recipe: nutella peanut butter bars

So, I've now thoroughly documented my chocolate and peanut butter obsession. But last weekend, in my quest for the perfect holiday baking treats, I decided to go a little bit further.

If you haven't seen it already, this Nutella recipe is one of the most popular on this whole site, and I'm pretty sure that the key to an incredible recipe is to take something simple and easy and add Nutella. So when I was thinking about ways to update a classic peanut butter bar recipe, Nutella was the obvious choice.

And yowzers, were these good. Between Chad and me, we ate the entire batch in about seventy two hours (um, I wish I were exaggerating). Usually peanut butter bars taste like a homemade peanut butter cup, but these were even better -- a deeper, more intense flavor that's perfect for any holiday party you'd like to bring a special treat to in the next few weeks!

Last but not least, thank you guys so much for all your support with the new boutique! We had a couple of technical issues on Monday, but everything is up and running smoothly now. And if you have your eye on something special, take 10% off any purchase with the coupon code HOLIDAYS until January 1st!

Nutella and Peanut Butter Bar Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 cup butter, softened

12 sheets of graham crackers (one package), crumbled in a food processor

2 cups confectioners sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup peanut butter

1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup Nutella, divided into 1/4 cup and 3/4 cups

DIRECTIONS

Mix together the butter, graham cracker crumbs, confectioners sugar, vanilla and peanut butter until blended and smooth. Pour the mixture into a 9"by9" square pan with a removable bottom (or line a standard pan with parchment paper). Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until firm.

In a metal bowl over simmering water, melt the chocolate chips and 1/4 cup of Nutella, stirring until smooth. Spread over the prepared crust, and refrigerate for another hour, until firm. Spread the additional 3/4 cup of Nutella over the chocolate layer, and refrigerate again. When the bars are firm, cut into squares.

Makes about 16 bars.