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Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars. Made with a no-bake chocolate cookie base, layered with creamy peanut butter, and topped with sweet salted chocolate fudge. These bars are sweet, salty, heavy on peanut butter, and extra chocolatey. Absolutely delectable!
The beginning of February is always a nice little post-holiday perk-up. We’ve got the Super Bowl, quickly followed by Valentine’s Day. I never know what type of content to share exactly: fancy dinners for two or game day recipes. Ideally, I try to have a good mix of the two. Or even better, I’ll share a recipe that works well for both occasions.
Today’s chocolate peanut butter bars are delicious for both Super Bowl Sunday and Valentine’s Day!
When it comes to game day recipes, my mind almost always goes to appetizers. I never think much about desserts unless, of course, it’s a buckeye. As an Ohio girl, I grew up making and eating Buckeyes (chocolate-covered peanut butter balls) every fall with my mom.
We certainly loved peanutty buckeyes on a game-day Sunday afternoon and happily enjoyed the leftovers all week long.
Living in Colorado now, I realize that not everyone knows what a buckeye is. But they’re still a dessert I often think about. This year, I decided that I wanted to create a Buckeye Bar. I love traditional Buckeyes, but when in a time crunch, bars (based on our love for those sweet chocolate-covered peanut butter balls) can be best.
They’re a layered bar with a chocolate cookie crust, creamy peanut butter filling, and fudgy chocolate topping. They turned out delicious!
These are the details
Step 1: make the chocolate crust
To make the crust, you need chocolate wafer cookies, or use Oreo cookies with the filling removed. Then, chocolate chips, salted butter, instant coffee, and vanilla.
Crush the cookies into a fine crumb. Next, melt the chocolate and butter together. Mix in the cookie crumbs, instant coffee, and vanilla. Then press the cookie crust into the bottom of a square brownie pan.
Step 2: the peanut butter layer
Simply mix peanut butter, maple syrup or honey, and coconut oil together and stir. The secret to making this layer really delicious is to use a peanut butter with just peanuts and salt. Don’t use a no-stir peanut butter that contains oils and/or sugar. You just want a natural peanut butter. This will give you the best flavor and texture.
Pour/spread the peanut butter layer over the chocolate cookie crust, then freeze the bars. You only need to freeze them for 30 or so minutes. This helps the peanut butter set up quickly.
Step 3: the chocolate fudge
Now, the 3rd layer, chocolate fudge!
Warm about a cup of heavy cream on the stove until it’s steamy. Then pour the cream over about two cups of chopped chocolate. Let the heat from the cream slowly melt the chocolate and create a creamy fudge-like sauce.
Spread this mixture over the chilled peanut butter, then sprinkle with sea salt if desired. Chill the bars until the chocolate is totally set. Once chilled, you can cut into bars and serve them up!
Be sure to keep these in the fridge. They can get a little melty when left at room temperature.
Final Review
Slightly crunchy and crumbly on the bottom, with the creamiest, perfectly salted, peanutty filling. And the chocolate top adds a nice fudgy layer with every bite.
Delicious! And great for parties too – these can really feed a crowd!
Looking for easy party desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Twix Bars
Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Lastly, if you make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Servings: 16 bars
Calories Per Serving: 444 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
Crust
- 40 chocolate wafer cookies or Oreos without filling (filling removed)
- 4 tablespoons salted butter
- 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Filling
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 2 cups semi-sweet chopped chocolate or chocolate chips
- 1 cup heavy cream
- sea salt (if desired)
Instructions
- 1. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper. In a food processor, pulse the cookies into semi-fine crumbs. 2. Melt the chocolate chips and butter together in the microwave. Mix in the cookie crumbs, instant coffee, and vanilla. Press into the bottom of the prepared pan, packing it in tightly.3. To make the peanut butter layer: mix the peanut butter, honey/maple syrup, and coconut oil. Pour over the chocolate layer. Freeze 30 minutes until firm.4. Warm the cream over medium heat until steaming. Mix in the chopped chocolate until melted. Spread the chocolate over the peanut butter layer. Sprinkle with sea salt (if desired). Return to the fridge to set for at least 1 hour. Cut into bars. Keep in the fridge.
This recipe is a hit. Great flavors and textures here – crunchy and smooth and creamy, salty and sweet. Easy to make. Thank you Tieghan! For the record I made my own wafer cookies and used 250 grams of crumbs, along with the rest of the crust ingredients. I did use regular PB since i did not have natural on hand so I decreased the amount of maple syrup by half, and they are still delish. My crust didn’t fall apart either – packed it in firm using a flat bottomed measuring cup to level it out. Will make again because my non-chocoholic husband LOVED them.
Hey Cindy,
Thanks a bunch for making this recipe and your comment! So glad to hear it turned out well for you! Thanks for sharing what worked well for you! xT
I made the recipe and the taste was wonderful, but my crust fell apart. What did I do wrong? I want to make it again for an event this weekend. Thanks
Hi Kate,
Thanks so much for making this recipe!! Sorry to hear about your crust! The key is to really pack it in as tightly as possible. You could also add a touch more butter next time. I hope this helps! xT
These are ridiculously good! I used Oreo Dark Chocolate thins and kept the cream in. My whole family loves them and so easy to make. Will definitely be making these again.
Hey Sandy,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks for your comment and making this recipe, love to hear it was a hit! xT
I’m wondering if regular peanut butter will ruin the recipe if I don’t have Justin’s left in the house only skippy?
Hi Jennifer,
Any peanut butter you have will work in this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Any chance you could start listing your dry ingredients in grams as well? It would be super helpful for recipes like this with the wafers. I make A LOT of your recipes, and measuring out the ingredients for dry stuff is really beneficial so I can substitute if need be, it takes out the guess work.
Thank you !!
Hey Cassie,
We actually already do that:) If you just click on “metric” under the list of ingredients all of the measurements will convert for you. I hope this helps! xT
But your wafers are not in grams which would be very helpful when substituting, Like oreo cookies.
I noticed one comment said they put in 250 grams of chocolate crumbs so I followed that.
I used 40 single wafer chocolate cookies for the crust and followed the rest of the crust ingredients and ended up will the crust being a crumbly mess. ☹️
So sorry to hear this Laura! It’s really key to pack the crust as tightly as possible!
If I’m making a smaller batch (cutting the recipe in half), what size baking dish do you recommend? Perhaps a bread pan??
Hi Kin,
Sure, I suppose a loaf pan would work nicely for you! Let me know how the recipe turns out! xT
About the cookies – how many full Oreos do you start with (as in, before you remove the filling)? I read all of the comments but I’m still confused!
Hi Michelle,
You will want to use 40 full Oreos:) I hope this helps! xT
Hi Tieghan – how does 40 full oreos (80 halves) equal 40 wafer cookies? Those nabisco wafers were really not any larger than half an oreo. Perhaps a cup measure amount or an amount in grams would help. I used ~ 250 g. of cookies and it seems to have worked.
Thanks for sharing Cindy!! It’s just what I found works best:) But of course adjust to your liking!
Hi Tieghan! I only have an 8×8 baking dish. Would you recommend changing any measurements when making these in an 8×8 dish instead of 9×9? Thanks!
Hi Jill,
You should be just fine to follow the recipe as is:) Let me know how this turns out for you! xT
What is a Replacement for coconut oil?
Hi Pamela,
You can use butter in place of the coconut oil:) Please let me know if you give this recipe a try! xT
Where did you find the chocolate wafer cookies? They stopped making them – my faves!
Hi Cathy,
I had them stocked in my pantry, but the Oreos work just as well! I hope you love this recipe! xT
I was really disappointed when these were discontinued. I made my own for this using smitten kitchen’s recipe for homemade chocolate wafers (+ icebox cupcakes). So far so good!
Hello, is the 2 rap.of instant coffee in the crystal form or just 2 tsp. Liquid instant coffee. Thank you
Hi Denise,
You will want to use the instant coffee granules for this recipe:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Dear Tieghan –
Now that Nabisco is no longer making Chocolate Wafer Cookies, which brand would you recommend? Many thanks!
Hi Maggie,
I would go with the Oreos, I had Nabisco wafers stocked up so I used those:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try! xT
Try this super easy recipe to make your own. Way better than any commercial brand.
ALICE MEDRICH’S REAL CHOCOLATE WAFERS
Do you use salted PB for the filling?
Also, am I missing something, or is the “fudge” just a ganache?
Hi Lauri,
Yes, I like to use salted peanut butter:) And the fudge is made in step 4. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
No, I saw the step where it’s made, I’m just wondering why the recipe calls it “fudge” since fudge involves boiling sugar, cocoa, butter, and milk together and requires a candy thermometer. Chocolate + cream is a ganache, and IMO calling it “fudge” makes it sound way harder/more intimidating than it is!
Sorry for any confusion! Just how I make mine:)
How many cups does 40 chocolate cookies make when blended?
Hi Bonnie,
It should be about 2 cups:) I hope you love the recipe! xT
Do you use 40 oreos or 20 oreos? Sorry, not sure if you are counting each side of the oreo as1 wafer. Thank you! Can’t wait to try this!
It would be nice if the “Frosting” had its own header in the ingredients section like “Crust” and “Filling”.
Love the ease of this no-bake treat. My dad and sister would love it.
PS cause I know someone will ask – I’ve made this style frosting/ganache before with full fat coconut milk from a can instead of heavy cream and it works great for those of us dairy free.
Thanks for sharing your feedback, Deb! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Hi Cynthia,
You will want to use 40 Oreos:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
But 40 oreos would be double the amount of single wafer cookies. I’m very confused.
Oreos are smaller than the wafer cookies:) You’ll need 40 Oreos if you are going that route.
Hey Kate, I was confused as well but in the recipe it specifies to take the frosting out of the oreos and just use the cookie part. So, 20 actual oreo cookies taken aprart and the frosting removed would be 40 wafers. 🙂 Took me a minute to unconfuse myself as well. About to make these this morning…yummmm!
can these be frozen?
Hi Karen,
So sorry, I would not recommend freezing these, I don’t think the filling would hold up well. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT