No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

I love it when people request certain desserts for parties because it makes it so much easier to decide what to bring. This year my cousin asked for Christmas Eve that I bring the same dessert I brought last year: Peanut Butter S’mores Bars.

These are absolutely one of my favorites, too. I’ve also been meaning to make them all year because I wanted to take better pictures than the old ones I had for this recipe, so it was an all around win. 

The bars are a layer of peanut butter graham cracker crust with a peanut butter and marshmallow filling topped with soft chocolate ganache. The best thing about them is that they’re no-bake, so you don’t have to turn on your oven to make these; just a microwave will do.

These bars can easily be adjusted for different dietary restrictions. To make them gluten-free, use gluten-free graham crackers. To make them vegan, use vegan graham crackers, vegan marshmallows, a dairy-free margarine and dairy free chocolate chips. I made all of these alterations for this batch and they came out perfectly.

No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes(allow at least 30 minutes for these to harden in the refrigerator)

Ingredients(Makes 16 bars)

For the crust:

  • 16 individual graham crackers(not full sheets) OR 8oz graham crackers crumbs
  • 3 tablespoons butter
  • 6 tablespoons natural style peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup powdered sugar

For the filling:

  • 1/3 cup natural style peanut butter
  • 2 tablespoons butter
  • 2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1/2 cup mini-marshmallows, or 1 cup regular marshmallows cut into bite-sized pieces

For the top:

  • 6oz(about 3/4 cup) chocolate chips
  • 1 tablespoon butter 

Method:

  1. Melt together 3 Tablespoons of butter and 6 Tablespoons of peanut butter until it’s thin and creamy.
  2. Break the graham crackers into fine crumbs. Running them through a food process for 30 seconds is the best way to do this.
  3. In a large bowl, add the peanut butter mixture to the graham cracker crumbs. Sift in 1/2 cup powdered sugar. Work the dough until the ingredients have come together and press it into an 8×8 pan in an even layer.
  4. Make the filling by melting together 1/3 cup of peanut butter and 2 Tablespoons of butter. Sift in 2 Tablespoons of powdered sugar and beat until smooth.
  5. Pour the mixture over the crust. Spread it out to cover all parts.
  6. Press in the marshmallows on top of the peanut butter layer.
  7. Melt together the chocolate chips and 1 Tablespoon of butter until it’s smooth and runny.
  8. Pour the chocolate on top of the dessert in an even layer. Carefully spread it out to make sure it covers as much of the marshmallows as possible.
  9. Put the dessert in the refrigerator to harden. Remove 10 minutes before serving, cut into 16 pieces and serve.

I have a feeling I know what I’ll be making next Christmas Eve.

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42 Responses to No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars
  1. Hillary
    December 26, 2011 | 10:05 am

    Just when I thought I didn’t want any more sweets for at least another month, you had to go and make these. It’s 9 am, and I want them already.

  2. Averie @ Love Veggies and Yoga
    December 26, 2011 | 10:10 am

    No Bake
    PB
    Marshmallows..
    …Smores!!

    PERFECT!

    Nothing like finishing the Xmas cookies and getting to work on Smores Bars. YUM

  3. Amber K
    December 26, 2011 | 2:05 pm

    Those…look…awesome!

  4. Lauren @ Healthy Food For Living
    December 26, 2011 | 9:17 pm

    These bars look phenomenal! S’mores are such a classic flavor combination, and adding peanut butter can only be a good thing =).

  5. Jo
    December 26, 2011 | 11:18 pm

    Looks delicious. Would love for you to share your pictures with us over at foodepix.com.

  6. Hannah
    December 27, 2011 | 6:11 am

    One of these days I am going to *have* to figure out what Australian biscuit can admirably sub in for graham crackers. See also: Biscoff and Speculoos spread. Yeah, yeah, I could make my own crackers, but by golly I like the no-bake element of this, particularly as we’re in summer down here!

  7. Jennifer @ Peanut Butter and Peppers
    December 27, 2011 | 10:26 am

    Wow, this looks wonderful and I love that it’s no bake!! I think I need to make these, thanks!

  8. janetha
    December 27, 2011 | 4:09 pm

    This just made me realize when I go camping this summer I have to make smores with reeses PB cups. come onnnnn summer!

  9. Desserts by sonnygirl95 - Pearltrees
    December 27, 2011 | 7:28 pm

    […] No-Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars | The Wannabe Chef I love it when people request certain desserts for parties because it makes it so much easier to decide what to bring. This year my cousin asked for Christmas Eve that I bring the same dessert I brought last year: Peanut Butter S’mores Bars. These are absolutely one of my favorites, too. I’ve also been meaning to make them all year because I wanted to take better pictures than the old ones I had for this recipe, so it was an all around win. […]

  10. Axelle
    December 29, 2011 | 8:01 am

    These look delish! Really love that you’ve also tried the vegan version for us vegans out there.
    However, don’t regular marshmallows have gelatin in them?

  11. Amy
    January 1, 2012 | 4:01 pm

    I can see why these were requested…they sound absolutely heavenly! I think if I were to make them I would eat far too many. Nice that they can be made vegan as well! Hope you had a wonderful New Years!

  12. C&C Cakery
    January 1, 2012 | 6:10 pm

    Love the recipe (so easy, so dangerous), but thank you more for the link you put in the comments for the Dandies marshmallows. I’m a vegan and have yet to find a suitable grocery store marshmallow – I usually have to make my own 🙁

  13. Kristina
    January 9, 2012 | 11:54 am

    These look awesome! Some of my favorite sweets rolled into one bar.

  14. Gina
    January 12, 2012 | 10:23 pm

    Hmmm…I wonder why these didn’t turn out for me? I am really excited to make this recipe work! For some reason I had an enourmously high crust that was crumbly and wouldn’t press down; any chance when you say 16 graham crackers you didn’t mean the full regular sheets? I would appreciate any suggestions, but I did triple check my measurements.

    • Wannabe Chef
      January 12, 2012 | 11:28 pm

      Sorry to hear that. The graham crackers I use are a little off-brand since they’re gluten-free, so maybe they’re sized differently? I weighed them and it was exactly 8oz so if you have a kitchen scale that would be my recommendation to go by.
      If that doesn’t help, it sounds like the crust could benefit from more peanut butter to help it stick to itself better.

      • Gina
        January 13, 2012 | 5:36 pm

        Thanks! I do have a scale and will weigh out the crumbs next time. Even though it didn’t stick together, it was delicious, and my family ate it out of the pan with spoons. I will try again when I replenish my Dandies marshmallows 🙂

      • Emily
        January 22, 2012 | 11:44 pm

        We’re making these right now and I think you do have to use 16 squares rather than sheets. It was way too crumbly with 16 sheets…and made about 16 oz. of crumbs. I’m actually having a problem with the melted chocolate topping. The butter only thickens the chocolate for me no matter what I try. Going without the second time around, though it doesn’t seem to be nearly enough chocolate to cover the dessert like in the photo. 🙁

        • Amy
          July 28, 2012 | 3:53 pm

          I made them today and that’s what I found, too – the chocolate isn’t nearly as much as you’d think from the picture. However, I think if it were that much, I might not like them as well. I also probably went too light on the graham crackers, but did get the “crust” to hold together, though the texture was almost fudgy with graham crumbs throughout.

  15. jess
    January 16, 2012 | 6:25 pm

    These look amazing! What type of chocolate chips do you use?

    • Wannabe Chef
      January 16, 2012 | 7:58 pm

      I used Trader Joe’s brand

  16. Laura
    January 22, 2012 | 11:04 pm

    Looked amazing. I am sorry to say that these did not turn out for us (although my 16 yo son ate the ingredients with a spoon as it was still tasty)
    The crust did not stick together and crumbled as if it was just mixed, even after really pressing it down. The chocolate chips did not melt well, nor did it cover the top of the squares at all.
    Better luck to everyone else.

  17. […] thewannabechef.net via Emily on […]

  18. Meagan
    February 8, 2012 | 5:17 pm

    I did make these and found I needed to add more peanut butter and butter to the bottom layer to make it “sticky’ enough. Maybe I just had added too many graham crackers. SUPER YUMMY, however!! My husband will thank you!!

  19. Maddie
    February 13, 2012 | 4:50 am

    Like others I found the base to be very crumbly and didn’t stick together. Even added more peanut butter. What are we doing wrong?

    • Wannabe Chef
      February 13, 2012 | 1:38 pm

      I wish I knew; I’ve made this 3-4 times always with the same proportions and it’s come out fine each time. Did you use 16 individual graham crackers and not full sheets? That sounds like it might have been some of the confusion.

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  21. christina
    March 2, 2012 | 8:43 am

    these look incredible. i need to make these!

  22. […] s’mores made with Reese’s peanut butter cups. In the back of my mind popped up my recipe for peanut butter s’mores bars and I promised to make them for July […]

  23. Stephanie Wilson
    July 15, 2012 | 9:30 am

    Making these for a work BBQ on Friday! I’m going to use soynut butter in place of peanut butter so anyone with a nut allergy can try them as well! Can’t wait!!

  24. jane
    July 15, 2012 | 7:20 pm

    these did not work at all!!

    • Wannabe Chef
      July 16, 2012 | 8:31 pm

      I’m sorry to hear that, Jane. May I ask what part of the recipe didn’t come out well?

  25. Luv What You Do
    July 15, 2012 | 7:38 pm

    I love everything s’mores. They look incredible! What a creative recipe!

  26. […] No Bake Peanut Butter S’mores Bars From The Wannabe Chef […]

  27. […] Source: Adapted slightly from Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts, originally from The Wannabe Chef. […]

  28. Vera Zecevic – Cupcakes Garden
    September 26, 2012 | 6:32 am

    Perfect dessert! It looks so yummy, but these kind of treats can be very dangerous for my diet! Best regards

  29. […] Adapted from The Wannabe Chef […]

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  32. Jennifer
    December 2, 2013 | 9:18 pm

    I made these for a holiday party and they look awesome! However, I could not get the top layer of chocolate and butter smooth and runny! It’s clumpy. What’s the secret?

    Thank you!

    • Wannabe Chef
      December 2, 2013 | 10:37 pm

      Sorry to hear that Jennifer. It probably has to do with the chocolate. Some chocolate melts a lot better than others; chocolate chips are especially notorious for being hit or miss depending on the brand. I’d recommend finding a brand that melts really well(Trader Joe’s always works for me) or using an equal amount of Bakers chocolate.