Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Recipe

If you love peanut butter desserts, these Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are for you. They bake up chewy and fudgy with an intense peanut butter flavor and are studded with mini Reese’s Pieces for bursts of chocolate and candy crunch in every bite.

They’re also easy to make — I recently baked a batch with my two toddlers. Baking with peanut butter used to make me nervous because of the mess, but now they’re getting better at keeping their fingers out of the batter. They especially love the mini Reese’s Pieces; I had to set a small bowl aside so they’d stop picking them off the top of the dough!

Difference Between Cookies and Cookie Bars?

The shape is the obvious difference, but texture separates them too. Cookie bars are typically thicker and chewier than individual cookies. Because they don’t have thin, crisp edges all around, the interior stays fudgier and more tender.

How to Make Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Preheat the oven to 350°F and line a 9×13-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Lining the pan with parchment prevents a greasy bottom and makes it easy to lift the bars from the pan for clean, even slices.

In a large bowl or using a stand mixer, beat the butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy, about 2–3 minutes. Add the smooth peanut butter and mix until incorporated. Beat in the eggs and vanilla.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the all-purpose flour, baking soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir just until no flour streaks remain. Fold in the mini Reese’s Pieces, reserving about 1/4 cup to sprinkle on top of the dough in the pan.

Transfer the dough to the prepared pan and use a rubber spatula to spread it evenly. Sprinkle the reserved mini Reese’s Pieces across the top.

Cover the pan with aluminum foil and bake for 15 minutes. Remove the foil and bake an additional 20 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the center is set. Let the bars cool completely in the pan before lifting them out and cutting into squares.

Bake them on your own or invite the kids to help — either way, these Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

If you make these bars, tag me on Instagram @jessiebakestreats and feel free to leave a review below — I’d love to hear how they turn out!

Reese’s Pieces Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Jessie M

Chewy, sweet peanut butter bars loaded with mini Reese’s Pieces. An easy recipe perfect for peanut butter lovers.

Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Prep Time
15

Cook Time
35

Servings
24 bars

Equipment

9×13 inch baking pan

Ingredients

1 C salted butter at room temperature
1 C brown sugar
3/4 C white sugar
1 C smooth peanut butter
2 large eggs
1 & 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 & 1/2 C all purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 bag mini Reese’s Pieces about 1 & 1/2 cups

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a large bowl or stand mixer beat butter, white sugar, and brown sugar until light and fluffy (2–3 minutes).
Add peanut butter and mix until well combined.
Mix in eggs and vanilla.
In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.
Add dry ingredients to the wet mixture and stir just until combined.
Fold in most of the mini Reese’s Pieces, saving about 1/4 cup for the top.
Spread the dough evenly in the prepared pan.
Sprinkle the remaining Reese’s Pieces over the top.
Cover the pan with foil and bake 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake another 20 minutes, or until edges are golden and center is set.
Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before cutting.
Enjoy!

Notes

Store in an airtight container for up to 4 days.

Keyword
chewy peanut butter cookie bar recipe, easy peanut butter cookie bar recipe, reese’s pieces peanut butter cookie bars