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Lunch lady peanut butter bars as a cookie?? Say less. Peanut butter bar cookies boast all of the yummy textures and flavors of the classic bar, just as a cookie.
Peanut Butter Bar Cookies Recipe
These peanut butter bar cookies are every bit as good as the classic lunch lady bar, just made into cookies. The base is a cookie flavored with rich peanut butter and textured with hearty rolled oats. Once the cookie is baked to soft, chewy perfection, it is topped with a thick and luscious fudge frosting. The combination is the stuff of legends!
Ingredients
*You can find instructions and exact quantities in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
- Creamy peanut butter – Use your favorite brand! Just don’t use a natural peanut butter, it won’t be sweet enough.
- Salted butter, softened – I always, always use salted butter. If you don’t have any on hand, you can use unsalted and add an extra pinch of salt to the dough.
- Margarine – Please make sure that the margarine you use is at least a 79% vegetable oil spread! Using a lower percentage spread will cause the cookies to spread too thin. If you don’t have access to a higher percentage spread, I would recommend substituting butter for the margarine.
- Brown sugar
- Granulated sugar
- Egg
- All-purpose flour
- Old fashioned oats – These are the same as rolled oats. Just don’t use quick/instant oats!
- Salt
- Baking soda
Fudge Frosting:
- Salted butter, softened – Again, salted.
- Cream cheese, softened – Use the regular bar of cream cheese, not the spreadable tub that you’d use for bagels.
- Dutch processed cocoa powder
- Powdered sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Milk to thin, if needed
How to Make Peanut Butter Bar Cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, margarine, brown sugar and sugar until well combined.
- Add in the egg. Once combined, add the flour, oats, salt and baking soda, mix until a sticky dough forms.
- Divide the dough into 3 Tbsp portions. Roll into a ball and place on a silicone or parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes. The cookie will spread just slightly and the edges should start to turn golden brown when they are ready to come out of the oven.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the fudge frosting by whipping the butter and cream cheese until smooth.
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until it is combined before adding another cup.
- Add in the cocoa powder and vanilla. Mix to combine.
- Add milk 1 tsp at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fit with a large closed star tip. Pipe the frosting in a zig-zag pattern starting from the top and working your way down. Enjoy!
Karli’s Kitchen Faves
Here are a few of my favorite kitchen tools that I used to make this recipe!
- Kitchenaid Mixer – I really love this thing. It’s not necessary for making good cookies, but I love the size of the bowl and the power. This Hand Mixer is also an excellent option for when you don’t want to mix things by hand.
- Cookie Sheet – These cookie sheets have put in WORK in my kitchen. If you’re looking for a brand that will stand the test of time (and cookies), this is my recommendation.
- Silicone baking mat – I love using this or parchment paper to line my cookie sheets to make it easy-peasy to get cookies off of the pan without sticking.
- Cookie scoop set – These are sturdy and won’t break when it, you know, scoops dough. I love these for making pretty + even cookies. I used a #20 scoop for these.
- Piping bag – These are disposable, meaning you do not have to clean them ha. They are durable and won’t burst and leak your frosting.
- Piping tips – This is a set of my 4 favorite piping tips. I used the closed star tip!
Cookie Storage
Store these peanut butter bar cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or freeze for up to 3 months.
Classic Desserts, with a Twist
Peanut Butter Bar Cookies
Lunch lady peanut butter bars as a cookie?? Say less. Peanut butter bar cookies boast all of the yummy textures and flavors of the classic bar, just as a cookie.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup (185g) creamy peanut butter
- ½ cup (111g) salted butter, softened
- ½ cup (111g) margarine*
- 1 cup (246g) brown sugar
- ¼ cup (58g) granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 1/2 cups (228g) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (100g) old fashioned oats
- ½ tsp salt
- ½ tsp baking soda
Fudge Frosting:
- 3/4 cup (167g) salted butter, softened
- 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- 1 cup (120g) dutch processed cocoa powder
- 4 cups (428g) powdered sugar
- 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- milk to thin, if needed
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- In a bowl, cream together the peanut butter, butter, margarine, brown sugar and sugar until well combined.¾ cup (185g) creamy peanut butter, ½ cup (111g) salted butter, softened, ½ cup (111g) margarine*, 1 cup (246g) brown sugar, ¼ cup (58g) granulated sugar
- Add in the egg. Once combined, add the flour, oats, salt and baking soda, mix until a sticky dough forms.1 egg, 1 1/2 cups (228g) all-purpose flour, 1 cup (100g) old fashioned oats, ½ tsp salt, ½ tsp baking soda
- Divide the dough into 3 Tbsp portions. Roll into a ball and place on a silicone or parchment lined cookie sheet.
- Bake for 11-13 minutes. The cookie will spread just slightly and the edges should start to turn golden brown when they are ready to come out of the oven.
- While the cookies are cooling, make the fudge frosting by whipping the butter and cream cheese until smooth.3/4 cup (167g) salted butter, softened, 4 oz cream cheese, softened
- Add the powdered sugar, one cup at a time, mixing until it is combined before adding another cup.4 cups (428g) powdered sugar
- Add in the cocoa powder and vanilla. Mix to combine.1 cup (120g) dutch processed cocoa powder, 1 Tbsp vanilla extract
- Add milk 1 tsp at a time until you’ve reached your desired consistency.milk to thin, if needed
- Transfer the frosting to a piping bag fit with a large closed star tip. Pipe the frosting in a zig-zag pattern starting from the top and working your way down. Enjoy!
Notes
*Please make sure that the margarine you use is at least a 79% vegetable oil spread! Using a lower percentage spread will cause the cookies to spread too thin. If you don’t have access to a higher percentage spread, I would recommend substituting butter for the margarine.
Nutrition
Calories: 648kcal | Carbohydrates: 103g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 27g | Saturated Fat: 12g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 10g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 44mg | Sodium: 317mg | Potassium: 354mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 69g | Vitamin A: 659IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 4mg
Like this recipe? Rate and comment below!
These cookies look amazing delicious. I’m curious though. I see you put an ‘ asterisk’ after some ingredients. But then you don’t explain anything. I’m also wondering if I could make these with just 2 tbsp instead of 3?
Hi! My bad, the asterisk is supposed to contain a note about the margarine. I just fixed that in the post! You just need to make sure that the margarine you use is at least a 79% vegetable oil spread! Using a lower percentage spread will cause the cookies to spread too thin. If you don’t have access to a higher percentage spread, I would recommend substituting butter for the margarine.
And yes you can make these in 2Tbsp instead of 3Tbsp, you will just want to reduce the baking time.
I want to make them into bars and cut them into squares. When my baking time change?
Hi! I actually have a recipe for peanut butter bars. You can find it here: https://cookingwithkarli.com/peanut-butter-chocolate-bars/
I love all of your recipes! When I make gluten free dairy free modifications they still turn out delicious 😋