Peanut Butter Bars are a twist on the classic Peanut Butter Balls. Less time consuming, but the same great taste! Christmas dessert tables are nothing without the appearance of Peanut Butter Bars!
A Newfoundland traditional sweet treat is the peanut butter ball. It’s not something you see only at Christmas time, but it’s most definitely on most Christmas dessert tables. In a previous life, a family friend of my ex wife, would make these peanut butter balls almost better than anyone I know! In fact, she shipped a package of the goodies to me over 2500km from her home in Newfoundland to my home in Ontario. (Thanks, Shirley Janes!)
I never got to make peanut butter balls too often in my adult life, because both my daughter and my ex wife could not stand to be near the smell of peanut butter. I’m hoping that when my daughter visits this year for Christmas, she’ll have outgrown her hate for it. Oh, who am I kidding!? These will be gone by then!
Now, peanut butter balls are not a lot of work to make, but I was never a fan of melting chocolate and rolling each ball into it. It’s time consuming and messy. These bars, however, are fast and easy, and there’s no need at all for a double boiler. Oh, and there’s one other difference; these bars don’t use Rice Krispies cereal, they use Ritz Crackers!
Let’s get to it!
Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups chocolate chips
- 2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 1 cup smooth peanut butter, softened
- 1 box Ritz Crackers, crushed (200 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- In a large bowl, mix together all ingredients with the exception of the chocolate chips until well incorporated.
- Line a 9×13 Pyrex baking dish with parchment paper.
- Turn the batter out into the pan and with slightly buttered fingers, press the batter into the pan. Be sure to get into the corners and to evenly spread the batter as much as possible.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly on top of the batter.
- Bake for 5 minutes.
- Remove from oven and use a rubber spatula to smear the melted chocolate evenly over the batter. Be careful not to pull the batter up into the chocolate. Everything is very melted at this point.
- Refridgerate for 60 minutes. Allow to come to room temperature for 5 minutes before cutting. Once cut, place in a sealable contained and keep in a cool place.
Nutrition
Tamara says
This looks fantastic. I’ve been baking gluten and dairy free for my family for the past 13 years and would love to make these. Can I sub in a gluten free Rice Krispie like cereal for those ritz crackers? Or do you have another suggestion? Thanks! Love your site!
byronethomas@gmail.com says
Hi Tamara – I think rice krispies would work very well, even though I have never substituted anything for the crackers, so I can’t say for sure.
Suzette says
Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing! These Christmas recipes are just what I was looking for!
Great stories, delicious food and beautiful photography. I will be following your site.
byronethomas@gmail.com says
You’re most welcome, Suzette. 🙂