Graham Cracker Peanut Butter Bars

These no-bake peanut butter bars are basically a giant homemade peanut butter cup pressed into a pan. A thick layer of creamed peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar, and crushed graham crackers gets topped with a sheet of melted milk chocolate and chilled until firm. Five ingredients, no oven, and they taste like candy.

Cream the peanut butter and butter together first until soft and smooth. Then beat in the powdered sugar until everything is uniform, and finally the coarsely crushed graham crackers. The crackers add a sandy, crunchy texture to the peanut butter base that keeps it from being one-note smooth.

Crush the graham crackers coarsely, not into fine dust. You want pieces big enough to feel between your teeth, not powder that disappears into the peanut butter. Breaking them in a bag with a rolling pin gives you the right mix of crumbs and chunks.

Spread the mixture evenly in the pan, pressing it flat and firm. Then pour the melted chocolate over the top and spread into an even layer. Refrigerate 3 to 4 hours until the chocolate sets and the bars are firm enough to cut cleanly.

Kitchen Tips

• Let the bars sit at room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting. Straight from the fridge, the chocolate cracks and shatters instead of cutting cleanly.
• Score the chocolate with a knife while it’s still slightly soft for the cleanest bar lines.
• Store in the fridge. The peanut butter base softens quickly at room temperature.

Variations

• Use dark chocolate chips instead of milk chocolate for a deeper, less sweet topping.
• Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the chocolate before it sets for a sweet-salty contrast.
• Drizzle white chocolate in zigzags over the set milk chocolate for a bakery-style finish.