Peanut butter crispy bars. These dessert bars are going to give you the sweetest of dreams! Crispy rice cereal and a layer of creamy peanut butter topped with rich melted chocolate.
Single white female looking for strong, well built spatula
Have you ever realized how important a well stocked kitchen is? Having the right tools for cooking is like a doctor making sure he has the right scalpel. Ok, maybe not that serious, but you get what I’m saying. You don’t realize how important a wooden spoon, offset spatula, micro grater, or hell, a good spatula is until you are working in a kitchen without these basic tools.
I’m, however, at an odd point where I refuse to buy any more kitchen supplies until I have my own kitchen again. My kitchen is well stocked *in boxes somewhere* but there is a list of things I need. It’s the most ridiculous thing I have ever made myself not spend money on – however I can’t possibly justify any more kitchen purchases when most of my life is stored away in cardboard anyway. It makes me rather sad because there is a list of things I don’t have that I would love to have (a cast iron skillet, a dutch oven, tart pan and my often dreamed about Kitchenaid countertop mixer…. to name a few….). When I can unpack my things, reacquaint myself with what I do actually own, only then will I consider another purchase.
What about you guys? What do you consider the most important tool in your kitchen?
Speaking of not having a good spatula, I made these peanut butter crispy bars, my second creation from the pages of the Baked cookbook, and I am still loving the book.
Truthfully, I do think that there are easier, cheaper ways to make what I made have so far – if you wanted / needed to, but for review sake, I am sticking to the written instructions on the pages for now. I have admittedly been a wuss and the two recipes I have tried were obviously more of the basic ones. It’s going back to that “need to gather supplies from within boxes and stock the current kitchen before I undergo any of the other recipes” idea.
But I couldn’t say no to these peanut butter crispy bars!
Ingredients
For the Crispy Crust
- 1 3/4 cups rice cereal
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3 tbs lt. corn syrup
- 3 tbs unsalted butter - melted
For the Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer
- 5 oz milk chocolate chopped
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
For the Chocolate Icing
- 3 oz dark chocolate - 60% – 70% cacao chopped
- 1/2 teas lt corn syrup
- 4 tbs unsalted butter
Instructions
Make the crispy crust:
- Lightly spray a paper towel with nonstick cooking spray and use it to rub the bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan.
- Put the cereal in a bowel and set aside.
- Pour 1/4 cup water into a small saucepan. Gently add the sugar and corn syrup (do not let any sugar or syrup get on the sides of the pan) and use a small wooden spoon to sir the mixture until just combined. Put a candy thermometer in the saucepan. Cook over medium-high heat and bring to a boil; cook until the mixture reaches the soft ball stage, 235 degrees F.
- Remove from the heat, stir in the butter, and pour the mixture over the cereal. Working quickly, stir until the cereal is thoroughly coated, then pour it into the prepared pan. Using your hands, press the mixture into the bottom of the pan (do not press up the sides). Let the crust cool to room temperature while you make the next layer.
Make the Milk Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer:
- In a large nonreactive metal bowl, stir together the chocolate and the peanut butter.
- Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for about 30 seconds to cool slightly. Poor the mixture over the cooled crust. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour, or until the top layer hardens.
Make the Chocolate Icing:
- In a large nonreactive metal bowl, combine the chocolate, corn syrup, and butter.
- Set the bowl over a saucepan of simmering water and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula, until the mixture is completely smooth. Remove the bowl from the pan and stir for 30 seconds to cool slightly, Pour the mixture over the chilled milk chocolate peanut butter layer and spread into an even layer. Put the pan in the refrigerator for 1 hour or until the topping hardens.
- Cut into 9 squares and serve. The bars can be stored in the refrigerator, covered tightly, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutritional informations provided as a courtesy and is only an approximatation. Values will changes based on ingredients used.
⭐ Tried this recipe? Rate it ⭐
Help out the next person and give it a star rating below!
They warn in the commentary before the recipe that this is a rich dessert and to serve these peanut butter crispy bars in small portions (hence the small pan) and they are right.
I am a chocolate lover and have only eaten 1/2 of one of the 9 servings. Its rich, the chocolate melts quickly on you (in the 90+degree heat and humidity), and its good. Unless I’m serving snacks on the cheap, I may never go back to a normal rice crispy treat again.
Edit: I got reminded that I am indeed not a single female – just a female lacking a good spatula when the BF was flipping through my blog last night. My bad.
Those Peanut Butter Crispy Bars look really, really good.
Anyway, I’m not much of a cook, but I can totally relate to your woes. Much of my kitchen is also packed away in boxes while I live with my parents during this transitional period of my life, but the fact that they did not own a decent cheese grater was driving me crazy. My mom’s sole cheese grater was this plastic tupperware thing that was awful. I finally couldn’t take it anymore and dug through the boxes in my storage unit until I found my cheese grater.
That looks so yummy! I’m practically drooling on the keyboard (thanks for sharing the recipe!!) 🙂
woweee this looks good. Gotta check out more recipes from you. by the way, THANKS for visiting me on my sits day and making me feel special!
This is one of my fave cookbooks in recent years. I haven’t made these bars yet. But wow! Looks like I definitely should! 😉
I have this book and have only made a few recipes from it, but I need to make this one ASAP!!!
My kids dig crispy treats! These sound so yummy!
Oh, boy…love these bars! The beautiful photo with the bite mark is making me yearn for some!!!
Oh I love these little treats – they look soooo good! PB and chocolate – heavenly!
I’ve been wishing for a KitchenAid mixer for years and years …can’t convince my husband that it’s okay to spend a few hundred dollars on a mixer. (shrug)
But my most used utensils are my wooden spoon, spatula, and whisk 🙂
Those bars look amazing!
Hmmmm…most important tool? For baking, I’d have to say my kitchen aid stand mixer. I’ve had it over 20 years and it’s still one of my best xmas gifts ever! For cooking in general I would have to say it’s my chef’s knife! Can’t do anything without it!
My definition of ‘must haves’ is changing with time! And my very teeny tiny kitchen is busting at the seams! 😀 Oh, and these bars look wonderful!
Lovely treats here with a terrific cross section of textures and flavors. Yummmmm!
Oh my do these look good! I am having a chocolate week coming up and it is inspiring so many ideas just looking at the pictures mmmm Yummy!
WOW!!! I want to make these immediately! They look amazing… I am such a sucker for peanut butter & chocolate.
And I agree – for anyone serious about cooking and/or baking the right tools are essential. Last year I visited my best friend & decided to make dinner for her & her husband. She’s not really into cooking so I was expecting to go grocery shopping for almost all the ingredients… but I was surprised when I had to chop all the vegetables with a STEAK KNIFE haha! Oh well 🙂
Mmm….chocolate and peanut butter goodness. This looks like a wonderful treat.
I don’t think I could narrow down my most useful kitchen tools down to just one…they all come into play at different times. 😉
Amazing bars with peanut butter 🙂 All those layers should taste great together 🙂
This is my son’s all time favorite treat. I haven’t actually made it for him for a couple of months, but with your reminder I may surprise him next week when he comes home from school. He thanks you!
Oh my, this is just so tempting! Min dsharin gsome with me? :o) Thanks for sharing the recipe. Have a great day.
Cheers, Kristy
This looks delicious. Perfect to take on a hike after you have climbed a huge mountain. The rice krispy takes away some of the calories. Congrats on making top 9!
These bars look fantastic! I really must snag a copy of that cookbook!
I totally agree with you, I can’t justify another kitchen purchase (even though I really, really, really want a Kitchenaid Mixer). I try to tell myself this when I’m deciding “to buy” or “not to buy” – Did the first people to make this dessert have fancy equipment? Or did they get by? Usually, I convince myself that they got by, and so can I!
Just to congratulate you on making foodbuzz top 1#. How fantastic is that ?
Those peanut butter and crispie squares look very tasty – I’m sure my little cake tester will like these !
These look absolutely stunning! At first I thought they were millionaire shortbread (which I love!)… chocolate + peanut butter is always a winner though! 🙂 Congrats on making top 9, you deserve it!
PS I think you have a wee typo in your directions (“buttern”) 🙂
Thanks 🙂
aren’t these so good? I made them a while ago, they’re so rich and delish!
https://emilyspieceofcake.com/2011/01/19/peanut-butter-crispy-bars/
This recipe looks amazing! I love how soft the layers are so that you can just bite through.
Since you asked, my favorite (not-so-normal) tool in the kitchen is the dough scraper. I have several, in varying shapes and flexibilities. They allow me to make great bread from dough that’s stickier than normal, and I don’t have to add oil to the bowl.
And yes, those peanut butter bars look divine. Thanks!
Congratulations on the Top 9! These look amazing. My hands are probably my most important utensil, but I do agree that a good spatula is a thing of beauty. A silpat can solve lots of problems too.
Oh goodness, so more treats that I HAVE to bake! Yum. And most important utensil? Probably my Kenwood, but then I’m a lazy girl. x
The icing on top is literally the icing on top! It just gives this treat such a gorgeous looking (and I’m sure tasting!) finish. Thanks for sharing the idea!