Recipe: Martha Stewart's No Bake Chocolate-Peanut Butter Cup Bars

NO-BAKE CHOCOLATE-PEANUT BUTTER CUP BARS

"Think of this creamy no-bake candy bar as the classic peanut butter cup's more savvy, more fashionable sister. To achieve the swirly heart designs, just dot the chocolate surface with spoonfuls of peanut-butter mixture and drag a skewer or toothpick through them."



"To get the ultimate melt-in-your-mouth effect, use a smooth supermarket variety of peanut butter instead of a chunky or natural one."

Vegetable oil cooking spray
1 pound (1 3/4 cups) creamy peanut butter
1 stick (1/2 cup) plus 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
6 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped

Coat bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with cooking spray. Line bottom and 2 sides with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang.

In a large bowl, stir together 1 1/2 cups peanut butter, 1 stick (1/2 cup) butter, and the vanilla until smooth. Stir in confectioners' sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Transfer to prepared pan; press with your hands to flatten and smooth top (if mixture is too sticky, dampen hands slightly.

Combine chocolate and 4 tablespoons butter in a heatproof bowl set over (not in) a pot of simmering water; stir with a rubber spatula until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Remove bowl from heat and let cool slightly, stirring gently, about 3 minutes. Pour chocolate over peanut-butter mixture in baking pan, tilting pan to ensure chocolate spreads evenly across top.

In a small bowl, stir together remaining 2 tablespoons butter and remaining 1/4 cup peanut butter until smooth. Let stand until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. Drop 1/4 to 3/4 teaspoon rounds of mixture on top of chocolate in baking pan in 1-inch intervals. Drag the tip of a wooden skewer or toothpick quickly through center of each round to create a heart shape. Refrigerate until firm, at least 4 hours.

Run a paring knife along edges of pan on the 2 sides not lined with parchment.

Lift cake from pan using parchment; cut into 2-inch bars. Serve cold. Bars can be refrigerated in an airtight container up to 5 days.

Makes sixteen 2-inch squares
Used by permission to Recipelink.com from Clarkson Potter
Source: Martha Stewart's Cookie Perfection: 100+ Recipes to Take Your Sweet Treats to the Next Level by Editors of Martha Stewart Living, Oct 15, 2019