No-Bake Peanut Butter Crunch Bars

Ingredients

• 4 1/2 cups crisp rice cereal
• 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp fine sea salt
• 4 oz semisweet or dark chocolate
• 1 tbsp peanut butter

Instructions

1. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment.
2. Place cereal in a large bowl.
3. Warm peanut butter, honey, and butter over low heat until smooth. Do not boil.
4. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in vanilla and salt.
6. Pour over cereal.
7. Fold until evenly coated.
8. Transfer to pan.
9. Press firmly enough to hold together without crushing cereal.
10. Melt chocolate.
11. Stir in 1 tbsp peanut butter.
12. Spread a thin layer across top.
13. Refrigerate approximately 1 hour.
14. Cut into 16 bars.

Nutrition

Chef's Notes

TEXTURE TARGET: Crunchy, chewy, salty-sweet, peanut-butter-forward, thin chocolate finish. This should be structurally and texturally distinct from the oat bars. CHEF'S NOTES: • Do not boil the peanut butter mixture — low heat only. • Press firmly enough to hold together but avoid crushing the cereal. • For a cleaner cut, chill the bars before slicing. STORAGE: Store airtight at room temperature or refrigerated. Best within 5–7 days. SCALING PAN GUIDANCE: • 0.5× (8 bars): Use a smaller pan (loaf pan or 8×4). • 1× (16 bars): 8×8-inch pan. • 1.5× (24 bars): Use a 9×13-inch pan. • 2× (32 bars): Use two 8×8-inch pans. Do not put double filling into one standard-size pan. ALLERGENS: Contains peanuts, milk (butter, chocolate). May contain soy and tree nuts. NUTRITION NOTE: Calculated per bar (1/16 of recipe) using standard USDA nutrition values.

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