Life-Changing Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
on Apr 10, 2019, Updated Aug 22, 2024
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Rich and decadent Peanut Butter S’mores Bars made with a simple cookie-dough-graham-cracker crust, peanut butter, chocolate, and marshmallow creme. They have the perfect ratio of crunch to gooeyness, sweet to savory, and crust to crumble.
Some desserts will change your life forevermore. Any dessert with peanut butter and chocolate could end up on that list of perfection, which is why desserts like no-bake peanut butter bars and chocolate peanut butter pie are on my go-to summer meal plan. But the thing that really makes these bars stand out is the deliciously fun spin on regular s’mores.
S’mores desserts always bring me back to childhood memories of camping with family, telling stories and jokes around a fire, and capping off an outdoorsy evening with a sticky and sweet bite of graham cracker, chocolate, and toasted marshmallow. When I want to recreate that nostalgic feeling in the comfort of my home, these Peanut Butter S’mores Bars do a fabulous job of taking me back in time.
Table of Contents
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- A deliciously fun spin on regular s’mores!
- An easy and yummy dish for summer potlucks.
- Make-ahead dessert that keeps well in the fridge.
Recipe Ingredients
- Butter
- Sugar – regular granulated sugar and brown sugar
- Egg
- Vanilla
- Flour – basic all-purpose flour
- Baking powder
- Graham crackers – grab graham cracker crumbs at the store to save a step!
- Peanut butter
- Chocolate chips – either semi-sweet or milk chocolate
- Marshmallow Fluff – don’t skip this important s’mores ingredient!
See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Popular Substitutions and Variations
To do a no-bake version, use a store-bought graham cracker pie crust and crumbled graham cracker as the topping instead of the cookie dough in this recipe.
In my opinion, the cookie dough crust is one of the best parts of this recipe, and baking melds together the chocolate, peanut butter, and marshmallow fluff components into a heavenly melt. If you have the time, it’s worth the bake.
How to Make Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
- Mix the cookie dough ingredients and add the graham cracker crumbs, pressing part of this into the baking dish.
- Spread peanut butter over the top, and then add chocolate chips.
- Add Marshmallow Fluff and top with the rest of the dough mixture.
- Bake and allow to cool before cutting.
Recipe FAQs
No, you need to bake these because the cookie dough crust and topping have egg.
These will keep in the fridge for up to a week if covered. Storing them in the fridge will also make the sticky elements easier to cut through when serving!
Definitely. This is a really great idea for those with peanut allergies, especially. You shouldn’t have to miss out on the tastiness of these bars! My biggest tip, however, is to find a nut butter with a similar thickness and consistency to peanut butter. A lot of almond butters would be too runny, but I’ve found some cashew butters that are similar in thickness to PB. Give your jar a flip, and if the butter moves at all, it’s probably going to be too runny for this recipe.
Expert Tips
- The easiest way to cut these sticky bars is by placing them in the fridge for an hour after baking. They will be less sticky, and you can get a cleaner cut.
- If you’d like to make these bars ahead of time, just make and bake as per the recipe and then store them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
- Use either semisweet or milk chocolate chips, whichever your family prefers or you have on hand.
More Cookie Recipes to Consider
Simple Gingerbread Recipes
The Perfect Icing for Gingerbread Cookies
Cut Out Cookies
Sugar Cookie Icing Recipe for Perfect Holiday Decorating
Simple Gingerbread Recipes
Easy Gingerbread Sandwich Cookies
From Scratch Recipes
Free Printable Gingerbread Man Cookie Templates for Holiday Baking
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Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 1/4 cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 6 graham crackers, crushed into crumbs
- 1/2 to 1 cup peanut butter
- 1 cup chocolate chips, semi-sweet or milk
- 1 7- ounce container Marshmallow Fluff
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 9-inch square baking pan with foil (let the foil hang over all the edges so that you can use it to pull the bars out of the pan later), and grease the foil well.
- To make the dough, combine the butter and sugars in a large bowl, and beat until light in color and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
- Add the egg and vanilla, and beat to combine.
- Add the flour, baking powder, and salt and stir until well combined. Stir in the graham cracker crumbs.
- Press 2/3 of the dough into the bottom of the baking dish.
- Spread peanut butter over the top of the dough, sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter, and then carefully spread the whole container of Marshmallow Fluff over the chocolate. Then, gently press the remaining dough evenly over the Marshmallow Fluff.
- Bake for 25 minutes, until the crust starts to turn golden-brown. Remove from the oven, and allow the bars to cool for an hour in the pan.
- After an hour, use the edges of the foil to remove the bars from the pan. Let the bars cool on a wire rack (in the foil) out of the pan until set (this will take a couple of hours).
- To cut the bars, use a sharp knife, and clean it in between each cut. These are sticky! Sticking the bars in the fridge for an hour before cutting will make cutting them easier.
Video
Notes
- Make these s’mores bars ahead and keep them in the fridge for up to a week.
- To replace the peanut butter with another option, look for a nut butter that is approximately the same consistency and thickness as peanut butter. Some nut butter, such as almond butter, might be too runny!
- Make the deliciously sticky bars easier to cut by placing them in the refrigerator for an hour before cutting.
- This is a fun dish to take to potlucks in the summer or as a surprise treat for your family on a long summer evening playing in the backyard!
