Brownie Batter Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

Chewy peanut butter cookie bars are covered in a rich {egg-free} brownie batter frosting for a sweet and salty treat that’s beyond amazing to eat!

Today’s a big day! It’s my hubby Brandon’s birthday so a big shout out to my love, my best friend and the best Dada ever!

Brandon has to travel for work today so we celebrated all day yesterday starting the day with him blowing out candles stuck in a big box of our favorite donuts and ending with a little candle in the middle of one of these yummy peanut butter bars with a thick layer of brownie batter frosting. It was a sweet day, that’s for sure!

Brandon is just as obsessed with the combo of chocolate and peanut butter as pretty much everyone else in the world, so I knew these would be the perfect treat to bake for his birthday! The peanut butter cookie base is soft and chewy with a hint of saltiness while the brownie batter frosting tastes just like licking the bowl of a good fudge brownie batter, but without the egg. They’re so scrumptious they left us speechless!

Super easy to bake and the brownie batter frosting is egg-free so no worries about eating raw egg.

These bars are seriously the best! They taste very very similar to a Reese’s peanut butter cup! Yummmm!

Enjoy!

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Brownie Batter Frosted Peanut Butter Bars

Bars:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup creamy peanut  butter

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Brownie Batter Frosting:

1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup milk

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.

2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter and both sugars until smooth. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, until well combined. Beat in the vanilla.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, 1 cup at a time until well combined. Spread evenly into prepared pan.

4. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown on top and set in middle. If the top starts to turn dark brown before the center is set, tint the pan with foil until the bars are finished baking. Let cool completely.

5. To make the frosting, beat together the butter and vanilla until smooth. In a large bowl, whisk together the powdered sugar, flour, cocoa and salt. Add half of the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and beat on low speed until a crumbly mixture starts to form. Add the milk and continue to beat until the mixture just starts to combine. Add the remaining dry ingredients and beat on low speed until just combined.

6. Melt the chocolate chips for 45-60 seconds in a microwave-safe bowl. Let cool slightly before adding to the frosting and beating on low speed until mixed throughout. Turn the mixer to medium-high speed and beat until frosting is fluffy. Spread over cooled bars. Let frosting set for at least 15 minutes for cutting into bars.

Store in the refrigerator.

Servings: 18

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Baking Time: 30 minutes

Total Time (start to finish): 45 minutes

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