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It might as well have been the days leading up to Christmas at our house last week! My husband was home from work for almost the entire week and we had so much fun. We did some holiday baking and baked some pretty fabulous treats (pictured above), we put up our Christmas tree and decorations, we made graham cracker houses, and we did some Christmas shopping. It was such a blast!
All the fun started with our weekly trip to Walmart. Skippy peanut butter and Honey Maid graham crackers were a must for our treats and graham cracker houses! (PS You can snag some graham crackers to make your own graham cracker houses with this coupon! Save $.50 when you buy one (1) Honey Maid Grahams (12.2 oz or larger).
The boys love to help me bake. After unpacking and putting away all our groceries, we pulled out the mixer and made a new favorite treat. They’re loaded with all kinds of peanut buttery goodness with a fabulous graham cracker cookie dough layer and a crunchy chocolate layer on top. Oh man, these are good. And they’re going to be perfect on our treat plates for neighbors this year!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 c. butter plus 8 Tbsp , at room temperature
- 1/4 c. brown sugar
- 1/2 c. sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/3 c. flour
- 4 Honey Maid graham crackers crushed up into crumbs
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1 c. powdered sugar
- 1/2 c. creamy Skippy peanut butter
- 1 1/2 c. milk chocolate chips
Instructions
- Cream together 1/2 c. butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a stand mixer until smooth. Add egg and vanilla.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together graham cracker crumbs, flour, salt, and baking powder.
- Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet mixture on low speed until combined.
- Spread dough into a greased 9x9 glass baking dish. Bake 20 minutes at 350°, or until lightly golden on top. Allow to cool.
- Using an electric hand mixer, mix peanut butter, powdered sugar, and 4 Tbsp butter together. Press evenly onto cookie layer.
- Place chocolate chips and 4 Tbsp butter in a microwave safe bowl. Heat for 30 seconds, stir, heat for 30 more seconds, and stir again till smooth and melted. Pour over peanut butter layer.
- Allow to cool completely. Cut into bars to serve.
The hardest part about making these treats was waiting for the chocolate to set up so we could dig in! The dough alone on these bad boys is heaven. The Honey Maid graham crackers take it to a whole new level. It’s my very favorite tasting dough I’ve ever made. It’s THAT good!
The boys couldn’t wait to make their graham cracker houses. Each of them got to make their own individual house and decorate it how they wanted. We like to use empty cream cartons. They’re just the right size and make really cute houses. Using peanut butter for the houses is simply genius. You don’t have to make a special frosting so the candy will stick. And it tastes awesome! And who wouldn’t want to eat a Honey Maid graham cracker wall?
We put all kinds of goodies on these houses! Other ideas not pictured below include chocolate chips and holiday sprinkles.
Here’s what we do: To start, spread peanut butter onto one side of the carton.
Then press on the graham crackers. Continue this till you cover the carton.
Spread peanut butter onto the crackers to add candy and other goodies. I made my roof with gum drops and marshmallows.
We had so much fun! At one point I couldn’t tell who was having more fun, the adults or the kids. I’ll be honest when I say that I used big marshmallows on the sides of my house so I could pull them off and eat them later.
My husband was really proud of their roof. He and our four year old put a lot of work into small details on their house. My son especially wanted me to mention their cool sidewalk. 🙂
These houses were pretty delicious to munch on over the weekend! That Skippy peanut butter stayed so creamy and tasted amazing with the Honey Maid graham crackers and all the treats. What a fun day with the kids!
Follow along with Honey Maid on Instagram for more holiday baking ideas!
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aimee @ like mother like daughter says
Two things, those chocolate peanut butter bars look absolutely to die for! I love that there are graham crackers in the cookie crust! Second, your houses are amazing! I’ve never thought to use a milk carton as a base for support, what a great idea!
Sharon says
Impressive sidewalk – for sure!!! These graham cracker houses are my type of houses! They look like super fun memory makers with the family! And I bet the Skippy was delicious! #client
Mary says
What size pan does this make? I can’t seem to find that information. Thanks!
Allison Miller says
It’s a 9×9 pan. Thanks, Mary!
Carrie says
Good Evening,
I’m a little confused about this recipe. What size pan did you use for this. Also, it says to use both powered sugar for the cookie base and for the PB portion, but never uses the brown sugar. Is the brown sugar supposed to be in the cookie part and not the powered sugar?
Allison Miller says
Carrie, thank you so much for the comment!! Seriously I do not know what was going through my mind when I typed this recipe. Everything is all fixed and makes sense now. Thank you again!!
Carrie says
It also doesn’t ever use the baking power. Again, assuming it’s supposed to be in the cookie bar base.
Betsy @ Desserts Required says
The house is adorable and I can, easily, understand why your husband was proud of their workmanship! In terms of the bars, what could possibly be bad when you put graham crackers, peanut butter and chocolate together? :=)
Fiona says
Hi Allison,
I’m in Australia and Honeymaid Graham Crackers aren’t readily available here. We can get them in specialty stores and from some USA food import sites but I know of a similar cracker that I can use that’s easy to get hold.
I was wondering if you could tell me roughly what 4 graham crackers would weigh?
I think there’s some sites on the internet that could tell me but I also wanted to check if by 4, you meant 1 sheet which appears to be perforated into 4 crackers.
I can’t wait to make this…it looks so delicious!! Thank so much!
Alli says
Hi Fiona! Four crackers is four sheets. So 16 quarter pieces. I’m not sure about the weight of the graham crackers though!
Lydia @ Thrifty Frugal Mom says
The bars look delicious! I want to make them but am unsure exactly what you are considering 4 Graham Crackers. Are you talking the squares (you know, like 3×3 in.) or the full rectangle sheet (3×6 in.)?
Alli says
It’s four whole crackers (rectangle sheets). Thanks!
Pete says
Is there a substitute for the graham biscuits and what would be the equivalent quantity? Im in Australia so not sure what tose biscuits are.
Thanks in advance.
Alli says
Hi Pete! I know people who have use vanilla wafers, shortbread cookies, or Marie biscuits instead of the graham crackers.