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Chocolate Chip Maple Peanut Butter Bars

These chocolate chip maple peanut butter bars are the perfect combo of traditional cookie flavors mixed with the flavors of fall. They are super simple to make and the perfect short on time dessert. Who wouldn’t love a cookie bottom topped with creamy maple frosting and sprinkled with peanuts and toffee bits.


This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of Pillsbury. The opinions and text are all mine.

I made these bars and had to immediately give them away. Not because they weren’t delicious (sweeeeet heavens they are!) but because I couldn’t be trusted around them. When you live in a household of only 2 people (and 3 cats) it’s dangerous to be left with too many sweets laying around.

I’m not kidding, guys. I will eat them all! And I’m trying to continue my trend of slimming down since I’m planning on hitting up Florida in January.

Now, the main reason I’m going to Florida is not just because it’s warm, and New York will be the temperature of a glacier, but because the majority of my family lives there! Plus, I’m working on a being a better daughter and that includes getting my butt down to Florida to visit.

When I was a kid, I used to go and visit my mom in Florida; our favorite thing to do together is to bake and cook, because who doesn’t want to bake and cook all the things?!

When I heard the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest was coming back, I immediately thought of all the time spent with my mom in the kitchen. We didn’t get to see each other too often, so when I would come to visit, we would pick up a few recipe books, flip through them together, mark the pages, and then get to cooking!

One of our favorite books to pick up was the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest recipe book. It was always filled with delicious recipes that were fun to make and sure to be a hit with my three brothers who LOVED to eat. If you have brothers, you get that!

When we couldn’t get together, we would just hold our own virtual Bake-Off® Contest. We would both buy the same book, talk about which recipes we just had to make and then bake together while on the phone. You guys…this was before long distance calls were free. I would buy a phone card because it was cheaper than the ten cents per minute that the phone company charged. How’s that for old school? This was such a fun way to bond even though we were thousands of miles apart.

Our virtual Bake-Off® Contests are even more special now because we both have Facetime. Thank goodness for technology! I’m not ashamed that I’m 35 years old and still Facetime my mom so we can bake together! It’s fun and if you’ve never tried it, I highly recommend it!

In honor of Pillsbury’s announcement that the Bake-Off® Contests was back, I made these Sweet and Salty Chocolate Chip-Maple-Peanut Bars from the 47th Bake-Off Contest.

It was a hit then and it’ll be a hit for whoever you decide to make it for! Oh, and if you have a brilliant recipe in your back pocket that’s just waiting to be shared with the world, the Pillsbury Bake-Off® Contest is accepting submissions until November 10th. You can enter here!

{Looking for more bar desserts? Try my Cinnamon Apple Streusel BarsVanilla Bean Plum Butter Crumble BarsPumpkin Churro Cheesecake Bars, or my Peanut Butter Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars}

Chocolate Chip Maple Peanut Butter Bars

These chocolate chip maple peanut butter bars are the perfect combo of traditional cookie flavors mixed with the flavors of fall. They are super simple to make and the perfect short on time dessert. Who wouldn't love a cookie bottom topped with creamy maple frosting and sprinkled with peanuts and toffee bits.

Yield: 9x9 pan

Prep Time: 45 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 65 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 roll Pillsbury™ refrigerated chocolate chip cookie dough
  • 1/3 cup crunchy peanut butter
  • 3 teaspoons maple extract, divided
  • 1 cup vanilla frosting
  • 1/2 cup salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
  • 2 tablespoons toffee bits
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Let cookie dough stand at room temperature 10 minutes to soften. Spray 9-inch square pan with non-stick spray.

In the bowl of an electric mixer add cookie dough, peanut butter and 2 teaspoons of the maple extract. Beat with electric mixer on low speed 1 to 2 minutes or until well blended. Press dough evenly into bottom of the prepared pan.

Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool completely in pan on cooling rack, about 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, in small bowl, mix frosting and remaining 1 teaspoon maple extract until smooth.

In another small bowl, mix peanuts, toffee bits and kosher salt.

Spread frosting evenly over cooled bars. Sprinkle with peanut mixture; press in lightly.

Refrigerate about 30 minutes before cutting. Cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store covered.