Description
These no bake peanut butter bars sliced into Christmas trees! They’re salted, chewy, crunchy, creamy, and have a hint of caramel flavor.
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Bars
- 1/2 cup (100g) light brown sugar, packed
- 1/2 cup (170g) Karo Light Corn Syrup
- 3/4 cup (190g) creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup (60g) crushed pretzels *see notes for GF option
- 1 cup (100g) quick oats
- 2 cups (55g) crispy rice cereal
Chocolate Topping
- 3/4 cup (130g) semisweet chocolate chips (reg or vegan)
- 1/2 cup (125g) creamy peanut butter
Decoration
- 1 cup (120g) powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 tbsp milk (reg or plant-based)
- 1–2 drops green gel food coloring
- Sprinkles of choice
Instructions
Peanut Butter Bars
- In a large bowl, combine the pretzels, oats, and cereal.
- In a saucepan over medium heat, mix together the corn syrup and brown sugar. Continue to mix until the mixture starts to bubble. Allow it to bubble for about 30 seconds, then remove from heat and add the peanut butter.
- Pour into the bowl of cereal and stir to coat.
- Press into an 8×8 square baking dish that has been greased and lined with parchment paper. Allow the paper to hang over the edges for easy removal. Make sure to press it firm and into all of the corners.
Chocolate Topping
- Add the chocolate chips and peanut butter to a heat-safe bowl and microwave for 30 seconds. Stir and microwave for another 15-30 seconds until smooth.
- Pour over the peanut butter layer and spread it even. Give the pan a gentle shake and tap to even out the topping.
- Place into the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour to set. To speed this up, freeze for 20 to 30 minutes (just know they’ll need a bit more elbow grease to slice when frozen).
Assemble
- Once set, remove the bars from the pan. You may have to run a knife along the two sides opposite of the parchment paper before lifting them out.
- Make a cut right down the middle, and then slice each half into 5 triangles (see picture in post for reference).
- To make the icing, mix together the powdered sugar and milk. Once it resembles the texture and consistency of glue, add the green food coloring. If it’s still too thick, add 1 tsp of milk at a time until you reach the right consistency.
- Add to a piping bag fitted with a small round tip (or to a ziplock bag with a small corner snipped off). Pipe zig zag lines onto the trees and top with your choice of sprinkles. Enjoy!
Notes
GLUTEN FREE – To make gluten free, use gluten free pretzels, gluten free oats, and gluten free brown puffed rice cereal or crushed rice chex.
- Prep Time: 20 minutes