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BOO! Spooky peanut butter cookie bars are thick, chewy, heavy on the peanut butter and iced with chocolate butter cream frosting. Decorated with marshmallow “spider web” and white chocolate ghosts, these cookie bars are the perfect October treat!
Happy Friday!
Who does’t love an over the top Halloween dessert?! These spooky peanut butter bars need to be on your weekend baking list!
I am so, so excited to be sharing this recipe with you all today for so many reasons.
Not only are these spooky peanut butter bars seriously cute and overly indulgent, but I’ve also partnered with Denby Pottery for this festive Halloween treat. When Denby approached me about making a Halloween treat to showcase their beautiful kitchen pieces, I didn’t even hesitate! I am obsessed with this large kiln organic platter. It makes an excellent serving piece that is sure to be a table showstopper for years to come. I love the abnormal shape and the beautiful glaze work.
Aren’t these spooky bars just so adorable?! I absolutely love how they look on this kiln serving platter!
All handmade in England, Denby Pottery has been around for over 200 years making beautiful pieces and I am so thrilled they asked me to do a recipe for them.
So, if you’re looking for beautiful and amazing quality kitchen pieces to add to your home collection, I highly recommend ordering from Denby! With the holidays quickly approaching their pieces would be the perfect display for your dinners, desserts or sides! I promise you wont be disappointed; their quality and craftsmanship are all top notch.
Spooky Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Details
These peanut butter cookie bars are spook-tacularly delicious.
Made with a browned butter peanut butter cookie dough, these bars are loaded with peanut butter chips, a layer of extra peanut butter goodness, and topped with rich and dark chocolate butter cream icing. These bars are over the top delicious in all the right ways and surprisingly not as sweet as it would seem. They’re the perfect balance of sweet, salty and chocolatey peanut butter goodness!
I mean, doesn’t peanut butter and chocolate just scream Halloween? Especially when you add the fun marshmallow webbing!
Spooky Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Ingredients
Simple, non fussy ingredients you probably already have on hand! All the more reason to go make up a batch of these cookie bars today.
Here is what you will need to get started on the cookie bars:
- purpose flour
- baking powder
- salt
- salted butter, browned– I always use salted butter in my baked goods, I think it adds better flavor. However, if you’re sensitive to salt feel free to use unsalted.
- creamy peanut butter (such as Skippy’s)– We usually stick to all natural, no sugar added in our home. But for this recipe (and any peanut butter cookie recipe really), you want to use creamy, processed sugary peanut butter such as Skippy’s. It just doesn’t work quite right with all natural.
- dark brown sugar– dark brown sugar adds more depth and flavor and I alway use dark brown over light sugar personally. But light brown sugar would also work well.
- granulated white sugar
- eggs + egg yolk– adding an extra egg yolk adds so much flavor and texture! It give these cookie bars more chewiness and richness. Make sure you’re eggs are at room temperature. It makes all the difference.
- pure vanilla extract– use only the real stuff, no imitation vanilla!
- Reese’s peanut butter chips– because more peanut butter is better, right? We love the flavor and texture the Reese’s chips adds, but you could also use regular ol’ chocolate chips if you prefer.
Making the cookie bars
These bars are really pretty simple and totally worth it!
Here is a quick rundown:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl you will sift together the dry ingredients and set aside.
- Next, In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, brown the butter. Once the butter is a deep amber color, take it off the heat and allow the browned butter to cool for 10 minutes.
- Cream together the sugars, ½ cup of the peanut butter and all the wet ingredients. Add the browned butter.
- You will then pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is incorporated. Fold in the Reese’s peanut butter chips and press the dough in the prepared baking pan.
- The dough will be thick. Bake the cookie bars for 20-25 minutes, or until the center is set. If it appears slightly under baked that’s okay. As the cookies cool they will harden and become chewy.
- After the cookies are done baking, dollop the remaining 1 ½ cups of peanut butter over the cookie bars and allow to cool completely while you start on the chocolate butter cream and white chocolate ghosts.
Chocolate Butter Cream
Here is what you will need:
In a stand mixer add the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla and warmed heavy cream. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes or so. Taste adding more powdered sugar if necessary. Set ½ tablespoon of the frosting aside for the ghosts’ eyes. Smooth the remaining butter cream frosting over the peanut butter and place the cookie bars in the refrigerator to chill for 45 minutes.
Start on the white chocolate ghosts.
white chocolate ghosts
Here is what you will need:
- a microwave safe bowl
- white chocolate chips
To make the white chocolate ghosts- add the white chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 second intervals. Stir, and repeat until all the chips are melted. On a parchment lined baking tray, dollop teaspoons of the melted white chocolate and use the back of the teaspoon to smear the white chocolate dollops downwards to create the ghost shape. Place the tray in the refrigerator to chill with the cookie bars.
When the ghosts have hardened using either a piping bag or a ziploc bag with the tip cut off, add the ½ tablespoon of chocolate butter cream. Make faces on the white chocolate ghosts. Chill for 10 minutes or so while you start on the webbing.
Marshmallow Web
Here is what you will need:
- a microwave safe bowl
- jumbo marshmallows
Once the cookie bars are set make the marshmallow webbing. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows for 30 second intervals, stirring between each addition until melted and smooth. Allow to cool for 3 minutes before attempting to decorate.
Assembling spooky peanut butter cookie bars
Now for the fun and very sticky part!
Using your hands, spread the melted marshmallow in as many directions as possible over the cookie bars to create the spider web. It will be messy and very sticky but have fun with it!
Working quickly is better. As the marshmallow begins to cool it becomes harder to work with. If that happens, just warm the marshmallow up in the microwave until it’s pliable again.
Once all the marshmallow webbing is done, cut the bars.
Assemble the white chocolate ghosts on each bar and decorate with Halloween sprinkles. Make sure the ghosts are where you want them before pressing them into the bars- the marshmallow webbing is quite sticky!
And that’s it!
So fun right?! These Spooky Peanut Butter Cookie Bars have officially made our top favorite Halloween treat list!
They’re the perfect dessert for a fall pot luck, Halloween party, or just to make to eat all to yourself!
We hope you love these Spooky Peanut Butter Cookie Bars as much as we do! If you give this recipe a try, please be sure to leave a comment and/or rating below! I truly love hearing from you! And if you haven’t yet, be sure to subscribe to the Butternut and Sage newsletter so you never miss a delicious recipe! We have a lot of yummy content coming your way- you definitely wont want to miss it! 🙂
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More Fall & Halloween treats you will love:
- Peanut Butter Swirl Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- The Best Apple Cider Donut Cake with Salted Caramel
- The Upside Down Cocktail (Stranger Things Inspired)
- Pumpkin Pecan Streusel Muffins with Whipped Maple Butter
Recipe
Spooky Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Ingredients
Spooky Peanut Butter Bars
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 ½ sticks salted butter, melted and browned
- 2 cups creamy peanut butter, dived (such as Skippy's)
- ¾ cup dark brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated white sugar
- 2 large eggs + 1 extra egg yolk, at room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup Reese's peanut butter chips
Butter Cream Frosting
- 4 tablespoons salted butter at room temperature
- 1 ½ cups powdered sugar
- ¼ cup cocoa powder
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream (Add more if needed)
White chocolate Ghosts
- 1 cup white chocolate chips
Marshmallow Spider Web
- 2 cups marshmallows, melted
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9×13 inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a medium sauce pan over medium high heat, add the butter for the cookie bars. Stir frequently until the butter begins to turn a deep brown, about 5 minutes or so. Take off the heat and allow the browned butter to cool for 10 minutes.
- In a medium bowl cream together ½ cup of the peanut butter, the brown sugar, white sugar, vanilla, eggs and egg yolk. Add the browned butter and whisk well until everything is incorporated and creamy. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix until all the flour is incorporated. Fold in the Reese's peanut butter chips. Press and spread the dough in the prepared baking pan. The dough will be thick. Bake the cookie bars for 20-25 minutes, or until the center is set. If it appears slightly under baked that's okay. As the cookies cool they will harden and become chewy. Dollop the remaining 1 ½ cups of peanut butter over the cookie bars and allow to cool completely.
- Start on the chocolate butter cream. In a stand mixer add the room temperature butter, powdered sugar, cocoa, vanilla and warmed heavy cream. Beat until smooth, about 2 minutes or so. Taste adding more powdered sugar if necessary. Reserve ½ tablespoon of the icing to make the faces on the ghosts. Smooth the butter cream frosting over the peanut butter and place the cookie bars in the refrigerator to chill for 45 minutes.
- To make the white chocolate ghosts- add the white chocolate chips to a microwave safe bowl and heat for 30 second intervals. Stir, and repeat until all the chips are melted. Line an additional tray with parchment paper. Drop teaspoons of melted white chocolate onto the parchment lined baking tray and use the back of the teaspoon to smear the white chocolate dollops downwards to create the ghost shape. Place the tray in the refrigerator to chill with the cookie bars.
- Once the cookie bars are set make the marshmallow webbing. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the marshmallows for 30 second intervals, stirring between each addition until melted and smooth. Allow to cool for 3 minutes. Using your hands, spread the melted marshmallow in as many directions as possible over the cookie bars to create the spider web. It will be messy and very sticky but have fun with it!
- Cut the cookie bars, then decorate with the hardened white chocolate ghosts and Halloween sprinkles. Make sure the ghosts are where you want them before pressing them down, as the marshmallow will be very sticky! Serve and enjoy!
What a great recipe for Halloween! Chocolate and peanut butter are ALWAYS a winner and the topping is so creative. Great pictures! Love it!