Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

Please welcome guest author, my good friend and neighbor, master baker, and fellow food blogger Evie Lieb, who shares a recipe for a favorite treat—no-bake chocolate peanut butter bars—with easy substitutions to make them kosher for Passover! ~Elise

These chocolate peanut butter bars are a classic treat, and so easy to make—no baking required! They hold a popular place on my holiday cookie platter, and with just a couple of substitutions, they can be easily made kosher for Passover too.

Graham cracker crumbs are mixed in with the peanut butter to give the base structure and crunch. For a Passover substitution for the graham crackers, we use either ground up toasted matzo, or ground Passover crispy cereal. Confectioner’s sugar and a little honey provide the sweetness in the base. When observing Passover we make our own confectioner’s sugar by grinding granulated sugar with potato starch.

This recipe makes a delicious confection (a cookie? candy bar?) whether preparing them the classic way, or Passover-friendly. In any case these goodies are a great choice for dessert after a meal and they make a perfect snack anytime. My husband has given the matzo version the ultimate compliment: they do not taste like a Passover dessert!

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars Recipe

These bars freeze well if you want to make ahead.

Ingredients

Peanut butter layer:

• 1 1/4 cup of graham cracker crumbs (use toasted matzo crumbs* or ground Passover crispy cereal if following the Passover dietary rules)
• 1 1/4 cup of confectioner's sugar (use Passover-friendly confectioner's sugar** if following Passover dietary rules)
• 3/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp of crunchy, natural peanut butter (no added preservatives or corn syrup)
• 8 Tbsp (4-ounces) unsalted butter, melted
• 2 Tbsp honey

Chocolate topping:

• 9-ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 1/2 cups) (use Kosher chocolate chips if making for Passover)
• 1 Tbsp butter

Equipment needed:

• A 9x9-inch square baking pan with straight sides (can also use an 8x10 or 8x11 baking pan)
• Food processor
• Parchment paper or non-stick aluminum foil

* Take 4 or 5 sheets of matzo, roughly break into chunks, toast in a hot dry skillet on high heat until the crumbs begin to brown and you can smell the matzo toasting. Remove from heat, let cool for a minute, place in a food processor or mini-chopper, and pulse until ground to the consistency of coarse bread crumbs.

**2 cups of granulated sugar in a food processor or blender, and 2 Tbsp of potato starch. Process until very fine. Use 1 1/4 cups for this recipe. You'll have some leftover which can be used for other recipes for Passover.

 

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