Chocolaty Peanut Butter Treats

Hi Everyone!

Don’t you just love it when you find a recipe that pleases everyone in your family? I don’t know about you, but I’ve got some picky eaters in my house, and even though the kids know they have to eat what I make, I like it when I make something that people actually enjoy!

The pickiness also extends to treats. Even though most kids love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter, some of mine don’t! So, I came up with this recipe for chocolaty peanut butter treats as a way to please everyone.

graham crackers and peanut butter bars topped with chocolate and m and m candies

There are a lot of chocolate peanut butter bar recipes out there, and I’ve been making the basic version for a long time. However, when the pickiest child started hating peanut butter, I tweaked the basic recipe and amped up the chocolate. You can still taste the peanut butter, but it isn’t as strong as the original version.

I have to confess that we made this twice during spring break — yep, we were bad! And, to celebrate spring, I also added some pastel M and M’s to the top.

refrigerated chocolate peanut butter bars with m and m's

The best part about these chocolaty peanut butter treats is that no baking is involved, so you can enjoy this even when the weather is too warm for baking! After a day or two, there were only a few of these tasty treats left. I put the remaining ones on a plate, and they were gone before the day was over. I may have contributed to this.

No-Bake Chocolaty Peanut Butter Treats

Ingredients for the bottom layer:

1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 cup softened butter
2 cups powdered sugar
3 cups crushed graham crackers
1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (I use Ghirardelli)

Ingredients for the frosting:

1 cup smooth peanut butter
1 tablespoon dark cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

Grease a 13 X 9-inch glass baking dish.

Combine 1 cup of peanut butter with the butter, and beat on medium until the mixture is creamy. Add 1 cup of the powdered sugar, and stir gently until mixed. Then, beat until smooth. Add the remaining cup of powdered sugar, the crushed graham crackers and the chips, and mix well. This is so thick that
I like to work the mixture with my hands, almost like kneading bread. It’s messy, but the kids can help with this part, and they can even lick their fingers after they’re done!

Take the mixture, and press it into the pan. Just make sure that it’s even.

Melt 1 cup of peanut butter and the rest of the chocolate chips. I do this in the microwave, very gradually, but you can also melt the mixture in a pan over low heat. Add the cocoa powder, mix well, and pour the chocolate mixture over the bottom layer. Spread the chocolate over the graham cracker mix until it’s nice and smooth, then refrigerate until the chocolate is firm. You can add the candy to the top at this point if you want. I sometimes freeze this to speed up the process — we are not a patient bunch!

Cut into squares, and enjoy!