
How to make Peanut Butter Bars
Buckeye bars taste just like a Reese’s peanut butter cup. And making a whole batch will ensure that you have plenty for days to come.
What’s so great about them is that you can whip them up in no time. Unlike buckeyes, there’s no rolling and dipping!
- Peanut Butter layer- melt butter and mix with powdered sugar and peanut butter.
- Press into pan- Be sure to line your pan with foil or parchment paper. This makes it easy to lift out and cut into bars.
- Ganache- make a chocolate ganache to pour over the top. Whether you use our original recipe with heavy cream, or this easy chocolate and butter version, both are incredible.
Tips and Tricks
- AVOID THE CRACKING. If you don’t want your chocolate to “crack” when cutting your bars, don’t refrigerate these bars. Cut them as soon as the chocolate sets (about 30 minutes room temperature).
- Use ghirardelli melting wafers in place of the chocolate chips for easy melting and delicious flavor.
- Store in airtight container for up to one week.
If you’re looking for more peanut butter treats…have you made these Buckeye Brownies yet? They are calling my name!
You could also give these easy, no bake Peanut Butter Smores Bars a try! Ready in 15 minutes, and only 4 ingredients!
More Easy Candy Bar Recipes
- Reese’s Peanut Butter Eggs
- Three Musketeers Recipe
- Buckeye Brownie Cookies
- Tiger Butter
- Avalanche Krispie Treats
Love this recipe? Please leave a 5-star 🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟 rating in the recipe card below & a review in the comments section below!
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Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- ¾ cup unsalted butter melted
- 3 ½ cups powdered sugar
- 1 ½ cups creamy peanut butter
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 4 bars ghirardelli semisweet chocolate 4 ounces each
- 1 Tablespoon butter
Instructions
- Line a 13×9 inch baking sheet with foil. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat 3/4 cup melted butter, powdered sugar, peanut butter and vanilla extract together. Mixture will come together into a “dough.” Using your hands, press into the bottom of the 13×9 dish.
- In a microwave bowl, combined chocolate bars (broken into pieces) with 1 tablespoon butter. Heat for 30 second intervals, stirring until chocolate is smooth (mine took about 1 1/2 minutes).
- Spread evenly over top of peanut butter layer.
- Allow chocolate to set before cutting.
- Store in airtight container at room temperature. ENJOY.
Notes
- Chocolate. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate bars for the top layer. The chocolate melts so smooth, and tastes amazing. The Ghirardelli melting wafers work well too!
- AVOID THE CRACKING. If you don’t want your chocolate to “crack” when cutting your bars, don’t refrigerate these bars. Cut them as soon as the chocolate sets (about 30 minutes room temperature).
- Storage. Store in airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.
What incredible looking buckeye bars. I just love how easy they are to make and how little ingredients they require whilst still being so sweetly delicious (i bet)!
I will need my fat pants. These look and sound delicious!
These would be a whole lotta dangerous in my house!
Saw these in your email yesterday morning and loved them so much, I made them for the Super Bowl! I love buckeyes, and this was a great way to get the yummy without the tedious forming and dipping of the balls. I would like to suggest a few clarifications to the recipe though — since you recommend lining the pan with foil, could you say why in the instructions? I made mine in a 9×13 Pyrex, did not line it with foil, and had no issues getting the bars out. Also, for clarity you may want to edit the chocolate line in the ingredients — when I printed it out, it came out as “4 4 ounces ghirardelli semisweet chocolate bar” which momentarily threw me for a loop as 44 ounces is nearly 3 lbs of chocolate. I guessed you meant 4 x 4 oz for a total of 16 oz… which is what I did. My chocolate layer does not look as thick as yours does so I’m still wondering. They tasted yummy anyway!
I line mine with foil, because then I can lift the foil out of the pan, place it on a cutting board and get nice even cuts. Oooh, yeah, i see what you mean about the 44oz. Nope you had that right, 4 (4oz) bars. My middle pieces were thicker with chocolate, so maybe those are the ones in the photo? Glad you enjoyed the recipe, thanks for coming back with your tips!!
Yum! peanut butter and chocolate are two of my favorite things!
My candy craving change depending on the day. Sometimes its chocolate and other times it is the chewy candy. These buckeye bars look so much easier than having to roll all the balls!
Yes exactly, these are so easy!! Which is dangerous 🙂
I made these they taste wonderful, however they are so sticky even refrigerated they are messy. I’ll stick to Buckeyes they take more time buy are worth the effort.
I grew up eating these and love everything about them!
Reese’s are my favorite candy bar and these just got added to my must-do list!
Perfect for Valentine’s Day!! Love love love.
This stuff is pure crack, Aimee! I mean, I know coffee is your thing, but I have a hard time not mainlining chocolate and PB on a daily basis. These are definitely my favorite!
YUM! I love how these are so simple to make and no-bake! Doesn’t get much easier than that. I’ll have to wait to make them for a party or gathering, or I’ll eat the whole pan myself.
My husband is the biggest PB fan I know. He would adore these bars!
OMG. I’d eat the ENTIRE PAN. These would be dangerous. Love!
Chocolate and PB is right up there for me, and I love buckeyes. And in bar form too, oh yes!
Buckeyes in bar format, genius! So you don’t have to roll out all those buckeyes! Patience is not my virtue 🙂 Pinned of course!
Haha, you and me both!! Thanks for pinning 🙂
These look great! I love Buckeyes but I don’t love the dipping. I’m a lazy baker
I can be a lazy baker too 😉
Been making these for over 30 years from the Silver Palette cookbook. Yummy!! Nice to see them now and again!!
Definitely one of my all time fav bars! Love your recipe 🙂
I’ve never made buckeyes, which is terrible! What kind of chocolate peanut butter lover am I? I love this bar version — the layers are picture perfect and the thicker the better! Pinned. 🙂
You must make them! Thanks for pinning Marcie 🙂
SCORE!!!, indeed, Aimee! Love, love, love me some chocolate and PB…especially if it tastes like Reese’s PB cups! Thank you for sharing. Pinning!
Thanks for pinning Stacy!