Irresistible peanut butter cookie bars with only 5 ingredients! Kid-friendly, easy to make and so delicious, this bar recipe is dangerous!
Recipe Overview
Why you’ll love it: This super easy bar recipe is addictively good!
How long it takes: 10 minutes to whip up, 40 minutes in the oven
Equipment you’ll need: mixing bowl, measuring utensils, 8-inch square baking pan, oven
Servings: 16 small bars
Easy to make Peanut Butter Bars
Only 5 ingredients! I’m not even kidding. There are FIVE ingredients in these M&M peanut butter bars! Here’s an easy math lesson:
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + oven = Delicious!
Peanut Butter + M&Ms = Happy!
(5 x 1) + Hungry Kids = Zero!
Soft, chewy, and sweet!These M&M peanut butter bars are not only insanely easy to make but they are so delicious. I recommend a big glass of milk or a cup of coffee. And small bites that savor each morsel.
Lots of possible variations. You’ll love that you can make easy changes to this recipe, too. M&Ms aren’t the only candies that taste great in bars.
Kid-Friendly Beginner Recipe
Since there are only five ingredients, this recipe is perfect for beginners. Let your kids help you make peanut butter cookie bars. They’ll love measuring the baking mix and brown sugar. Teach them how to crack eggs into a small bowl before they add them to the peanut butter. They’ll get good practice stirring and blending and they’ll love using their hands to mix the dough and press the M&Ms in.
Ingredient List
What are the five magic ingredients? I bet you’ve already figured it out!
- Peanut Butter: Creamy or chunky, doesn’t matter. Avoid the natural peanut butters that have to be stirred; choose a brand like Jif or Skippy.
- Eggs: A couple of eggs hold this business all together.
- Brown Sugar: The molasses flavor adds to the profile of these cookies. Dark brown sugar works as well as light brown sugar.
- All-Purpose Baking Mix: An example of this is Jiffy or Bisquick. The mix comes in a large box and is a shortcut product used to make pancakes, waffles, or biscuits. If you’d like, you can use homemade Bisquick.
- M&Ms: Who doesn’t love these chocolate candies? Use the regular assorted colors or buy a color that’s coordinated with an occasion.
How To Make Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Turn your oven on, wash your hands, and let’s get started! You’ll need an 8 x 8 inch baking pan, or an equivalent of that. Spray it lightly with cooking spray.
In a mixing bowl, blend together the peanut butter and eggs until the two ingredients are nice and smooth.
Add the brown sugar and stir again. The mixture should be well-blended.
Measure out the baking mix and add that to the bowl. Mix it in as well as possible. The dough is very thick. You may have to use your hands to combine it. I usually do.
Add the M&Ms and stir some more. Again, hands are totally permissible. If all of the M&Ms don’t stay in the dough, don’t worry.
Turn the dough out into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer. Press any stray or remaining M&Ms right into the dough.
Pop those babies right into the oven and bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until they turn golden brown. Be sure to notice the sweet aroma emanating from your kitchen.
Cool the bars before cutting into 16 squares or whatever size you like. Maybe 4 big squares!
Bisquick is an all-purpose baking mix used for a variety of products such as pancakes, waffles, cake, biscuits, shortcakes, etc. Bisquick is a brand name that’s been around since 1931. I guess you could almost call it old-fashioned. Jiffy is another popular brand. Look for the words “baking mix” on the box.
Bisquick is a mixture that contains flour, oil, leavening, salt, sugar and other ingredients. It’s meant to be a shortcut, eliminating the need for several different ingredients. If you’re interested in making your own, try Homemade Bisquick Mix.
Make These Bars Your Own
- Different mix-ins. Try mini M&Ms, peanut butter M&Ms, or Reese’s Pieces. Chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, or mini chocolate chips are great too.
- Gluten-free. Use a gluten-free baking mix, such as King Arthur Gluten-Free All-Purpose Baking Mix.
- Turn the bars into dessert. Top each square with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, a drizzle of homemade hot fudge or homemade caramel sauce, and sprinkle on a few more M&Ms for garnish. This is really, really good when the bars are still slightly warm.
- Love M&Ms? Try my modestly named perfect M&M cookies — they really are pretty perfect!
- No-bake bars: If you don’t want to turn your oven on, try no-bake peanut butter bars. They taste just like Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups.
Refrigerate/Freeze: Peanut butter cookie bars will keep in an airtight container for up to 3 days on the counter. If you need to store them longer than that, refrigerate or freeze them.
For Peanut Lovers
- Peanut Butter Popcorn
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie (no bake!)
- Buckeyes
- No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
- Peanut Butter Trail Mix Recipe
- Oh Henry Bars
More Bars & Cookies
5 Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookie Bars with M&Ms
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup peanut butter (creamy or chunky)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup packed brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose baking mix (such as Bisquick or Jiffy)
- 1 bag (12 oz.) M&Ms, about 1 ⅔ cups (use regular, mini, peanut butter, Reese's Pieces, or even chocolate chips)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325F°. Spray an 8-inch square pan with cooking spray.
- In a large bowl, combine peanut butter and eggs until well mixed and smooth.
- Add brown sugar and stir until well-combined.
- Stir in baking mix until moistened (I use my hands – it is a very thick batter).
- Fold in M&Ms. Again, using your hands works best for this step. Don't worry if some of the M&Ms don't stick in the dough.
- Spread mixture evenly in greased pan, pressing any remaining M&Ms into the dough.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown. Cool and cut into 16 squares.
Notes
- Bars will keep in a covered container on the counter for up to three days. If you want to store them longer, store in the refrigerator or freezer.
- Possible substitutions for plain M&Ms: Reese’s Pieces, peanut butter M&Ms, dark chocolate M&Ms, etc. Chocolate chips or mini chocolate chips are good, too.
- Turn the bars into dessert. Top a bar with vanilla ice cream, hot fudge or caramel sauce, and a sprinkle of M&Ms. Especially good when the bars are still warm!
Video
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!
So I had to make these… Like tonight at 10:45 pm and let me tell you- AH-MAZ-ING!!! I promised my 3 year old I’d make some and he could have them tomorrow…. I am having trouble with stopping at just one!! Trying out some of your other recipes soon! Oh I made these with gluten free bisquick as I have celiac disease- never had them a different way but great this way. Do you think almond butter would work as well??
So glad you liked them, and I’m happy to hear they turned out well with GF bisquick! I think almond butter would definitely work well. Worth a shot!
Just tried making these using pancake/waffle mix. Theyre in the oven now. Also only had a tiny single sized bag of M&M’s so added a handful of chocolate chips. Hoping pancake mix works.
Hmm…not sure if it would work or not. Did they turn out?
Loved how easy this looks! Do you need an electric mixer or does a plain wooden spoon work? Thanks!
The dough/batter is SO thick that I don’t think an electric mixer would even work. A wooden spoon + your hands will be your best bet! :)
Just finished making these and holy moly, they are fabulous! Super sweet though, but taste sooo good! Thank you so much for posting this recipe!
Just found these not too long ago on pinterest and I have been thinking of them ever since! I finally had the perfect opportunity to make them as my in laws are coming tomorrow! They’re so easy to make and they look so delicious baking in the oven! My suggestion- use M&M minis! I just love the crunch and the bite after bite full of chocolate! I’m sure the PB M&M’s would be great too, but the minis are so irresistible! Thanks so much for the recipe :)
Glad you liked them! Thanks for coming back to let me know :)
I tried with the gluten-free variety of Bisquick and they are delicious! The bars are a little crumbly (but still not cooled from the oven); I am hoping they firm up by tomorrow but even if they don’t ( and I have to add extra liquid next go round), the taste will carry them through! thank you!
Awesome! Thanks for coming back to let me know!
OMW!!! These are SO super easy and quick to make!! Made some as a surprise for my husband and I hope he likes them!! I am also making some for Easter with Easter colored M&M’s :)
I’m so glad you enjoyed them! I love the idea of Easter M&Ms! Fun :)
Thank you I will :)
Can I use just regular flour?
No, but I searched online and found that you can substitute for Bisquick using this formula (found on Wikipedia):
2 cups flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons oil or melted butter
Make it a little more than 5 ingredients, but at least you won’t have to make a special trip to the store! Let me know how it works out!
I tried to make my own Bisquick to make this recipe because I live in South Korea and they don’t have Bisquick. It didn’t work well. It was too dry and crumbly. Tasted okay, but not as good as everyone was raving about. Someday when I live in the US again, I’ll have to try these again, but I don’t recommend making the Bisquick yourself!
Shoot! Sorry to hear that!
Saw these on pinterest. We love easy, delicious recipes. This was so good and easy. I do think that next time we will use fewer m&m’s and will try the peanut butter m&m’s. Great recipe! Everyone should try at least once!
Thank you Sharie! Peanut M&Ms would be GREAT in these!
Just made these and they were amazing. Thank you so much for the recipe!!!