Gifts from the Kitchen, Chocolate Peanut Butter Overload Bars

the Painted Apron

6 years ago

I made these extra decadent cookie bars for my Son-in-law, NG {Nicest Guy}… something sweet and special to thank him for letting me “borrow” DD & CC for a whole week

NG and Charlie Brown were leading the bachelor life in the city while us girls had a week at the beach

NG is so much fun to cook for, he is so appreciative, and his eyes light up especially for sweet treats

This is basically another version of a 7 layer bar, my favorite kind of cookies to make

Cake mix, peanut butter, peanut butter cup minis, peanut butter chips, semi sweet morsels, sweetened condensed milk…hence the overload in the recipe title 😉

The base or crust of this bar recipe is made with boxed cake mix combined with creamy peanut butter, 1 egg and canola oil

The dough will look dry and will be crumbly

Once you put it in the baking dish and pat it into an even layer, it will come together

Now for the fun part, adding the toppings!

Drizzle the milk slowly over all, letting it seep into all the nooks and crannies

Ready for the oven

Now for the hard part, letting it cool…

this recipe was adapted from The Gunny Sack

Chocolate Peanut Butter Overload Bars

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Keyword beachy dessert, chocolate peanut butter cookies, easy chocolate cookie bars, easy cookie bars

Prep Time 15

Cook Time 25

Servings 24

Ingredients

1 cake mix such as white, yellow or butter pecan
1/2 cup peanut butter creamy or crunchy
1/4 cup canola oil
1 egg
1 cup peanut butter chips
1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup Minis
14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
salted peanuts for topping optional

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a 9″ x 13″ baking dish with cooking spray, then line with a sheet of parchment paper. Lightly spray top of paper.
Combine cake mix, peanut butter, canola oil and the egg in a mixing bowl or stand mixer.
Press the mixture together on the parchment in the dish, forming an even layer on the bottom of the baking dish.
Top the crust with peanut butter chips, chocolate chips and peanut butter cup minis, and peanuts {optional}. Pour sweetened condensed milk over everything.
Bake at 350°F for about 25-35 minutes.
Let cool completely in dish. Lift baked dough out of dish by holding edges of parchment paper. Cut into bars or squares. The size of the cut bars will determine how many this will make, but they are very rich, so opt for a smaller

Quick, give these away!

This type of cookie is so easy to make, and just about anything goes…click on the titles below for more versions

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