Peanut butter and chocolate lovers, prepare to fall head over heels for these peanut butter candy bar squares. From the rich, buttery crust to the indulgent toppings, every bite is packed with irresistible peanut butter and chocolate goodness!
If you’re looking for a fun and delicious way to use up extra Halloween candy, these peanut butter candy bar squares are the perfect solution! With a buttery cookie crust and a rich, gooey peanut butter layer, these bars are loaded with chopped candy bars, chocolate chips, and peanuts for a treat that’s both decadent and easy to make. Whether you have leftover candy or just want an excuse to indulge, this recipe is a crowd-pleasing hit that’s sure to satisfy your sweet tooth!
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Bars
- Irresistible flavor combination. The mix of peanut butter, chocolate, and crunchy candy bars creates a decadent treat that’s hard to resist.
- Easy to make. With simple ingredients and easy-to-follow steps, these bars come together quickly, perfect for busy days, last-minute desserts, or a fun Halloween treat. (They’re made in a similar way to Seven Layer Bars!)
- Customizable. You can easily swap in your favorite candy bars or add different toppings to make this recipe your own.
What You’ll Need
See the recipe card below for ingredient quantities and full instructions.
- Nutter Butter cookies – You’ll make crumbs of these to form the crust.
- Unsalted butter
- Sweetened condensed milk – Don’t confuse this with evaporated milk, which isn’t sweetened.
- Peanut butter – Use “regular” peanut butter, not a natural variety.
- Vanilla extract
- Peanut butter cups – I like using mini peanut butter cups, but you can use the regular size because you’ll be chopping them either way.
- Butterfinger candy bars – Chop these coarsely to make bite-size pieces.
- Semisweet chocolate chips
- Honey-roasted peanuts – This flavor works well with all of this peanut butter goodness, but use plain peanuts if that’s what you have.
How to Make Peanut Butter Candy Bar Squares
- Prepare for baking. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9″ x 13″ x 2″ baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, letting the lining hang over for removing the bars after baking. Grease the lining and any exposed parts of the pan.
- Make the crust. Combine the cookie crumbs and butter. Press into the pan, and bake 6-8 minutes.
- Make the milk mixture. Stir together the condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla.
- Assemble for baking. Sprinkle the chopped candies, chocolate chips, and peanuts over the cooled crust. Drizzle the milk mixture evenly over the top.
- Bake. Place the pan in the heated oven, and bake 25-27 minutes until lightly browned and set.
- Cool. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before lifting out of the pan and cutting into bars.
Tips for Success
- Crush the cookies finely. For best results, crush the Nutter Butter cookies into fine crumbs using a food processor, or place them in a zip-top bag and crush with a rolling pin.
- Line the pan well. Use parchment paper or aluminum foil with an overhang to make removing the bars easier. This helps you lift them out of the pan without breaking.
- Cool before cutting. Allow the bars to cool completely before cutting to ensure clean slices. If you’re in a hurry, you can place the pan in the refrigerator for faster cooling.
Variations
- Try a different crust. Go with graham crackers or Oreos for a different base flavor.
- Swap the candy. Use your favorite candy bars like Snickers, Milky Way, or Reese’s Pieces for a fun twist. Any candy that combines chocolate and nuts or caramel will work well.
- Make it sweet and salty. Add a sprinkle of flaky sea salt on top after baking to enhance the sweet and salty balance.
How to Store
- Room temperature: Store the bars in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
- Refrigerator: The bars will keep well for up to a week when stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. For the best texture, bring the bars to room temperature before serving.
- Freezer: Wrap the bars individually in two layers of plastic wrap, and then wrap again in aluminum foil or place in an airtight, freezer-safe container or resealable bag. Properly stored, they should keep in the freezer up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in the refrigerator on for an hour or so at room temperature.
More Peanut Butter and Chocolate Treats
Peanut Butter Candy Bar Squares
These decadent squares might just be the perfect way to use up leftover Halloween candy!
Ingredients
- 1 (16-ounce/454g) package Nutter Butter cookies, crushed
- 1/2 cup (113g) unsalted butter, melted
- 14 ounces (397g) sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 cup (127g) creamy peanut butter
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 7.5 ounces (212g) peanut butter cups (about 25 miniature cups), coarsely chopped
- 4 ounces (113g) Butterfinger candy bars (about 7 small candy bars), coarsely chopped
- 1 cup (170g) semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup (56g) honey-roasted peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9" x 13" x 2" baking pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil, allowing it to extend over edges of pan. Grease the lining.
- Combine the crushed cookies and melted butter. Press the mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes or until lightly browned. Set aside to cool slightly.
- Combine the condensed milk, peanut butter, and vanilla, stirring until smooth. Set aside.
- Sprinkle the chopped candy bars, chocolate chips, and peanuts over the crust.* Drizzle the condensed milk mixture evenly over the toppings.
- Bake for 25-27 minutes or until lightly browned and set.
- Cool the bars completely in the pan on a wire rack. Using the lining, lift the bars out of the pan and cut into bars.
Notes
*Be sure the crust has cooled for a few minutes before adding the chocolate or it may melt.
Store in an airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.
Recipe adapted from MyRecipes.
For tips, step-by-step photos, and extra details, be sure to read the full post above before starting. It’s packed with helpful info to answer common questions!
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61 Comments on “Peanut Butter Candy Bar Squares”
Wow! That picture is absolutely mouth-watering! Those sound delicious.
I bookmarked this recipe. I’m so tempted to make it soon. Yummy!
Note to self: do not read Bake or Break immediately after coming home from the gym! Holy smokes, those look incredible….I will be making them soon!
WOW great stuff… amazing picture… these look amazing!! Nice work
Ummm… did you say Butterfinger AND Reese’s?? Yowza! These sound & look awesome.
I am getting a toothache just looking at those things 🙂 Since I don’t like Butterfingers, I think I might swap in some twix or kitkats. Mix it up a little.
What a tasty idea! Very clever :). I can feel my sweet tooth crying out for this dessert already :).
You’ve done it again, Jennifer! Holy Yum! Gotta have this recipe on hand, with four trick-or-treaters in the house!
Oh my gosh, these are FANTASTIC!!!!!!!!
Funny how I was not a wrapped-candy fan until some gorgeous, glossy use is found for the contents of the trick or treat basket, like this! Just lovely!
WOW…the ingredients are right up my peanut butter alley! I’m with you, coconut isn’t needed here! I’m adding these to my Christmas goodie list…thanks!
Actually, Jim has suggested that we SAVE the Halloween candy we bought and give it to you instead. Of course, he has his own agenda in doing this. We loved these! So good! Thanks for sharing!!!
Sorry Trick-or-Treaters. You will get no Reese’s or Butterfingers at our house! Those will all be going to a higher cause!
That is now on my list of must-tries! Wow!!!
Wow, that is amazing! I’ll def being making that with Halloween leftovers!
Plus, with all of those monounsaturated peanut fats, we can rest assured that these awesome-looking things are good for our hearts?
😉
This looks INSANE!!! I bought a ton of Halloween candy and we live in an apartment building with only a few kids, so I’m definitely seeing these in our future!!
Hmmm, now I know what types of candy bars to buy for Halloween. I will use the leftovers for these bars. Yum! We are so guilty of digging through our kids Halloween buckets for chocolate and leaving them the lollipops and hard candy (shhhh!).
You know you’re killin’ me here…
Fellow candy bar dessert lover here! I actually have a cookbook that is devoted to all dessert recipes made w/ our fave candies.
This looks AMAZZZZING!
your photography skills are impeccable! i love this dessert.
I’m speechless! I just want to eat these…now!
WOW – these look amazing!!! I am bookmarking this one for sure. Yum!!
Another wonderful looking peanut butter, chocolate recipe to save for when my grandson comes to visit. Thanks, he is so going to think I am the greatest after baking these.
My oh my, that’s one of the best images you’ve taken! The texture is so clear and rich I want a bite! These are right up my alley and are a Halloween-party must.
Great photo – it’s the kind of photo that breaks a million diets!
This looks amazing! I will have to make these while I still have candy.
WOW…I printed this and will definitely try it soon! YUMMMMMMMM!!!!
Oh my Lord! This looks so good..wonder how long it would keep at my house. 2 minutes or 5 seconds? 🙂
Can’t wait to gobble these up!! I better go trick or treating to get some candy!
Hi,
I made these tonight. Talk about good! The “batter” was also so tasty. I think I should have baked my crust for a minute or so less as it is a little darker than yours but it’s still quite good. Thanks for sharing and I am going to try and take a picture or two to post on my blog.
~ingrid
Great photos of these Candy Bar Squares. They make me want to run to the kitchen and whip up a batch right now!
Wow…Those look amazing! I think I may be drooling just a little!
Did you let the crust cool a little before adding the chopped candy? I didn’t and my candy basically melted. The Reese’s cups weren’t intact as they are in your photos, for example. Still, these are delicious indeed.
Life is not fair – why don’t they sell butterfingers here in Australia?! Well, they do, but at hideously exorbitant prices, if you can even find them. That recipe looks too good to be true… I’m going to have to find a way to improvise, and for the Nutter Butter cookies too, but don’t think it’ll quite be the same… enjoy it in all its American candy bar goodness!
Kimberly, I didn’t let the crust cool completely. It probably cooled about 10 minutes while I got everything else together. It takes a while to chop all those candy bars!
Thanks for the info, Jennifer. I chopped the candy first thing, and I put the it on the crust immediately after taking it out of the oven. My family and friends all LOVED these bars and asked for the recipe. Thanks for sharing!
I just made these on Saturday and they were a huge hit! I think they tasted even better on Sunday… yum!
Wow these look amazing! I already have the stuff to make these this weekend.
Yours look much better than the original recipe. This is the type of recipe I find totally irresistible. Beautiful.
not to keen on peanut butter, but i’d really have to try yours to decide..and then try again and again lol
http://ricocoffeeshop.blogspot.com/
oh.my.word. yum!
I am a pb freak. I must try these too. Wonder if they would work with kit kats? I have so many left over.
I used your pecan pie cupcakes recipe and twisted it around a bit. If you’re ever so inclined come take a look.
Just out of curiosity, it looks like there is some white type of chocolate or candy in those photos, what is it? I’m not sure what it what it would be from the recipe…
I made this recipe just this past week. Very tasty. To avoid lapsing into a sweets induced coma, I shared them with some friends. They enjoyed this treat as well.
Thanks, everyone!
Sarah, there isn’t any white chocolate. Just Reese’s, Butterfinger, honey roasted peanuts, and chocolate chips.
Mmmmm…. Nice recipe. The images are too good & Beautiful. I love Your Creation.
Beautiful, yum. I’m totally making these.
These look incredible but I have a couple of questions. The recipe lists 1 can of condensed milk, but in the directions it says to mix the milk w/the peanut butter. Then later in the recipe it says to drizzle the milk over the coconut.
Do we really need 2 cans of condensed milk if we go by the original recipe? And since you didn’t use the coconut, did you still drizzle the condensed milk? Did I miss something???
Thanks!
Oh rats – I totally misread the recipe! No need to reply – I was having a brain freeze.
Now I need to go make these to make myself feel better!
These were excellent! I think half the fun of making these was cutting up the candy bars for some reason. These are quite the nostalgic visit to my childhood candy favorites.
My mouth waters just looking at the squares. A great idea for left over chocolate bars! Definitely something I will try in the foreseeable future I think!
Will you please come over, I need help!
They look truly delicious.
Are you OK, Jennifer. Theae were posted on October 24 and today is November 13th. There have been no new posts since October 24th. Just checking to see you are ok.
Carole, things have been quite hectic around here. I’ve been working A LOT, and we just got back from a week+ trip to New York. I have some things to post, and hopefully you’ll be seeing them soon. Thanks for your concern! 🙂
Just made these tonight! Were a huge hit with the college guys I had over. They were beyond sweet but tasty! Next time I will not use the entire can of sweetened condensed milk because it was not drizzled so much as DUMPED due to the insane quantity. Also, I think regular peanuts could be used. 🙂
These look amazing! Along with everything else you make!!!
I just made this recipe and the bars are AMAZING!!!! If you like peanut butter you will adore this recipe!!!
Uhhh, I am really happyI have found your blog on pinterest. these squares look amazing!!!
I “guess” that I will continue to make the magic cookie bar type of recipe with sweetened condensed milk drizzled over a graham cracker crust. But this recipe??? When I bit into this last night, I found myself thinking that I could not believe what I was eating. I have not had such a game changer bar type of cookie/candy recipe ever. Adding the peanut butter and vanilla to sweetened condensed milk was a mind blowing experience. For sure, sweet, but lesser so. The flavor profile was insane, and chopped butterfingers as part of the toppings elevated flavor and texture. All I know is that I have found home with this recipe, and everyone in my sphere will be knowing from these. Jennifer, you have done an amazing thing, sharing this one. THANK YOU! P.S. I used all of the named ingredients, other than using Planter’s oil roasted peanuts that I had on hand.
That is some high praise, Jeff! I’m so glad you enjoyed these bars so much. You know I can’t resist a good peanut butter treat, and I think these deliver in a big way. Happy to know you feel the same! 🙂