Reeses Bars

If you’ve ever wanted to make homemade Reese’s cups in bar form, this is it. A thick layer of peanut butter, melted butter, powdered sugar, and crushed graham crackers gets pressed into a pan, then topped with a glossy layer of melted chocolate chips.

No oven, no baking, no complicated steps. Mix, press, melt, pour. The peanut butter base is sweet and a little salty with a sandy, fudge-like texture from the graham cracker crumbs. The chocolate layer on top snaps cleanly if you let it set, but the real trick is cutting before it hardens completely so you get clean edges without the chocolate cracking into shards.

These taste remarkably close to the real thing, and you can adjust the peanut butter to chocolate ratio to your preference.

Pro Tips

• Press the base firmly. A loose base crumbles when you cut the bars. Use the bottom of a glass to compact it into the pan.
• Cut while the chocolate is still slightly soft. If it hardens fully, it shatters. If it’s too warm, it smears. Slightly tacky is the sweet spot.
• Use creamy peanut butter. Chunky changes the texture of the base and makes pressing difficult.
• Store in the fridge. The butter and chocolate keep the bars firm when cold. At room temperature they soften and get messy.

Variations

• Dark chocolate top: Use dark chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet for a more intense, less sweet bar.
• Butterscotch drizzle: Melt a handful of butterscotch chips and drizzle over the set chocolate layer.
• Pretzel base: Replace half the graham cracker crumbs with crushed pretzels for a salty-sweet crunch.