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Retro-style Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars…taking it back to grade school today with these DELICIOUS peanut bars. Picture a doughy buttery, peanut butter cookie base, layered with creamy peanut butter, and the most delectable, roll your eyes back good chocolate frosting that’s rich and fudgy. The added bonus is that these bars require only pantry staple ingredients and take almost no effort to make. They’re sweet, salty, heavy on the peanut butter layer, extra chocolatey, and every last bite is truly delicious. The perfect treat to enjoy as an afternoon/after-school/homeschool snack and for any upcoming fall gatherings with family or friends.
The truth really is that I love each and every recipe I share with you guys. I work endlessly to only share the best of the best with you guys. There are many, many…and I do mean many…recipes that you never see because they just aren’t good enough. The recipes I share with you guys have to be really good, so because of this, I love them all.
That said, I of course have some recipes I might favor slightly more than others.
Case in point, these peanut bars. It’s no secret that my favorite desserts include chocolate and peanut butter. That’s fairly obvious from the amount of peanut butter and chocolate recipes that can be found on the site. I could not love these chocolate frosted peanut bars more. If you could see me typing away, you’d see my excitement
It’s dorky, I know, but I love it when I really LOVE a recipe. That said, I have so many reasons why I love this recipe…and it’s not just about the taste.
So here comes the story.
I’ve been talking about this all week, but it’s back to school time, and for me, that brings back a lot of feelings. For as much as I hated school growing up, I always somewhat enjoyed this time. Back to school meant, new clothes, new supplies, and the excitement of the fall season ahead.
And also? Lunchroom desserts. YES, you guys know what I’m talking about.
For me personally, I never bought a school lunch. Mom always packed our lunches when we were younger. But the one thing we did always get to enjoy was pizza day. Oh, pizza day. If I’m remembering correctly, it only happened once a month (if not it seemed like it was a month!). It was a day we looked forward to all month long. We loved pizza day!
I mean of course, we got to eat cheesy pizza (yumm), but even better than the pizza?
The “lunchroom” desserts that came with it. Also known as the desserts that all the PTA moms would bring in. Enter the giant chocolate chip cookies and the generously frosted chocolate peanut butter bars. Again, yumm!
Today I took inspiration from my grade school days and really thought back to what I loved most about those “lunchroom” peanut bars.
They were doughy, heavy on the peanut butter, and frosted with the most delicious fudgy chocolate frosting. The frosting was a cross between fudge, frosting, and icing. Hard to explain, but I get the feeling many of you know the texture I’m talking about.
Who else enjoyed a good ole’ chocolate peanut butter bar on pizza day? Any of you? I can’t be alone on this one.
Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars…the details.
For once, this dessert didn’t take me forever to perfect. Though I did have to make the frosting about four times to get it JUST right.
These bars are easy…so easy…and very hard to mess up.
Start with the peanut cookie base. I used my favorite blondie recipe that’s pretty much foolproof. It doesn’t even require a mixer, just mix with a spoon and bake in a pan. So simple. As soon as the peanut bars come out of the oven, use a spatula to dollop them with a hefty amount of creamy peanut butter. The key is to add the peanut butter mixture while the bars are still warm. The heat from the bars allows the peanut butter to melt into one even layer and make spreading the peanut butter out very simple.
Now let the bars chill completely.
In the meantime, make the frosting.
I have some words on this frosting.
When I set out to make these I had a picture of the frosting in my head and I needed to recreate that picture. The frosting needed to be thick and fudgy, but yet soft and almost runny. Think of a just set top that has glazed over and stiffened, but then underneath is fudgy, loose frosting.
Very old school, very vintage, that’s what I was going for. Like the kind of frosting your grandma would make.
Yummm (apparently, this is today’s word of the day. Just go with me on it).
What is the secret?
The mix of ingredients is basic…butter, sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and milk.
So what’s the trick? Using warm to almost hot milk. The heat from the milk warms the butter and turns the cocoa powder into a rich creamy chocolate. It’s so hard to explain, but I promise, it’s flavor is beyond good. Just sweet enough, extra chocolatey, smooth, and very fudgy.
Once the bars are cooled, just spread the frosting over top. And that’s it, easy.
You can let the frosting set up or just cut and enjoy, preferably with cold milk, because that’s the best pairing with chocolate and peanut butter.
Nothing too fancy, but all things incredibly delicious.
I know that things look different this year. But whether you or your kids are heading back to the classroom, or just homeschooling, these bars make for the perfect dessert to enjoy anytime, mid-school day, after school, late night. They all work. Just bake, eat, and enjoy all the deliciousness. Be sure to store in an airtight container.
And if your kids are home, these are easy enough for them to help bake up too!
Looking for easy “lunchroom” style back to school desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Giant Salted Espresso Hot Fudge Cookies
Lastly, if you make these lunchroom chocolate peanut butter bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Lunchroom Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars.
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 344 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) salted butter
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Frosting
- 1 stick (1/2 cup) salted butter, at room temperature
- 2-3 cups powdered sugar
- 1/2 cup cocoa powder
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup warmed milk
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. In a microwave safe bowl, melt together the butter and 1/2 cup peanut butter, stirring every 30 seconds until melted. Stir in the brown sugar, sugar, eggs, and vanilla. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. 3. Press/spread the dough out into the prepared dish. Transfer to the oven and bake for 18-22 minutes, until just set in the center. Remove from the oven and dollop tablespoon size spoonfuls of the peanut butter over the bars, lightly spreading the peanut butter in an even layer. Let cool completely. 4. To make the frosting. Add the butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and 1/4 cup warm milk to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat until smooth, adding additional warm milk until the frosting becomes thicker, but still drizzly. Taste, adding more sugar if needed. Spread the frosting over the bars. Let set for 1-ish hour…or slice, snack, and enjoy!
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
Storing: these bars keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature or in the fridge.
To cool the bars quickly for frosting: place in freezer for 15 minutes. Remove and frost.
To Bring Eggs to Room Temperature: place the eggs in a bowl and fill with warm water. Let sit 5 minutes.
This post was originally published on August 28, 2020
Made these today. Fast, easy and delicious. They’d be perfect if they were calorie free. Lol
Oh well what’s another pandemic pound!!
Haha its all about balace! I am really glad this turned out so well for you, Sue! Thank you for trying them! xTieghan
I made these with a few modifications abs let me tell you it was delicious!
I subbed the sugar and brown sugar for the Swerve sweetener replacements and I subbed the flour Bobs Red Mill Paleo baking flour.
Amazing! Thank you for trying this one, Kristen! xTieghan
I plan to make these as dessert this evening to eat after our restaurant bought pizza!! Can you tell me why you do not recommend freezing with the frosting. We probably won’t eat the entire batch in 3-4 days so freezing will allow us to enjoy longer? Thanks
Hey Cheryl,
I just feel as though the frosting will not be all that great after freezing, it is meant to be a soft decadent frosting and by freezing you will change the texture. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Wow, these are so simple yet so delicious! Easy to bake and take, they were a hit. Classics never fail.
Love to hear that! Thank you so much Ashley! xTieghan
I used to own a bakery and used this icing for brownies and some types of chocolate cakes. For those saying it’s too runny, just add more powdered sugar till it looks/feels right! The recipe is a range, 2-3 cups, and depending on how loose or packed your cups are (and the humidity, etc., you may need a little more. Start with 2.
Thank you Kim! xTieghan
I just made these and had one amazing square! Do I refrigerate the leftovers? Thanks!
Hey Nikki,
Yes I would recommend keeping these refrigerated. Thanks for giving the recipe a try, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Just made Lunch lady peanut butter bars.
Recipe is not clear on how much peanut butter to spread on wamn bars. Is it the full 1 and a 1/2 cups of remaining peanut butter?
Seems excessive. I used less. I’ll let you know how they turn out.
Hey Linda,
Yes you use the remaining 1 1/2 cups of peanut butter. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I think it would be nice to break the peanut butter into two sections in the ingredients section since .ost of it is really a first topping. I may or may not have tried to add it all too soon ?.
I’m also curious how sweet these will turn out since there seems to be a lot of variance in the peanut or almond butter people are using. Would be awesome to know the sugar content of the original peanut butter used in the recepie so I know if I’m close!
Thanks for the dish! I’ll be experimenting to get the sweetness just right.
Hi! I use a peanut butter that does not have any added sugars. I will link it below for you! I hope you love this bars, and I would make them as sweet as you would like! xTieghan
https://thrivemarket.com/p/santa-cruz-organic-creamy-peanut-butter-dark-roasted?aff_id=16396&t_id=10275b7bf3f3f0f0170c2a195ba289&o_id=6&utm_source=affiliate&utm_medium=Half%20Baked%20Harvest&utm_content=default&utm_term=products_santa-cruz-organic-creamy-peanut-butter-dark-roasted&utm_campaign=products&aff_sub=affiliate&aff_sub2=Half%20Baked%20Harvest&aff_sub4=default&aff_sub5=products_santa-cruz-organic-creamy-peanut-butter-dark-roasted&aff_sub3=products
I made the gluten-free version of this, and it was excellent! The only issue that I had was that the frosting was really runny, even after 24 hours in the fridge. I did substitute almond milk for regular milk, and used 2 1/3 cups powdered sugar (which was the perfect level of sweetness.) Do you think adding more sugar would help thicken it up, or should I just use regular milk next time?
Hey Darlene,
So sorry you had issues with the frosting. Next time I would slowly add more powdered sugar until it thickens a bit. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
Made these and cannot stop eating them! So easy and delicious.
Thank you Mary! xTieghan
Excellent way to end our HBH dinner last night, chocolate peanut butter bliss! Can’t wait to have a piece with my Sunday morning coffee! Thanks you!!
Thank you so much Kara! xTieghan
These remind me of PB fudge bars my grandma used to make — hers required no oven at all! I love the cookie bottom, what a way to level it up! I stuck the bars back in the fridge after I frosted them, and that helped them harden up faster. Super delish. Couldn’t help but make them immediately.
Amazing!! I am so glad these turned out so well for you, Emily! Also love that they bring back good memories! xTieghan
When I worked for K3 school, the lunch ladies always made the most amazing peanut butter bars. They were like a layer of stiff peanut butter and chocolate ganache on top. They were amazing. I will have to try yours…they look amazing!!!
Aw that is so awesome! I hope you love these ones, Cindi! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Can’t wait to try these! I have them cooling in the freezer right now, so I can ice them for dessert. My husband told me he had these in school, and he loved them! Too bad my school didn’t have them. We can’t wait to try them! Thanks!
I hope you love these, Laura!! Thank you so much for trying this one! xTieghan
Hi! How would you recommend thickening the frosting? Mine turned out too runny. Otherwise they were delicious!!
Hey Megan,
I would recommend adding additional powdered sugar to thicken up the frosting. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan