Peanut Butter Polka Dot Bars

These Peanut Butter Polka Dot Bars make a pretty addition to a fall party table because of their seasonal colors, and they entwine the flavors of peanut butter and chocolate, always a winning combination. The best feature of these bars, in my opinion, is the wonderful creamy chocolate FILLING right in the middle between the chewy crust and the crunchy candy pieces.

The recipe is from my cookbook the Hershey’s Recipe Collection. This is a favorite dessert cookbook of mine.

Print Recipe

Peanut Butter Polka Dot Bars
3/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
2 cups packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Chocolate filling (recipe follows)
1 (10 ounce) package (1 1/2 cups) Reese’s mini pieces candies

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Beat butter, peanut butter and brown sugar until well blended. Add eggs and vanilla, beat thoroughly. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, and salt; gradually add to butter mixture. (Dough will be thick) Remove 2 cups of dough; set aside. Press remaining dough onto bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2- inch baking pan.
Prepare Chocolate Filling. Spread filling evenly over dough. Crumble half of reserved dough evenly over filling. Sprinkle Reese’s candy pieces next, then crumble the remainder of the reserved dough over the candy.
Bake for 25 minutes or until top is golden brown. (Chocolate will be soft.) Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. Makes about 24 bars.

Chocolate Filling
Melt 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter in saucepan over low heat. Stir in 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/3 cup sugar. Add 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk; cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat; stir in 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

After reserving 2 cups of the dough, press the rest of the dough in the bottom of a 13 x 9- inch baking pan. This pastry roller is a handy tool to help smooth out the dough for a crust like this.

Spread the chocolate filling over the dough.

Crumble half the reserved dough over the chocolate filling, then sprinkle with Reese’s mini pieces. Sprinkle the remaining dough over the top. Bake for 25 minutes.

Let cool before cutting into 24 bars.

These bars are crunchy, chewy, and gooey, and the chocolate filling is unbelievable.