Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

Bars are one of the best desserts for sharing - they can be eaten without forks, they're simple to make, and they can be easily transported.  Add chocolate and peanut butter into the mix, and you've got a real crowd-pleaser.

Enter chocolate peanut butter dream bars: the perfect dish to bring to a movie night, to cheer your friends up, or just to stash away for drunken munchies. With minimal time spent in the oven, these bars can be ready to go in just under an hour. Even better, there are no eggs in the recipe, so all of the components can be eaten raw. Enjoy! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Dream Bars

• Prep Time:25 mins
• Cook Time:10 mins
• Total Time:35 mins
• Servings:9
• Medium

Ingredients

• 1 16-oz package Nutter Butters or any peanut butter cookies
• 4 tablespoons butter melted
• 1 3.9-oz package instant chocolate Jello-O Pudding Mix
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 4-oz cream cheese
• 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
• 1 8-oz container Cool Whip
• 1/4 cup milk chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup peanut buter chips

• Step 1

  Preheat the oven to 350°F.

  

• Step 2

  Crush 24 of the Nutter Butters (or peanut butter cookie sandwiches). I put a plastic bag over a Tajin bottle (any spice will do) for a makeshift dorm pestle and crushed the cookies until they looked fine enough. After, pour the 4 tablespoons melted butter into the bowl and mix until moistened.

  

• Step 3

  Press into an 8x8" inch pan and bake for 10 minutes.

  

• Step 4

  Mix pudding package with the 1 1/2 cups milk in a separate bowl. Forks are handy if you don't have a whisk.

  

• Step 5

  In a mixing bowl, beat the 4-oz cream cheese and the 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter together. Add the 1/2 cup of confectioner's sugar in halves (quarter cups) to avoid a mess.

  

• Step 6

  Mix 1 cup of Cool Whip into the cream cheese mixture until well blended.

  

• Step 7

  When the crust is cooled, spread the chocolate pudding over the top.

  

• Step 8

  Spread the cream cheese mixture over the pudding with a knife or spatula. This is easiest if you place dollops in strategic spots and spread it, rather than putting all of it in the middle and hoping for the best.

  

• Step 9

  Spread the remaining Cool Whip over the cream cheese mixture.

  

• Step 10

  Break up the 8 remaining Nutter Butter cookies in a small separate bowl. Sprinkle over the top of the Cool Whip, along with the chocolate and peanut butter chips.

  

• Step 11

  Refrigerate two hours, and put in freezer for 1/2 hour to set. If you need it in a hurry, you can put it straight in the freezer.

  

Original recipe adapted from 356 Days of Baking