No Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars

I grew up in Virginia, but my family came down to Florida every year, in February, to visit my grandparents. Some years it was chilly, but usually it was hot and my grandparents refused to turn on the air conditioning because, "it's only February!" Even when it was 92. We used to poke fun of them for suffering through the heat, but then my husband, girls, and I moved to Florida. And now I flat out refuse to turn on the air conditioning until May. :) This past Saturday it was 88 outside, 86 in our house, but we all agreed it was still too early in the year for the air conditioning. (We ended up going to the beach to cool off, so I can't really complain.) Anyway, the season of heat is upon us and the very last thing I want to do is turn on the oven. But baking is what I do! It's my stress reliever! Luckily, there are many, many yummy desserts that can be made without using the oven at all. This No Bake Chocolate PB Bars recipe is one of my favorites. I'll be posting lots of slow cooker and stove top recipes for the next few months.

You will need:

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1 cup peanut butter
1 cup butter (2 Smart Balance sticks)
2 3/4 cups powdered sugar, sifted
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips*



*One note on the chocolate--you definitely want to use the semi-sweet or dark and not milk. The bars are very sweet and milk chocolate would be overkill.

I make my own graham cracker crumbs, but you can buy them already smashed up in the baking section of any supermarket. I put two packages in a plastic bag, seal it up, and then use a rolling pin to crush the crackers. If you do it this way you'll have about a half cup of crumbs leftover, so 3 cups total from two packages of crackers.





Stir together the cracker crumbs, PB, and butter.



Add the sifted powdered sugar and combine thoroughly.





Press the mixture into a 9x13 pan, no need to grease it.



Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler. I just use a metal bowl on top of a small saucepan with one inch of water in the bottom. Turn the burner onto low heat and stir often.




After they have melted stir them a few times--the more you stir the shinier the chocolate will become. Then spread over the top of your PB crust.



Chill for about 10 minutes or until the chocolate sets. Then cut the bars into squares, any size you please. Don't let the chocolate get hard or it will crack when you try to cut it. 10-15 minutes tops.





Sooooo good. Sweet, chocolaty, and they don't heat up the house. They don't last long! Great to take to bake sales and pot lucks, too.



You can store these in the fridge, but let them sit out for a few minutes before eating.

Enjoy!!

This week we are having Mandarin Chicken Salad and Margarita Chicken on the grill.