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Nutter Butter Cookie Bars. These lightly sweetened, buttery peanut cookie bars are sandwiched with creamy peanut butter filling and then finished with a sprinkle of sea salt. Every last bite is sweet, peanutty, and so DELICIOUS. Absolutely nothing not to love. Just like those classic nutter butter cookies but transformed into an even yummier bar.
Happy Friday, everyone! Two peanut butter recipes this week mean one thing to me: it must be back-to-school, back-to-football time. Every August, without even thinking about it, my ideas start shifting into more of a September mindset. Once we have even a few cooler days, everyone gets excited about fall and all its colorful splendor.
Many kids are soon heading back to school, and the NFL pre-season is underway. Yes, it’s time to start thinking about fall—it’s feeling so close!
Of course, it’s 86 degrees and sunny outside in New York today, but I’ll never complain about that.
I grew up primarily in Cleveland, and anyone from Ohio knows that once football season returns, it’s also Buckeye season.
And not just the Ohio State Buckeyes. Buckeyes, the treats, are chocolate-covered peanut butter balls. They’re like peanut butter cups, but actually better because homemade Buckeyes taste real. I find peanut butter cup candies to taste kind of artificial and overly sweet.
With this recipe, I originally wanted to do some kind of mix between a nutter butter and a buckeye, but what I attempted was disastrous. So, I reverted back to a simple peanut butter cookie bar sandwiched with a creamy peanut butter filling. The result was salty, sweet, and YUMMY. More of a simple cookie bar, but so good.
Details To Know
Step 1: make the peanut cookie base
This is a shortbread cookie base, so it’s more crumbly than sweet. You’ll beat butter with brown sugar and creamy peanut butter. I use no-sugar-added peanut butter with salt.
I also always use salted butter. It makes such a difference!
Once creamed, you can mix in the vanilla. If you want a more sturdy cookie, you can add one egg, too, but I don’t typically do this.
Then, flour, baking powder, and salt.
Step 2: the peanut filling
Next, mix butter with peanut butter and honey.
Beat this mix together until it’s very light and fluffy.
Step 3: assemble
Press half of the peanut butter cookie dough into the bottom of a square baking pan. Spread the peanut filling over the base, then crumble the remaining cookie dough over the peanut butter.
It’s OK if the dough doesn’t cover up all of the peanut butter.
Step 4: bake
Bake the pan for 25 minutes. The edges should be set and turning golden.
While warm, sprinkle the tops of the cookie bars with sea salt, then let the bars cool completely.
It’s important to let these bars cool before cutting. I found them easiest to cut once they had time to sit and chill. Because this is a shortbread cookie base, the cookies will be more on the crumbly side.
What I love about these cookie bars is that they’re easy to make and don’t require any chilling ahead of baking. They have all the old-school vibes I was going for.
Bake these for any upcoming school events/bake sales, dinner parties, birthday parties, game nights, etc. They’re always so loved.
I recommend testing these out tonight – eat a few and welcome in the weekend!
Looking for other homemade back-to-school recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Frosted Brown Sugar Cinnamon Pop Tarts
Homemade nutter butter cookies
Lastly, if you make these Nutter Butter Cookie Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Nutter Butter Cookie Bars
Servings: 16 bars
Calories Per Serving: 268 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/4 cup dark brown sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
- flaky sea salt (optional)
Peanut Butter Creme Filling
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 6 tablespoons salted butter, at room temperature
- 3-4 tablespoons honey
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8x8 inch square pan with parchment paper.2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add the flour and baking powder, beat until combined, and the dough begins to form a ball. If the dough is crumbly, add 2-3 teaspoons of water. If the dough feels moist, add 1-2 tablespoons flour.3. Press half the dough into the prepared pan.4. To make the filling, beat together the peanut butter, butter, and honey until combined. Spread an even layer over the dough, then crumble the remaining dough over the peanut butter.5. Bake for 25 minutes, until the top is set. Sprinkle with salt if desired. Let cool, then cut into bars. The bars are on the crumbly side so handle gently. Enjoy!
A truly excellent recipe! Very easy to make with minimal ingredients. 10/10!
Thanks so much for your comment, Haley! So glad to hear this recipe was enjoyed, I appreciate you giving it a try! Xx
Forgive me if this has already been asked, but could you use tahini or an alternate nut butter for this recipe? My son has a peanut allergy. Thank you!
Hey Josephine,
Totally! Any of those options should work nicely for you! I hope you love this recipe, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
I’ve used hazelnut butter
I made these exactly as directed, with natural peanut butter that was quite loose. I had to add a bit more flour, and it came together nicely. After cooling on the counter, I put them in the fridge and it set up quite well. They’re delicious, I’ll definitely make them again, I think with whole wheat flour to add to the nuttiness.
Hey Nicole,
Happy Monday! I am thrilled to hear this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and your feedback! xT
Have you tried these with an extra egg? Does it need to be baked longer with it?
Also, can coconut oil be used to make it dairy free or do you suggest margarine?
Thank you!
Hi Chaya,
Sorry, I have not tried this with an extra egg and I have never tested with coconut oil, but you could certainly give it a try! I hope you love this recipe! xT
Terrible! Don’t waste your time!
Hi Cynthia,
So very sorry to hear you did not enjoyed this recipe. Please let me know if there is something that I can help with! x
This would be convenient if you stated what went wrong and writing down descriptive details about taste, texture etc.
Can you share what went wrong?
OMG! Just made these. Aroma – intoxicating! The taste – over the top. The filling – I reduced the sugar to 3/4 cup. And the cookie layers were perfect.
You knocked this one out of the park!
I am renaming these Shut the Front Door Nutter Butter Cookie Bars!
Lol thank you so much Lucia!! Love to hear that you enjoyed these cookie bars, thanks a lot for making them! xT
I noticed you stated that you reduce the sugar to 3/4 of a cup however the ingredients listed in the recipe show brown sugar as 1/4 of a cup? Do you mean that you increased the sugar? I’m getting ready to make this so I’m just trying to figure out if the recipe was changed or if it needs more sugar and you mistyped.
I made these bars as directed, but used some crunchy peanut butter in the filling and sprinkled some mini chocolate chips on top before I added the top layer. These came out perfect. These were delicious! Thank you.
Hey Judi,
Awesome! Love to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks a lot for making it! Have a great weekend! xT
Can you make this using almond flour?
Hi Charmila,
I think using a gluten free flour blend will work best for you:) Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
These look delicious! Can you double the recipe, and if so, would I use a 9×13 pan?
Hi Carol,
Sure, that should work nicely for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love this recipe! xT
Is it advisable to use natural peanut butter, the healthier option?
Hey Leslie,
That is what I like to use, but you can use any peanut butter that you enjoy:) I hope you love this recipe! Happy Friday! xT
I personally find natural peanut butter results in a crumblier and oily baked good. Just an FYI – texture and taste will be compromised.
Hi there! Can you make these gluten free?
Hi Martha,
An equal amount of gluten free flour should work nicely for you. Please let me know if you give this recipe a try, I hope you love it! xT
Although this had tons of peanut butter flavour.. we all were not big fans of the texture.. I may have made it wrong..but it was way to dry for my family..and yes I added extra water to the cookie dough batter..but it came out really dry..like eating a big mouthful of peanut butter..I did use a natural peanut butter..maybe that’s where went wrong..
Hi Teresa,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, so sorry this was so dry. I like to use natural peanut butter so that shouldn’t have been the issue. How long did you bake for? My guess is the dough needed a touch more water and maybe a little less bake time. I hope this helps! xT