Peanut butter cornflake bars are a super easy treat with the perfect combination of crunch, chewiness, plenty of peanut flavor. Just FIVE ingredients!
Peanut butter cornflake bars are one of those no-bake dessert recipes that somehow sneaks its way into everyone’s recipe box. They’re just so good and so unbelievably easy! That makes this recipe an easy one to pass around and share.
Why You’ll Love These Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars
- 5 ingredient treat. It doesn’t get much simpler than this! You might even have everything you need in your pantry right now.
- No baking required. You can skip the oven time for these bars. You’ll just need a few minutes of stovetop time to get things going, and then it’s just stirring and spreading the bars into a pan.
- Fantastic flavor and texture. Flavor-wise, it’s pretty much all about the peanut butter, with a light sweetness. The cornflakes add a nice texture and crunch, making these peanut butter cornflake bars impossible to resist.
What You’ll Need
Scroll down to the recipe card to find the ingredient quantities and recipe instructions.
- Light brown sugar – Learn more: Light Brown Sugar vs Dark Brown Sugar: What’s the Difference?
- Light corn syrup – Corn syrup helps bind the bars together.
- Vanilla extract – I like to use my homemade vanilla extract.
- Peanut butter – Use regular peanut butter, not natural. (If you have to stir it before you use it, it’s not a good fit for this recipe.)
- Cornflakes – Store brand or name brand—it doesn’t make a difference here!
How to Make Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars
- Boil. Bring the brown sugar and corn syrup to a boil in a saucepan set over medium heat.
- Add the remaining ingredients. Remove from heat. Stir in the vanilla and peanut butter, then fold in the cornflakes.
- Chill. Spread the mixture into a pan and chill to set.
Tips for Success
- Have your ingredients ready. I do suggest that you have everything measured and ready to go before you get started. That will make the simple preparation go quickly and easily.
- Don’t completely pulverize the cornflakes. When crushing the cornflakes, they don’t need to be finely crushed. Just crush them enough so that there aren’t overly large pieces. They’ll mix more easily and have a better texture.
- Line your pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to remove the bars from the pan once they are set and chilled.
- Adjust the thickness. You can use either a 9×13-inch pan or a 9×9-inch pan for these peanut butter cornflake bars, depending on how thick you want them to be. Note that thicker bars will take a bit longer to set.
Variations
- Add a chocolate drizzle. Drizzle melted chocolate over the cooled bars before slicing.
- Make them nutty. Fold chopped roasted peanuts in with the cornflakes for extra nutty flavor and some crunchy texture.
- Try a different nut butter. Almond butter would be delicious, or use sunflower seed butter if you need a nut-free option.
How to Store
Place the cut peanut butter cornflake bars in an airtight container with parchment paper between the layers to prevent sticking. They’ll keep at room temperature for 3-4 days.
Can I Freeze This Recipe?
You can freeze peanut butter cornflake bars for up to 3 months. Store them in an airtight container or freezer bag with parchment paper separating the layers, or wrap each square individually in plastic wrap. Let them thaw at room temperature before serving.
Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars
Peanut butter cornflake bars are an easy treat with the perfect combination of crunch, chewiness, and peanut flavor. Just FIVE ingredients!
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (50g) packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup light corn syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup (255g) creamy peanut butter
- 3 cups crushed cornflakes*
Instructions
- Combine the brown sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a boil.
- Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and peanut butter. Fold in the corn flakes until well mixed.
- Spread the mixture evenly in a 9″x 13″ pan (for thinner bars) or a 9″x 9″ pan (for thicker bars).
- Chill until set (about 2 hours). Cut into squares.
Notes
*This is about 5-6 cups of whole cornflakes. They don't need to be finely crushed, but rather just enough not to have large pieces.
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11 Comments on “Peanut Butter Cornflake Bars”
Love all things peanut butter, but somehow have never heard of this recipe—what a great photo presentation!
Thanks, JEP! As a fellow peanut butter lover, I encourage you to give these a try.
Thanks for the recipe! I’ve never had these. Wonder how they’d be with chocolate on top? MMmmmm….
Stacey, the addition of chocolate would certainly be interesting. Let me know if you try it!
Wow.. these look really good. I’ve never eaten a dessert with cornflakes in it.. I’m definitely going to give it a try!
Melanie, I highly recommend them. I hope you like them!
Made these this morning and I have a quick question. I prepared these as written, with *3 cups crushed corn flakes* (measured after I crushed the cereal) and there seemed to be wa-ay too much crumbly corn flake bits. It makes me wonder if I should have used *3 cups corn flakes, crushed* (measure cereal first, then crush) instead. I think I used close to 6 cups of cereal (pre-crush). Your picture looks so good and creamy, mine – not so much… Ended up topping the whole thing off with a layer of melted dark chocolate chips in the hopes of holding everything together.
You just measure 3 cups cornflakes and then crush them as you mix them with everything else. Do not crush before.
Hi, Julie! It’s been ages since I made these, so I had to go back and do a little review. The amounts are correct in the recipe. I’m not sure what went wrong! It’s a very thick mixture when it gets mixed together. It should set up better as it cools.
These look delicious. Could you use tahini or cookie butterÂ
Hi, Debbie! I’ve not tried that, but I think it would work well enough.