Peanut Butter, chocolate, cake mix…how could this not be heaven. I have been making these for a couple years ever since I had them at my friend’s chocolate party. This are very, very rich. For me to say that is saying a lot. They are perfect for a PMS moment. Not that I have had any of those for 5 months. They are probably 10,845 Weight Watcher points! Decadent.
Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 (18.25) package plain yellow cake mix
- 1/2 cup butter, melted
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 eggs
- 1 (12 oz) package semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 Tablespoons butter
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 cup coconut (optional...my sister did not like the texture of it in there)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
- Combine cake mix, melted butter, peanut butter, and eggs in a large bowl using a mixer or spoon. Press this into a 9X13 pan reserving 1 1/2 cup of the mixture to crumble on top.
- In a small pot, melt chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter. Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla and coconut.
- Spread chocolate mixture over the mixture pressed in the pan and then crumble the 1 1/2 cups of reserved cake mixture on top evenly.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
Notes
Source: my friend Greta White
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http://www.the-girl-who-ate-everything.com/2009/03/peanut-butter-chocolate-bars.html
I had no idea a recipe from me would be here. I remember the chocolate party well, and I remember giving you the recipe. Julie Mecham just told me about your website and I LOVE it!!! This is a fun site and I feel like we’re chatting and eating at the same time while I read your fun and personal intros.
I see you’re inspiring nature hasn’t changed. Your values come through your thoughts and I love it!
Greta White
Oh my. I found the picture of these on Pinterest and had to try them. So good.
These look Yummy!
Just made this. It was delicious. Thanks so much for the recipe.
I also saw this on pinterest, but have been following you for a long time. With all of those pins I see, I am so surprised that there aren’t a million comments on these. Just whipped up a batch and they are fantastic!
This looks like a great recipe!
I like many others found this on pinterest about 28 minutes ago and it is now coming out of my oven for a potluck in 19 minutes! Thanks for a delicious recipe!
Oh my GOSH – Found these on pinterest and I will FOR SURE be making these this week – we have company coming for my brothers wedding (and PMS will be in full swing! ha!)
-katie
I am going to make these today. These look soooooo good!
I kinda want to try them with Nutella!
I’m in Canada…how much is one stick of butter? We have our butter and margerine in bricks.
1 stick of butter = 8 tablespoons
It is also equal to 1/2 cup.
These look fabulous! Thanks for sharing.
Ok, I think I’m in trouble. I made these today and was going to take them into work. I tried them first, which was my mistake. Now I’m not sure they will make it to work tomorrow before I eat them all. HELP.
Very delicious, thank you for sharing the recipe!
@Jaymie,
Haha! Sorry. Over here, 1 stick is a 1/2 cup of butter.
hey i’m from germany, so what kind of cups do you use or better: how much gram is it? thanks
1 stick butter = 1/2 cup butter = 114 grams
Has anyone made this with milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet? I wonder if that would be ok…..this sounds delish! Can’t wait to bake this
I made these the other day and everyone seriously keep on telling me how much they loved it. Cheap and Delicious
I entered in the information to weight watchers, and the whole batch is 186 points plus. Not sure how many bars this makes, but even cutting into 36 pieces, it’s still 5 points plus per bar. 36 pieces!!I have a feeling I could not just stop at one.
Do they freeze?
I found your recipe on Pinterest. My hubby and I had your Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars for dessert last night. After reading your comment about the coconut, we decided to make one side (one half) of the pan with no coconut and the other side with coconut. Instead of mixing it into the melted chocolate chips and condensed milk, we chose to put sprinkle it on top of the layer of chocolate on one side of the pan, and then crumb the reserved 1.5 c peanut butter on top of it all. It is very delicious either way. Thanks for sharing!
I am making these today with a chocolate cake mix with added Reese’s Peanut Butter Chips!
Aww man. I REALLY want to make these! When I saw them on your 2010 recap page, I told my husband that I would definitely make them today but then I saw that they have cake mix. I don’t have anything against cake mix but we don’t have it here in Germany. I’ll have to find a good cake mix recipe!
These are the most delicious looking peanut butter bars ever. Happy New Year to you!
I couldn’t stand it any longer. I found a recipe for cake mix, made the cake mix and then made these. They’re so yummy! And surprisingly simple! I think the cake mix was a little off because my peanut butter mixture was just too dry, so I’ll try making more cake mix with less flour. Thanks for the recipe!
https://www.facebook.com/#!/photo.php?fbid=10150512481122276&set=a.386692487275.168159.502227275&type=1&theater
I made these after church a couple of Sundays ago, and they are GOOD. I absolutely loved them. Very savory and sweet! Thank you for sharing!
Found you on Pinterest! Can’t wait to make these! Cute Blog!
saw this posted on Pinterest earlier this week and haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. finally after a very disappointing delivery dinner i decided that i needed an amazing and mouthwatering desert. so i got all bundled up and went to the store to get all the ingredients i didn’t have and it is in the oven RIGHT NOW!!! i can’t wait to put them in my mouth!!!!!
stopping over from pinterest – I had all the ingredients in my pantry and some impromptu visitors. Mine are in the oven right now!
So I just pulled these out of the oven, and I don’t know how you can wait for them to cool before you dig in. From my little, itty bitty experience, may I say that if you sniggle a bite with a spoon, you WILL burn the inside of your sweet little mouth and it hurts, a lot. So worth it!!! YUM
I found this on pintrest and made them for work. Everyone loved them!
Anyone ever make these with milk chocolate instead of semi-sweet? I am thinking about trying it.
Oh my goodness, I made these to use up an old cake mix and they were amazing! I took them to work and they went crazy for them. Thank you!
I just found your site via Pinterest and wondered if you would share with me how you are adding the option to print your recipes. Do you mind emailing me?
[email protected]
I am making these, they’re in the oven. BUT I didn’t have Yellow Cake Mix or Choc. Chips, so I used a Choc. cake mix and White Choc. chips! Hopefully the reverse will be as soon as the original!!!
Found this recipe on Pinterest – and we’re cooking it right now! Didn’t have the chocolate chips so subbed peanut butter-chocolate swirl morsels….it smells so good! Thank you for sharing!!
wow these look amazing! going to make these for a new mom – she totally can use the extra calories
i don’t have enough butter – will make with applesauce. should be okay i hope!!
Found these on pinterest a while ago and have been trying to restrain myself from making them. Well PMS is in full swing AND I had all of the ingredients. So yeah, they are in the oven. My pb mixture didn’t seem crumbly per se so I added a few oats to the 1.5 cup topping mixture. We’ll see how they turn out, and now with oats they are like granola bars right? Health food!?
@jillie.bean,
The topping texture shouldn’t be crumby. You’re supposed to “crumble” or just dot pieces of the dough on top. But your version sounds great!
@jillie.bean,
The topping texture shouldn’t be crumby. You’re supposed to “crumble” or just dot pieces of the dough on top. But your version sounds great!
Shouldn’t these come with a “check with your cardiologist first” warning? They look like pure evil! (And evil is good!)
Wow these sound delicious and want to make them now! I wish I had some yellow cake in my house right now
That’s the only thing I’m missing!
I made these tonight and only had a chocolate cake mix. I also used half peanut butter, half nutella. They tuned out great!
Mine is more like cake and the chocolate mixture sunk to the bottom. Yours looked more like hardened bars in the picture not cake…any suggestions? Do I need to cool the chocolate mixture completely before putting it on the peanut butter/cake mix layer?
@Cara,
It’s definitely not the texture of cake – it’s way more dense. I’m not sure why your chocolate mixture sunk. You shouldn’t have to cool it all the way but it shouldn’t be piping hot.
how do i know when it’s done? is it supposed to be jiggly when it comes out, or do they harden upon standomg?
@Anonymous,
They might be a little jiggly when they come out. The cake on top should be slightly brown which is when you should pull them out. They will set up when they cool. They do take a while to cool.
Made this tonight for hubby but added chopped peanuts to the cake mix and a lil ground up flax seed…and guess what he loved it!!! I gotta sneak something healthy in…lol
I made these today to take to a party. Of course, I need to sample them before I took them just to be sure they were ok. They were YUMMY!!! I was a little worried since the peanut butter batter was very greasy and was not really a texture you could crumble. I just made dollops on top of the chocolate layer. I also cooked it about 3 to 4 minutes longer than recommended. It turned out GREAT!!! I would definitely make this again. Thanks for a great and easy recipe.
Has anyone tried these in a jelly roll pan (11×17)?
Mmmm! I just went to the grocery store and got all the ingredients to make this tonight. CAN’T WAIT! Thanks for a great and easy recipe!
These came out great! Used greek yogurt in place of the butter. Next time I probably won’t use sweetened condensed milk. It’s very sweet and super rich. Instead, I’ll use vanilla almond milk. FIve stars!
Wow! I made these today and I must say they are delicious! They are a little rich but that’s okay.
Everyone that tried them really liked them too. Will definitely make again. 
Has anyone actually used nutella instead of chocolate chips/condensed milk?
Found this on pinterst! Making this today! Great treat before having my wisdom teeth surgically removed.
This must be heaven! Thanks for sharing!
Can this be made without sweetened condensed milk? Could I use regular milk instead?
@Mvad,
I think regular milk would make the center way too thin and runny…
Found your recipe via pinterest. It’s a winner – thanks for sharing!!!
Lots of comments for this wonderfull receipe!
It looks so delicious!
Thanks for the receipe and see you
i think the commebt about the chic sinking to the bottom prepared tge cake mix. The cookie crust is just cake mix dry eggs and peanut butter.
Found you through pinterest and these are in the oven now! can’t wait.
i saw your recipe on pinterest. it look really tasteful.!!!! but one question:what is the yellow cake mix???? is there any other name to find it at the super market……. if yes please let me know
I made these last night after seeing them on Pintrest, and wowzers!! This recipe is genius! How can you go wrong with chocolate, sweetened condensed milk, yellow cake mix, and peanut butter!! Awesome stuff!
Made these three times in the last week. I first made it for a co-workers birthday then for another co-worker that wanted to take them home. Today, I brought some in to share with the rest of my office co-workers. I didn’t add the coconut but they were still good.
Made these tonight and yum yum are they ever good! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
Thank you soooo much for this recipe! It has become me and my girlfriend’s absolute favorite! It couldn’t possibly be more delicious!!!!
Made these for my holiday party and they were a hit! Plus they were super easy and I had all the ingredients in the house. Seems like these will be the perfect go-to dessert when I need a quick treat for unexpected events!
DELICIOUS!!!! thank you for sharing this wonderful recipe!
love the idea of peanut butter cookies. I made a batch of my peanut butter and have so much i can’t just put it all on toast so looking forward to making some cookies with it. thanks
These bars are absolutely delicious!!! My daughter gave them the highest compliment–she said they are tied with macaroni and cheese for her favorite food (and this girl would eat macaroni for EVERY meal, if I let her). Thanks for the great recipe! P.S. Left out the coconut, too.
That is a big compliment!
I am in the process of making these for dinner at my parents, it was so easy! They look and smell amazing and I can’t wait to try them! Foud the recipe on Pintrest, thank you so much
What if I don’t have sweetened condensed milk? Anyone know what I can use as a substitution?
I personally don’t think there’s any substitute with the same consistency. I’ll keep thinking…
Made this for my husbands birthday. Only one of the eight people invited liked it.
It is very sweet. Too sweet. Dense and like eating raw peanut butter dough. We are giving the rest away. Sorry, not our thing.
Hi, im from South Africa, and I have no idea what yellow cake mix is? Please help!
Candice,
It’s a cake mix that comes in a box here in the states. You can make it from scratch here: http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Davids-Yellow-Cake/Detail.aspx
I just made these with some modifications. My yellow cake mix was only 15 oz. so I subtracted the 2 tbsp of butter from the stick of butter added to the cake mix. I also used 1/2 cup crunchy peanut butter because I ran out of the smooth. My dough didn’t seem thick enough so I added 1/4 c almond flour before pressing into the pan. I then added another 1/4 c. Almond flour for the topping to make it more crumbly. For the chocolate I used fat free sweetened condensed milk. These turned out great. I will make them again soon.
I am so excited to try these! I have everything but the creamy peanut butter. Does Chunky Peanut Butter work?
Thanks for the recipe!
Yes, I think chunky would be great!
these sound delish! but is there anything that could be subitstuted for the peanut butter? yogurt maybe?
Almond butter? Yogurt will give it a totally different taste.
Has anyone tried this with white cake mix? I don’t have any yellow cake mix.
I put in 1 cup of butter instead of 1/2 help what should I do!!
Shoot. The only thing I can think to do is double the whole recipe. Ahh.
I put in 1 cup of bitter instead of 1/2 help what do i do!!
These are in my oven right now…1 am!! I forgot I had to bring a dessert to a family gathering tomorrow…I didn’t have a yellow cake mix, so I’m trying them with a German chocolate cake mix and milk chocolate chips since that’s what I had in the pantry. I also added a few vanilla candy melts to equal the chip amt needed. I tasted the spoon after pouring it on the base layer and it reminded me of a Cadbury egg!! : ) Cannot wait to taste them later today!!
Add me to the Pinterest group, as well. They’re about to come out of the oven! They look awesome!
Hi just put hese in the oven!!! cantwait to try them
Can you use unsalted butter!!!?!
Yes, absolutely.
these look too good to be true! trying tomorrow, thanks!
I love this recipe! I have made them several times and they are always a huge hit
They are also really easy to make. Thanks for posting such a great dessert!
You’re welcome!
I too found this on Pinterest and am thrilled with the results! I put a twist on the recipe by using a banana cake mix so mine is peanut butter chocolate banana bars. I was going to take them to work tomorrow but my husband has threatened me if I even think about taking more than one – for my lunch – out the door! I need to get one more good picture of a cut piece, probably tomorrow morning and then I will make a post so I will link back to you as the originator, you will probably see a ping back tomorrow evening! I thank you and my husband thanks you too – oh yes, and Greta!
What if my cake mix is only 15.25 oz? Can I add more flour or do I not add anything extra?
Lola,
A 15.25 ounce box won’t make a difference. Just make it as normal.
I wanna make these for a big anniversary party for my Mom and Dad… but I am wondering if they freeze well? Do you know!!!
They would definitely freeze well!
I really really want to try these but I don’t like Coconut at all!!
Do I have to use them and if I do is the coconut flavor strong?