Are there any foods you didn’t care for as a child that you find yourself loving (so much it is almost an obsession) as an adult? For me that’s peanut butter bars. Couldn’t get me to touch them with a ten foot pole as a kid but as an adult I have a hard time not polishing off an entire pan by myself.
Load some already delicious Peanut Butter Bars with Reese’s and chocolate chunks and I’m a goner! These Loaded Peanut Butter Reese’s Bars are the bomb! The bar is soft and chewy and the fun mix of chocolate chips, colorful mini-M&M’s, Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and Chocolate Chunks, make it like a party for your eyes and your mouth!
Best of all, the dough is super simple to mix up–it even has some oatmeal in it, so good news, these are “healthy.” 😉
Really though, how much do we love a good bar cookie…just press the dough down in the pan, throw it in the oven and BAM, your done. Not that I’m against traditional cookies in any way, but I just love having a few awesome bar cookies in my back pocket to throw together when I need a quick treat to take somewhere…or to satisfy my own sweet tooth.
Here are some of my favorites:
- Lemon Swig Cookie Bars
- Cowboy Cookie Bars
- Soft Batch Cream Cheese Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
- Swig Sugar Cookie Bars
Will Semi-Sweet or Milk Chocolate Chips be best in this recipe?
Personally I like the mix of milk and semi-sweet, so I use regular size milk chocolate chips and then add semi-sweet chunks or mini chips. Remember the Reese’s cups are milk and the mini-M&Ms are milk too, so it’s nice to add a little semi-sweet in there.
Do I have to put the Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups in this recipe?
Of course not, these bars are going to be delicious even without them. The extra peanut butter flare is super yummy though. Another option would be to add some peanut butter chips or to use Reese’s Pieces instead of M&Ms.
Just typing this post is making me want to make another pan right now! The texture of these bars is perfection! I hope you will give them a try soon!
More peanut butter favorites
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup white sugar, + 2 tbsp divided
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 3 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- ½ tsp coarse sea salt, regular salt if you don't have coarse is fine
- 1½ tsp baking soda
- 3 cup all purpose flour
- 2 cup quick oats
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
- ½ cup mini M&Ms
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks, chips or mini chips
- 1 cup chopped Reese's Peanut Butter cups (Aprox 10 fun size cups)
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees
- Lightly grease a large 12x17 cookie sheet pan (I use my butter wrapper for this).
- In your mixer, or with a hand mixer, combine butter, peanut butter, the 1 cup of white sugar and the brown sugar, cream together for 2-3 minutes
- Add eggs and vanilla. Continue mixing until well combined about 30-45 seconds
- Add salt, and baking soda mixing at a low speed, slowly add flour and oats one half cup at a time. Add Chocolate chips, M&Ms, Chocolate Chunks and Reese's Cup pieces last and mix until just combined. (I like to save a few of each type of chocolate to arrange on top once the dough is pressed in the pan, to make it look pretty.
- Dough will be thick, evenly distribute it by the spoonful on to your greased cookie sheet pan. In order to spread it evenly you may need to spray your hand with cooking spray and press it down carefully until it is evenly distributed in the pan.
- Once dough is evenly spread in the pan, sprinkle the the top with 2 tbsp of granulated white sugar and decorate top if desired with reserved pieces of chocolate and peanut butte cups.
- Bake in 350 degree oven for 18-22 minutes.
- You do not want to over bake. The bars will be barely starting to brown on the edges. You can test center with a toothpick if desired. Remember bars will continue to cook a little as they cool in the pan. In my oven it takes exactly 19 minutes.
- Let cool completely before cutting.
- Enjoy
Leave a Comment