Soft and chewy peanut butter cookie bars are topped with creamy caramel (Dulce de Leche) and rich chocolate ganache. Add a sprinkling of chopped peanuts and Reese's Peanut Butter cups to make these peanut butter caramel cookie bars over-the-top delicious!
If you love peanut butter, caramel, and chocolate, you are going to go nuts over these caramel peanut butter cookie bars. I sure did!
It's been exciting to see how much everyone is loving our new cookie bar recipes. The easy caramel snickerdoodle bars have been very popular as have the chocolate caramel cookie bars.
Both are easy to make using a bowl and spoon (no mixer needed) and are topped with a layer of Dulce de Leche, a creamy caramel made from sweetened condensed milk that can be purchased in cans or jars.
Once the Dulce de Leche is spread over a cookie bar, it holds its shape nicely and adds an amazing caramel flavor. To make these Dulce de Leche Peanut Butter Bars, I started by making our peanut butter cookie recipe and baked the cookie dough in an 8-inch square pan.
Of course, I couldn't stop there. I also added a layer of silky smooth chocolate ganache on top of the caramel. The deep dark chocolate flavor balances out the sweetness of the caramel.
For fun, I topped the cookie bars with chopped peanuts and Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. YUM!
The peanut butter cookie bars are super easy to make using a bowl and spoon (or silicone spatula, which is what I like to use).
Let's make some cookie bars.
Supplies
- mixing bowl
- silicone spatula (or wooden spoon)
- 8-inch square baking pan
- non-stick tin foil (or parchment paper)
- offset spatula, optional
- small saucepan
Tips
- Use your favorite peanut butter. The flavor will shine through in these cookies.
- Do not overmix the cookie dough once you've added the flour. Just mix it until you don't see any more white streaks. If you overwork your dough, the cookies won't be as tender and soft. They will be rubbery.
- Bake until the edges of the cookie turn golden brown and look and feel set and the center still jiggles slightly but no longer looks wet.
- If the edges of the cookie puff up, press down on them using a metal spatula so that your bars are flat. That will even out the cookie so that your layers of caramel and chocolate look more even.
Topping your peanut butter cookie bars with caramel and chocolate:
- For the caramel layer, you'll simply spread a 13.4-ounce can of Dulce de Leche over the cookie. It's that easy!
- If you are using a larger jar (14-15.8 ounces) of Dulce de Leche, feel free to spread the entire jar over the cookie bars. Your caramel layer will be slightly thicker and no one will complain about that!
- To make chocolate ganache the easy way, just combine heavy whipping cream with semi-sweet chocolate (either finely chopped bars or chocolate chips) in a small saucepan.
- Allow the chocolate to melt slowly over LOW heat until 75% of the chocolate has melted. Then, remove the pan from the stove and stir allowing the residual heat to continue melting the chocolate.
- It is important to use low heat. If you overheat the chocolate, your ganache will become grainy or greasy.
- It should only take about 3-5 minutes for 75% of the chocolate to melt.
- Don't walk away or if you do, set a time.
- Stir the chocolate every minute or so.
Optional toppings:
I topped these cookie bars with peanut butter cups and peanuts. The toppings look and taste great.
You can use any nuts, candy bars, or sprinkles that you like. Just be sure to add the toppings while the chocolate ganache is warm. It begins to firm up rather quickly.
More Peanut Butter Cookie Recipes
- chocolate peanut butter bars
- peanut butter & jelly cookies
- chocolate sandwich cookies
- flourless peanut butter cookies
Recipe
peanut butter caramel cookie bars
Soft and chewy peanut butter cookie bars are topped with creamy caramel (Dulce de Leche) and rich chocolate ganache. Add a sprinkling of chopped peanuts and Reese's Peanut Butter cups to make these peanut butter caramel cookie bars over-the-top!
Ingredients
- Peanut Butter Cookies
- 114 grams (or ½ cup or 4 ounces) unsalted butter softened
- 106 grams (½ cup or 3.75 ounces) light brown sugar
- 100 grams (½ cup or 3.5 ounces) granulated sugar
- 120 grams (or ½ cup or 4.23 ounces) creamy peanut butter
- 1 egg
- 192 grams (1 ½ cups or 6.75 ounces) all-purpose flour
- 3.6 grams (¾ teaspoons) baking soda
- 2 grams (½ teaspoon) baking powder
- 2.85 grams (½ teaspoon) table salt
- Caramel & Chocolate Layers
- 380 grams (or one 13.4 ounce can) Dulce de Leche
- 80 grams (or ⅓ cup) heavy whipping cream
- 170 grams (or 6 ounces) semi-sweet chocolate (finely chopped bars or 1 cup of chips)
- Optional Toppings:
- 8-10 miniature Reese's Cups
- 2-3 tablespoons chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Line an 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick tin foil or parchment paper.
- Melt the butter then mix in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter until smooth.
- Lightly beat the egg just to break up the yolk, then stir it into the peanut butter mixture.
- Stir the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together then mix it into the peanut butter cookie dough.
- Spread the cookie dough into the 8-inch square pan.
- Bake for 20 minutes, then rotate the pan.
- Continue to bake for 4-8 minutes until the edges firm up but the center still jiggles slightly but does not look wet.
- If needed, you can flatten out the outer edges by pressing down on them using a metal spatula. This will help to flatten out the cookie bar so your layers will be more even.
- Let the cookie cool in the pan for 1 hour.
- Spread the Dulce de Leche over the cookie in an even layer.
- To make the chocolate ganache, combine the heavy whipping cream with 6 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate in a small saucepan.
- Set the pan over LOW heat.
- Allow the chocolate to begin melting, stirring occasionally until about 75% of the chocolate is melted. This should take 3-5 minutes.
- Remove from the heat and continue to stir until smooth and creamy.
- Spread the chocolate ganache over the Dulce de Leche, then immediately sprinkle on the chopped Reese's Cups and chopped peanuts if using.
- Cover the pan and set aside for 1 hour.
- Then, chill in the refrigerator for about an hour until the chocolate ganache is firm.
- Allowing the chocolate ganache to cool slowly will ensure it has the creamiest texture.
- Remove the cookie from the pan, peel off the tin foil or parchment paper, then cut it into 16 bars.
Notes
Why do you use weights in the ingredients list?
When baking, it is always best to weigh your ingredients, particularly flour. If you have a scale, weigh your ingredients. You'll get the most accurate measurements using grams.
I do include measurements in grams, ounces, cups, tablespoons, or teaspoons to make it easier for you.
How to measure flour without a scale?
If you do not have a scale, spoon the flour into a dry measuring cup then scrape across the top of the cup with a spatula or knife.
How to store these peanut butter caramel chocolate cookie bars?
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days.
OR place in a zip-top bag, then freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
16Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 343Total Fat: 17gSaturated Fat: 9gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 51mgSodium: 226mgCarbohydrates: 44gFiber: 1gSugar: 31gProtein: 6g
HowToMakeEasyCookies.com offers nutritional information for recipes contained on this site as a courtesy and is an estimate only. This information comes from online calculators. To obtain the most accurate representation of the nutritional information in any given recipe, you should calculate the nutritional information with the actual ingredients you use to create this recipe.
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