No-bake peanut butter cup bars

Make your own Reese's!

Once upon a time, a girl at work brought in a variation of these peanut butter cup bars. In a flash, the bars vanished, not a crumb to be found. And our tummies lived happily every after. The end. 

The moral of the story: These bars are a surefire hit! And you'll love making them as much as your friends, family, and coworkers will love devouring them. There's just two layers, no baking, and minimal mess. The hardest part of whipping up these tasty treats? Not spooning the entire peanut butter layer into your own mouth instead of into the pan. Truly.

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NO-BAKE PEANUT BUTTER CUP BARS

*Note: These proportions are for a 9x13 inch pan.
WHAT YOU'LL NEED:
1 cup (two sticks) butter, melted 
2 cups graham cracker crumbs (fine crumbs are best)
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup plus 4 TBS creamy peanut butter
1 and 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips (See "Note" below)

WHAT YOU'LL DO:
1. In a medium bowl, mix together the melted butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners sugar, and 1 cup of peanut butter until smoothly combined. Press the mixture evenly into the bottom of an ungreased 9x13 inch pan.

2. In a microwave or on a stove-top, melt the chocolate chips with the remaining 4 TBS of peanut butter. Remove the mixture from heat once the chocolate begins to melt, then stir until smooth. Spread the mixture over the prepared peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least one hour, then cut into squares. 

*Note: Feel fee to switch up the chocolate layer: Try using only semi-sweet chocolate, milk chocolate, or white chocolate. Or try a mix of semi-sweet or milk chocolate paired with butterscotch chips. Whatever the combination, a good rule is to make sure you're using more chocolate than peanut butter/butterscotch. (The first time I made these, I used a mix of milk chocolate and butterscotch chips — definitely delicious!)

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One final thought: Remove these from the pan right after they come out of the fridge. I let mine sit for about an hour, and the peanut butter layer wanted to stick to the bottom of the pan. Of course, I told myself I had to eat whatever little bits didn't come off cleanly... So maybe you should wait an hour!