These fudgy peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars are magic! Baked then chilled and covered with ganache, they are ridiculously soft and fudgy.
You might also like our Chex Scotcheroos, our Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies, or our Buckeye Texas Sheet Cake!
Watch our step by step video!
Fudge Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (With Ganache)
Sweet treats are my specialty. I've made them all and I've tried them all so it isn't very often that I eat a cookie or cookie bar and am blown away. These peanut butter cookie bars did just that though. It's always rewarding to have a recipe turn out EXACTLY how you pictured it in your mind.
My fudgy peanut butter bars start out with my FAVORITE peanut butter cookie dough, baked to perfection in a standard 9x13" pan. THEN I let them sit for 30 minutes before spreading an easy-to-make-chocolate ganache over them. The warm ganache sits over the bars for another 30 minutes and the bars are then chilled in the refrigerator for an hour. That last hour in the refrigerator is KEY for the soft and fudgy texture.
What Makes This Recipe The Best
- They are cookie bars! Cookie bars are fun to make because you get the same delicious flavor, but simply press the dough into a pan vs. rolling the dough into balls.
- They are FUDGY. How many cookie bars can you call FUDGY? Most end up a little dry. Not these! I use the same method that I use for my Cosmic brownies. And no, they are not underbaked. They are baked to perfection and then CHILLED while slightly warm. This is what gives them the fudgy texture.
- They stay soft for days! Simply store in an airtight container once the ganache has had a chance to set up completely.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bar Ingredients
(Scroll to the end of the post for a printable recipe)
COOKIE DOUGH
- Peanut Butter: creamy or crunchy, it doesn't matter.
- Butter: I always use salted, but you can use unsalted.
- Brown Sugar: this recipe uses all brown sugar for moisture and texture.
- Egg: Eggs add structure. I have backyard chickens so I store my eggs at room temperature which is perfect for baking.
- Vanilla Extract: for flavoring.
- Milk: any kind will do.
- All Purpose Flour: bleached, unbleached, bread flour---any of these will work for this recipe.
- Baking soda and salt: for leavening and flavor.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: you can use regular chocolate chips, but I like using mini chocolate chips in this recipe because they add small amounts of chocolate throughout the bars.
GANACHE
- Semisweet chocolate chips: you can also use good baking chocolate, but this ganache is pretty easy and basic and chocolate chips work fine.
- Milk: any kind.
- Honey: can also use corn syrup.
- Butter
How To Make Peanut Butter Cookie Bars with Chocolate Ganache
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Prepare a 9″x13″ baking dish with parchment paper.
Note: You’ll want to leave an inch or two of parchment paper over the edge on each end so that you can lift the bars out of the pan later on.
Cream the butter and brown sugar together. Beat in peanut butter, egg, vanilla, and milk.
Add flour, baking soda, and salt.
Stir in chocolate chips.
Press cookie dough into the prepared baking dish.
Bake for 22-24 minutes. Cookie bars will be soft. Allow bars to cool for 30 minutes.
Combine ganache ingredients and melt on the stovetop over med-low heat OR in the microwave in 15-20 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until melted and smooth.
Spread ganache over cookie bars.
Let cookie bars stand another 30 minutes then chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. DO NOT skip that part if you want fudgy cookie bars.
Lift the cookie bars from the pan using the parchment paper and slice them into 24-48 bars.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Many Servings Does One Pan Make?
That all depends on how large you cut the squares. You can easily get 12 (large -24 (standard-sized) bars from each pan.
How Do You Store Peanut Butter Cookie Bars?
Store finished cookie bars in an airtight container. They will stay fresh for 3-4 days at room temperature and can also be stored in the refrigerator.
What Chocolate Should You Use To Make Ganache?
I'm a home baker, not a professional. There are lots of different baker's chocolate bars and squares that you can use that would be great quality, but I use plain old chocolate chips for this recipe! Semisweet is my go-to chocolate chip and I don't favor one brand over another.
What Makes These Cookie Bars So Fudgy?
They are baked to perfection and then CHILLED while slightly warm. This is what gives them the fudgy texture. The cookies aren't underbaked, don't worry.
Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Fudgy Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Dough
- ½ cup butter softened
- 1 ½ cups brown sugar
- ¾ cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- ¼ cup milk
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
Ganache
- 1 (12 oz) bag semisweet chocolate chips
- 4 Tbsp. butter
- 2 Tbsp. honey
- 2 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- Prepare a 9″x13″ baking dish with parchment paper.
- Note: You’ll want to leave an inch or two of parchment paper over the edge on each end so that you can lift the bars out of the pan later on.
- Cream the butter and brown sugar together. Beat in peanut butter, eggs, vanilla, and milk.
- Add flour, baking soda, and salt.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Press cookie dough into the prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 22-24 minutes. Cookie bars will be soft. Allow bars to cool for 30 minutes.
- Combine ganache ingredients and melt on the stovetop over low (med/low) heat OR in the microwave in 15-20 second intervals, stirring in between each interval until melted and smooth.
- Spread ganache over cookie bars.
- Let cookie bars stand another 30 minutes then chill in the refrigerator for 1 hour. DO NOT skip that part if you want fudgy cookie bars. Lift the cookie bars from the pan using the parchment paper and slice them into 24-48 bars.
Debbie says
Hi Brandy! The ingredient list has 1 egg but the directions say to beat in the eggs. Doe the recipe only call for one egg? I made them with just the one egg so I hope they turn out ok. Thanks
Brandy says
1 egg is correct! The “eggs” in the instructions is a type-o.