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!
These tasted good right out of the oven. A little dry, but good.
I covered them, and came back the next morning.
The already dry recipe had hardened into something like cement. They are impossible to cut, and we can’t get them out of the pan. And something happened to the taste and they are like sawdust. I followed the recipe exactly, so I honestly don’t know what went wrong here after reading all these great reviews, but… It was bad. All around disappointing, which is sad because I was really craving some peanut buttery goodness.
I’ve never had that experience with this recipe! Did you cover them with an airtight barrier? If the air could get in, they would quickly dry out.
Has anyone tried using a brownie pan like pamper chef’s brownie pan with this recipe?
I have not, personally, but let me know if it works out for you!
I just tried this and it was super simple! I loved that it only had 5 ingredients and the kids could help make it. They were a little sweet for my liking but the kids and my husband’s coworkers gobbled them up. Next time I will try them with peanut butter M&Ms. What would you think of me sharing this on my blog?
So glad you liked them! If you share, please link back to my site for the full recipe instead of sharing it the whole thing on your site. Thanks! :)
If I use a 9×13 pan, how long do you think I should bake them for?
I’ve never baked them in a 9×13 but I’d decrease baking time by probably 10 minutes and check on them to see if they are golden brown. You want don’t want to overbake them.
Does the dough come together cohesively or is it crumbly? I want to know if the baked cookie bar is moist? Thx they look yummy.
A little crumbly but as long as you don’t over-bake they’ll be nice and moist. Enjoy!
I love the recipe but I can a question about the baking mix? Can I use regular all-purpose flour as well or is it just baking mix like pancake batter?
When I cut through these, They seem really raw in the middle. Are they supposed to be that way ?? Left them in for exact time. Looked fully baked on outside. Shame to throw whole batch out.
Hmm — have you checked your oven temp with a thermometer? These are very moist but they should be cooked all the way through.
I made these in a 9×13 pan and they turned out great! Just a little thinner than they would be in the 9×9. So good!
These are so easy and SO delicious! Thank you for sharing them. (I really love your blog!)
Made these for my daughter’s easter party at school today and they were a HUGE hit!! They are spool good :)
So glad everyone liked them, Kayla!
:) and that was supposed to say sooo good…No spool haha…spell check for ya!