Peanut Butter Cookie Bars (Eggless)

My hand mixer broke last week after six years of being a very good friend. I’m so used to it that I went and ordered the same one in a matter of minutes. Till it arrived though, I still wanted to make cookies and this recipe is a one-bowl, no-mixer wonder of the world. On a whim, I decided to turn it into cookie bars with some peanut butter thrown in and lots of chocolate chips.

The result is a pan full of rich, buttery, chewy, dense and gooey cookie bars that are dangerously addictive.

These bars come together very very quickly, there’s no need to chill the dough and in 20 minutes, you can dive in. The butter and peanut butter provide enough fat and moisture in the absence of eggs and milk softens the dough. They are basically perfect!

The tops are crusty and the corners are the best bits! On the inside the bars are tender, soft, moist and so chewy! I actually liked them cold from the fridge much more than at room temperature. The peanut butter flavour seems to intensify and they taste amaaazing!

Gooey chocolate chips are in every bite and if you wanted to add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on one of these bars…well….you’re a genius! These would also be great as a skillet cookie by the way!

Make a batch today!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars (Eggless)

Chewy and buttery peanut butter cookie bars with melty chocolate chips!

Prep Time: 10 minutes mins

Cook Time: 25 minutes mins

Total Time: 35 minutes mins

Makes: 16 bars

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups + 4 tbsps all-purpose flour (280 gms)
• 1 and 1/4 tsps baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 150 gms unsalted butter at room temp
• 1/2 cup brown sugar (100 gms)
• 1/4 cup caster sugar (50 gms)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter (135 gms, see notes)
• 4 tbsps whole milk
• 3/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 C and line an 8" square baking pan with non-stick (or lightly greased) baking paper, leaving a little overhang for easy removal.
• In a microwave-safe mixing bowl, melt the butter, taking care not let it get too hot. If a few lumps remain, stir to melt them completely rather than overheat the mixture.
• Add the sugars. Stir very well to combine.
• Stir in the vanilla and peanut butter, mixing till combined. I prefer a silicone spatula to stir.
• Sift the flour, baking soda and salt into the bowl. Fold gently to make a soft, slightly sticky dough. Finally fold in the chocolate chips, making sure they are evenly dispersed. The dough is quite thick so use some arm muscle here. Stir in the milk one tablespoon at a time to make it easier to mix the dough. You may not need all four tablespoons.
• Tip the dough into the prepared pan and press it down firmly and evenly. The dough will look and feel a little greasy because of the melted butter, but it will bake up just fine.
• Sprinkle extra chocolate chips on top and drizzle a tablespoon of peanut butter as well, for extra flavour. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until browned on top. The bars will firm up as they cool so don't worry if they seem a little puffy on the top. Over baking them will make them drier, though if you prefer them that way, go for it!
• Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan before lifting them out using the paper overhang and slicing into 16 pieces with a long, sharp knife. Because they are quite soft and gooey, I prefer to store them in the fridge in an airtight container. They will keep for a week to 10 days. Happy baking!

Notes

*Use an unsweetened / mildly sweetened peanut butter if possible, or you may find the bars too sweet. Alternatively, if you only have sweetened peanut butter, reduce the caster sugar by a couple of tablespoons. I used a natural, unprocessed peanut butter here which is more liquidy than a standard processed one. This means there are more oils in it which could make the dough greasy but the final baked bars were just fine. You can go with either kind of peanut butter.

*I haven't tried baking this dough as regular cookies. But if you want to, you will need to chill it for about 30 minutes as it is quite soft with the melted butter and peanut butter and the cookies will spread a lot in the oven. I estimate a 10-minute bake time for soft and chewy cookies.

Shop this recipe!

This post contains affiliate links.