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Chewy no-bake Cookie Dough Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars – the yummiest! A crisp, chewy, sweet, and peanutty cereal base topped with my homemade chocolate chip cookie dough, then a thick layer of salted chocolate. All made with simple, wholesome ingredients: organic cornflakes, honey, pure maple syrup, natural peanut butter, and dark chocolate. Cashew butter is the key to the cookie dough, chewy, salty-sweet, and just delicious.
And the cookie dough returns! I told you when I shared my cookie dough ice cream cake that I had more cookie dough recipes coming and I really did mean it. I’m having a moment with homemade chunks of cookie dough, it’s like I’m a kid again!
And you all, this recipe is dynamite. Each bar is chewy, salty-sweet, peanutty, and topped with a thick layer of chocolate chip cookie dough. I love them so much and the best part is that they’re totally no-bake and really easy to make.
The chewy peanut butter base is my mom’s special K-bars, also known as chocolate peanut butter bars. Then, I topped her famous bars with a layer of my homemade cookie dough. The combination together is addicting.
Now the details
Step 1: make the chewy peanut butter base
This is a mix of cornflakes, brown rice crispies, peanut butter, honey, and maple. Mix the peanut butter and honey together, then microwave until warmed through and easily pourable. Toss with both kinds of cereal, then press the cereal mix into a square baking dish.
Make sure to pack it into the pan.
Step 2: thicken the maple
Pour the maple syrup into a small pot and boil it until it turns to an even thicker syrup. This will help “glue” our chewy bars together. Drizzle the maple over the peanut bars, then set the pan aside while you make the cookie dough.
You’ll want to thicken the maple syrup by boiling it first. Then drizzle the maple over the peanut bar base. The maple is my secret to holding these bars together.
Step 3: the chocolate
Now pour over the chocolate and let the bars set up. I like to cut these into 16 bars. I also like to do a very light sprinkle of sea salt, YUMMY.
Each bar is chewy with crisp cereal and that sweet cookie dough sandwiched between peanut butter and chocolate – absolutely delicious! A fun, summertime treat that’s totally no-bake and takes only minutes to prepare. We certainly love that!
Looking for more sweet summer recipes? Here are a few to try:
Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Twix Bars
Retro-Style Chocolate Sheet Cake
Strawberry Pretzel Ice Cream Cake
No Churn Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream
Salty Pretzel Banana Pudding Ice Cream Cake
Coffee and Fudge Ice Cream Cake
Swirled Berry Ice Cream Butter Cake
Triple Layer Chocolate Fudge Ice Cream Cake
Nonnie’s 6 Ingredient Chocolate Peanut Butter Ice Cream Cake
Lastly, if you make this Cookie Dough Ice Cream Cake, 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!
Cookie Dough Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars:
Servings: 16 bars
Calories Per Serving: 403 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
K-bars
- 2 cups organic corn flakes
- 1 cup brown rice krispies
- 2/3 cup, plus 1/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 1/3 cup maple syrup
- 12 ounces semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- sea salt (optional)
Cookie Dough
- 2 cups oat flour
- 1/2 cup cashew butter
- 1/4 cup honey
- 3 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Instructions
- 1. Line a 9×9 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. In a large bowl, combine 2/2 cup peanut butter and the honey. Microwave 30 seconds to 1 minute, until warmed. Add the cornflakes, brown rice krispies, and toss well to fully coat. Spread the mixture out into the prepared pan, packing it in tightly. 3. In a small pot, bring the maple syrup to a boil over medium heat. Cook 4-5 minutes, until thickened and gooey. Evenly drizzle the maple over the bars. Chill.4. To make the cookie dough. Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a bowl or in a food processor with 1 tablespoon of water. Stir in the chocolate chips. Grab the peanut bars from the fridge. Press the cookie dough over the peanut bars. 5. Melt together the chocolate and 1/4 cup peanut butter in the microwave. Spread the chocolate over the cookie dough. Chill until the chocolate sets, about 30 minutes. Cut into bars. Keep stored in the fridge.
Can you freeze these?
Hey Ashlen,
Yes, this would be okay for you to freeze! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
So rich and yummy. Couldn’t find gluten free rice puffs so used rice Chex instead and gluten free cornflakes. Absolute hit. Will be making these again.
Hi Katie,
Happy Sunday!! Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a try, love to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
These were very bland 🙁 we threw the whole thing away.
But I have loved every single one of your meal recipes 🥰
Hey Hannah! Oh no! I’m so sorry about that! Is there anything you did differently? xT
Absolute perfection!! Huge hit at my family’s Fourth of July!!
Hi Catherine,
Happy Friday!!🍉🥭 I love to hear that this recipe was a winner, thanks for making it and sharing your comment! xT
These were delicious! I did the old “use what you’ve got on hand” plan, and subbed regular cheapo store brand cornflakes & crisp rice. Also subbed almond flour for oat and almond butter for cashew. I definitely plan to make them again!
Hey Heather,
Happy Wednesday!!🍊🍋 I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Wanted to love these, but they are just ok. I almost feel like the “cookie dough” layer is unnecessary. I found it to be very bland, and so did my husband. Recipe also definitely needed added salt. Would consider making again and entirely skipping the cookie dough layer and adding some salt to the bottom cereal PB/honey layer.
Hi Madeline,
Thanks for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear they weren’t enjoyed. You might like this one better:
https://www.halfbakedharvest.com/chewy-chocolate-peanut-butter-bars/
I hope this helps for next time! xT
These were delicious and pretty simple to make. I love that they use wholesome ingredients. Such a treat!
Hi Kristen,
Happy Monday!!🇺🇸😎 I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear it was a winner! xT
I don’t know yet how these taste, but be SURE to read through the recipe and know that the ingredients for the chocolate frosting are in the section for the K-bars! And, the maple syrup doesn’t go into the K-bars, it is the drizzle. My mistake for not reading through the steps in advance, but the frosting ingredients should really be in a separate section!!!
Hi Sara,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry you to hear the directions were confusing! Please let me know how they turn out! xx
Hello! I’m newish to baking and i’m not familiar with the 2/2 part in step 2. Is that a typo? Can you explain this please? Thank you!
I think it’s a typo. It should be 2/3 cup.
Thanks Jessica!!
Made these today for the 4th of July celebration.
Thank you for the recipe.
Hi Karen,
Happy Wednesday!!🍊🍋 I appreciate you trying this recipe and your feedback, so glad to hear that it turned out well for you! xx
Hi Kristin,
It’s 2/3 cup of peanut butter, sorry for the typo! I hope you love this recipe, let me know if you give it a try! xT
These look amazing and are so close to being dairy free (which I need). What do you recommend to substitute for the regular butter?
Hi there,
Thanks so much! I would try ghee, I think that would work well for you! Let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Thank you! Ghee has dairy, but I used shortening and they turned put amazing!! I will be making these again.