Adapted from Great Aunt Kate’s Recipe Collection
Thank You, Aunt Kate!
We have Great Aunt Kate to thank for this one — a no-bake peanut butter bar that tastes exactly like a peanut butter cup, requires no oven, and consistently impresses people who assume it must have been more work than it was!
While many of Great Aunt Kate’s recipes date to the 1930s and 40s, this one feels a bit more contemporary in spirit — the kind of recipe that got passed around on index cards at potlucks, school bake sales and church suppers, becoming an instant favorite.
A Few Adjustments
The original recipe calls for a full pound of powdered sugar, which is committed, to say the least. I made a few tweaks to bring the sweetness into better balance: natural crunchy peanut butter in place of the standard sweetened variety, dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet, and a finishing sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
The Method
The base is a simple mixture of graham cracker crumbs, melted butter, peanut butter, and powdered sugar, pressed into a pan and chilled briefly in the refrigerator. Melted chocolate goes on top, then back into the fridge until set.
The bars are dense and rich, with a texture that genuinely echoes a peanut butter cup — the graham crackers and crunchy peanut butter adding a bit of texture to keep things interesting. A word of advice: cut them small. These are satisfying in modest portions, and smaller slices also mean the batch goes further when you’re feeding a crowd.
I brought these to a summer get-together and they disappeared quickly. When a friend asked where I had bought them, I was so proud to say that I’d made them with my own little hands!
Full recipe below!
Aunt Kate’s No-Bake Peanut Butter Cup Bars
Ingredients
Cookie Base
- 5 oz graham crackers (about 1 sleeve plus 1 extra cracker)
- ½ pound salted butter (2 sticks)
- 1 cup natural peanut butter (crunchy or smooth, no added sugar)
- 1 pound confectioners’ sugar
Topping
- 2 cups dark chocolate chips
Optional Garnish
- Flaky sea salt
Instructions
- Line a 13×9-inch pan with parchment paper for easy removal, or lightly butter the pan.
- In a food processor, pulse graham crackers into fine crumbs.
- Melt butter and stir together with graham cracker crumbs in a large bowl.
- Add peanut butter and mix until smooth.
- Stir in confectioners’ sugar until fully combined – this takes a little effort and the mixture will be thick.
- Press mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Cover with parchment and smooth the surface. Refrigerate or freeze while you melt the chocolate.
- Melt chocolate in a double boiler, or in 20–30 second microwave bursts, stirring until smooth. Spread evenly over the peanut butter layer.
- Sprinkle with flaky sea salt, if using.
- Chill for about 1 hour, or until chocolate is set.
- Remove from the refrigerator 15 minutes before slicing into bars.
- Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
- Yield: About 20 (2-inch) bars
- These bars can be rich and can be cut into smaller squares, of course!
[…] quick and easy recipe is a classic for a reason — what’s not to love about a no-bake treat that tastes just like a peanut butter cup? These are also known as Lunch Lady Peanut Butter Bars, though unfortunately they never appeared on […]