No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

We’re having record-breaking hot weather here at home, so baking is off the list of activities for a while. There aren’t that many different no-bake recipes, but I do have a few that I really like. Nanaimo bars are a favorite, and I have a British cookbook that has quite a few good no-bake recipes. Hmm, I wonder where that cookbook is? I should go look for it.

My husband picked these bars, after I mentioned that I didn’t know what I was going to do this week since it was so warm. It’s hard to go wrong with chocolate and peanut butter. You have to be careful with no-bake cookies, as sometimes I don’t like the not-baked texture. This is especially true for no-bake cookies with oats in them. I just don’t care for that raw oat flavor. As you probably guessed, I’m not much of an oatmeal fan.

These are very simple, just a handful of ingredients. The base by itself is just phenomenal, and I’m not usually a cookie-dough-eating baker. I didn’t want to have a plain chocolate top, so I also melted some white chocolate and piped it in diagonal lines and then made a nice little swirl. I added the shortening to the melted chocolate, so it doesn’t get so hard. My house is super warm, so I stored these in the refrigerator. These bars are almost candy bars and not cookies, but close enough. They can’t be beat.

No-Bake Peanut Butter Bars

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1-pound powdered sugar

1-1/2 cups peanut butter

1 cup butter, melted

11 ounces milk chocolate chips

1 tablespoon shortening

½ cup white chocolate chips, if desired

1 teaspoon shortening, if desired

Line a 9” x 13” baking pan with foil; spray the foil with nonstick baking spray.

In a large mixer bowl, mix together the graham cracker crumbs, powdered sugar, and peanut butter. Add the melted butter and stir to combine. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Refrigerate the base while you make the topping.

In a microwave, or in the top of a double boiler, melted the milk chocolate chips and the tablespoon of shortening. Heat, stirring every 30 seconds, until smooth. Spread the milk chocolate on top of the peanut butter base. If desired, melt the white chocolate and shortening in the microwave, and drizzle over the milk chocolate, swirling to make a decorative pattern. Refrigerate for 1-2 hours before cutting into bars.

Recipe from Food.com