Hi everybody! Boy, do I have a treat for you today. If you have read some of my previous posts you know that I am a huge chocoholic. I don’t mean that I am physically huge..although I am also not petite. I could probably be huge if I ate all the chocolate that I really want to eat. I could seriously eat chocolate all day long. I love chocolate cereal for breakfast and I love chocolate protein powder in my smoothie for lunch and I love some dark chocolate for dessert after supper. I guess I do eat chocolate all day. Huh..how about that? Well, anyway, my sons also love chocolate and they especially love the combination of chocolate and peanut butter. And then, the younger son, Alex, loves the combination of peanut butter, chocolate and marshmallow. I taught him right.
So, recently, I saw a recipe for some s’mores type bars with peanut butter in the cookie dough. And then, I saw one for bars with peanut butter cups nestled in the dough. And, I thought, well, why not combine those two things. Since then I have discovered that this is not an original idea. Rats. I searched and found numerous versions of this type of bar. But, I baked up some bars and took some to work and sent some to Alex’s house. I thought that they were really good. But, then my attention was diverted to some other culinary expedition. I didn’t think much else about it until recently. During a Skype dinner with Alex he mentioned that I could certainly make those again and send him some in the mail. He thought that they were really good too. Soooo, I of course made them for him. I have to admit the boy (I mean young man) has good taste. These wonderful moist bars are made from a peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie dough that has a gooey marshmallow fluff and peanut butter cup filling. They are super easy and immensely delicious. So, here we go.
You will need 1 cup (2 sticks) softened salted butter, ⅔ cup creamy peanut butter, 2 cups packed brown sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla, 2 eggs, 2 ½ cups flour, 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips, 1 large container of marshmallow fluff (or 2 7 ounce containers) and Reese’s peanut butter cups. Now, the amount of Reese’s cups that you need and the kind you use are totally subjective. I used Reese’s eggs because I had purchased some bags on clearance after Easter. If you use the large cups you won’t need as many (probably about 20). If you use the minis you will obviously need many more (but you can buy them unwrapped and save yourself that trouble). You can also use the dark or white chocolate peanut butter cups or use another brand. You do what makes you happy.
You will line a 9 X 13 baking pan with parchment paper and then lightly spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray. Set this aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl if you are using a hand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and the color has lightened. This usually takes about 4 minutes with my mixer.
Add the eggs and mix until combined. Then add the peanut butter and vanilla. Mix again until well combined.
Add the flour and mix until you no longer see any white streaks.
Stir in the chocolate chips.
Reserve 3 cups of the dough for use as the top layer. Press the remaining dough into the prepared pan.
Unwrap (if you must) the peanut butter cups. Press them onto the top of the dough in the pan as evenly as possible. You don’t need to press them down too much.
Spread the marshmallow fluff over the peanut butter cups. Try to spread it out from edge to edge. I drop globs of the fluff over the surface and then use an offset spatula to spread it evenly.
Now, scoop out small pieces of the reserved dough and flatten between your palms. Lay the flattened pieces on top of the marshmallow fluff. Try to cover the entire surface but it is okay if you can see a little of the fluff peeking out. It is like putting a yummy puzzle together.
Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cookie crust on top starts to brown and is set and no longer very jiggly.
Allow the bars to remain in the pan on the counter until they are completely cool.
At this point, I find it easier to place the bars in the fridge for about an hour. Once chilled they cut easily and hold their shape well. But, this isn’t necessary. I can totally understand if you can’t wait for another hour to taste these babies. Grab the edges of the parchment paper and pull the cooled bars from the pan. Slice and enjoy. During warmer weather I would recommend that you store these in the fridge but if you don’t mind the ooey gooey lick your fingers kind of thing then leave them in a sealed container at room temperature.
PB & C Mallow Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter softened
- 2/3 cup peanut butter creamy
- 2 cups brown sugar packed
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2 eggs
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 14 ounces marshmallow fluff
- 20 peanut butter cups original size, approximately
Instructions
- Line a 9 X 13 baking pan with parchment paper and then lightly spray the paper with nonstick cooking spray. Set this aside.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or other large bowl if you are using a hand mixer, beat the butter and brown sugar until fluffy and the color has lightened.
- Add the eggs and mix until combined.
- Then add the peanut butter and vanilla. Mix again until well combined.
- Add the flour and mix until you no longer see any streaks of flour.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Reserve 3 cups of the dough for use as the top layer. Press the remaining dough into the prepared pan.
- Unwrap the peanut butter cups. Press them onto the top of the dough in the pan as evenly as possible. You don’t need to press them down too much.
- Spread the marshmallow fluff over the peanut butter cups. Try to spread it out from edge to edge.
- Scoop out small pieces of the reserved dough and flatten between your palms. Lay the flattened pieces on top of the marshmallow fluff. Try to cover the entire surface but it is okay you can see a little of the fluff peeking out.
- Bake for about 30 minutes or until the cookie crust on top starts to brown and is set and no longer very jiggly.
- Allow the bars to remain in the pan on the counter until they are completely cool. You can also chill the bars in the refrigerator for an hour for easier cutting. Grab the edges of the parchment paper and pull the cooled bars from the pan. Slice and enjoy.
