Salted Brown Butter Peanut Butter M&M Cookie Bars.

Your weekend plans have to include these peanut butter m&m cookie bars!

Gooey, chewy, brown butter cookie bars that are LOADED with melty, crisp chocolate peanut butter m&ms. Oh my word. I want to make them every week.

I present to you, the best skillet of brown butter, ever. Cue all the exclamation points!!

Okay let’s just get this out here: peanut butter m&m’s are the best m&m’s! The only ones that should be eaten. I say that as a self-proclaimed chocolate snob. I mean maaaaybe I’ll make an except for a peanut-only m&m once every five years or something. But peanut butter is where it’s at. Plain? It’s rare.

And! On top of that, the easter peanut butter m&m’s are superb. They are better than all other peanut butter m&m’s because of their size. More surface area for peanut butter. You know?

Plus, can we just talk about how freaking pretty they are?! They are a brighter pastel shade than the classic easter m&m. And look like speckled eggs, in a good way. So pretty and fun to eat!

So of course, why not put them in a cookie bar?

HELLO.

Yes, these bars aren’t anything new. They are my brown butter chocolate chip cookie bar base and just so.darn.good.

I have probably made them 100 times or something like that. Maybe more. Everyone loves them!

The brown butter is incredible – I mean, there is a LOT of brown butter. It adds such a wonderful depth of flavor. Like caramely, golden goodness that makes you think “what is that?!” when you take a bite of the bar. I mean, SO DELISH. 

The bars are so easy to make. Once the butter is browned, everything goes into one bowl and is mixed together. Stir in the peanut butter m&m’s, press them into a pan and there you go!

Bake until golden and top with a big pinch of flaked salt. 

Sweet, salty, peanut buttery. How does something so wonderful exist?! 

Nothing beats a good bar that you can make for family and friends AND make ahead of time. I made many pans of these last year at this time to give away. They are such a fun treat!

And now if you really want to take things to another level, have one of these warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. YES.

Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

Salted Brown Butter Peanut Butter M&M Cookie Bars

Yield: 12 people

Prep Time: 20 minutes mins

Cook Time: 30 minutes mins

Total Time: 50 minutes mins

These peanut butter cookie bars are chewy, studded with peanut butter m&m's and sprinkled with flaky salt. What else do you need in life?!

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5 from 45 votes

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Ingredients

• 1 cup unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups light brown sugar, loosely packed
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 (9 ounce) bag peanut butter m&ms
• maldon flaked salt, for topping

Instructions 

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Have a 9x13 inch baking dish out.
• In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda and salt.
• Place the butter in a skillet over medium heat. Cook and let the mixture bubble, stirring occasionally, until brown bits begin to appear on the bottom. Once the brown bits appear, turn the heat off and continue to stir for about 30 seconds. Let the butter cool slightly. Take a pastry brush and brush a bit of the butter all over the bottom and sides of the 9x13 inch dish.
• Place the brown sugar in a large bowl. Pour in the brown butter and mix until combined combined and smooth - the sugar will somewhat dissolve. Add the eggs one at a time, stirring immediately after so they don’t cook if the butter is still warm. Stir in the vanilla extract.
• Use a wooden spoon to stir in the dry ingredients until they are almost combined. Stir in the m&ms until they are evenly dispersed.
• Press the mixture into the buttered dish. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is golden brown and set in the center. Remove the dish and immediately sprinkle the top with flaked salt. Let cool completely before slicing into squares.

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: American

Author: How Sweet Eats

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