I’m always looking for a homemade Halloween treat to make and it’s usually my all-time favorite Peanut Butter Snickers Bars, but this pumpkin spiced cousin is a welcome alternative! Peanut butter, pumpkin, and pumpkin spice come together for a sweet and salty, dense, fudgy bar with crunchy peanuts and a touch of maple syrup. It gets topped with plenty of dark chocolate, more crunchy peanuts, and flaky salt.
Ingredient highlight
Peanut butter! This magical, delicious peanut spread is a good source of protein, magnesium, zinc, and vitamin B6.
When buying peanut butter, always look at the ingredient list. It should say “peanuts” or “peanuts and salt”, nothing more!
Servings 9
Prep Time 15 minutes Ingredients
- 4 tbsp (56g) butter
- ¾ cup (200g) natural peanut butter
- ½ cup (57g) oat flour*
- ½ cup (122g) pumpkin puree
- 2-4 tbsp (44-88g) maple syrup
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- ½ cup (78g) peanuts
For the chocolate layer:
- 1 cup (150g) dark chocolate chips or chopped dark chocolate bar
- 2 tbsp (36g) natural peanut butter
- Peanuts
- Flaky salt
- *To make oat flour, add rolled oats to a blender and blend on high until a flour forms.
Instructions
- Line a 8×8-inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- In a microwavable bowl, add the butter and microwave until melted. Stir in the peanut butter, oat flour, pumpkin, maple, pumpkin spice, vanilla, and salt until just combined (try not to overmix). Stir in the peanuts.
- Transfer it to the baking dish and spread out into an even layer using your hands and/or a rubber spatula (hands/fingertips work best!).
- For the chocolate topping, in the same bowl, add the chocolate chips and peanut butter and microwave in 30 second increments until melted, stirring after each time. Pour it over top and spread it into an even layer (just tilt the baking dish to spread it around evenly). Top with peanuts and salt. Transfer to the freezer overnight or for at least 6 hours.
- Remove from the freezer and let sit out for 10 minutes to soften a bit. Use the parchment to transfer to a cutting board and cut into squares or rectangles of whatever size you want. Store in the fridge or freezer in an airtight container lined with parchment between each layer so they don’t stick.
- My personal preference and recommendation for the best consistency is to eat these out of the freezer after letting it sit for about 5-10 minutes. If you store them in the fridge, they will have a much softer consistency (eat them right after taking them out of the fridge or they will soften too much).
Items you can prep ahead (optional)
- Make the bars!
Substitutions:
- To make vegan, use 3 tbsp of coconut oil instead of butter.
- To make nut-free, use sunflower butter in place of peanut butter. Skip the peanuts. Top with cacao nibs for crunch.
- Easily substitute mashed banana for the pumpkin and cinnamon for the pumpkin spice
- Make my favorite Snickers Bars for a more classic candy option.
Storage:
- Store leftovers in an airtight container (with parchment between each layer to prevent sticking) in the freezer for up to 2 months or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks for a softer consistency.
Leftovers + Repurposing:
- My personal preference and recommendation for the best consistency is to eat these out of the freezer after letting it sit for about 5-10 minutes. If you store them in the fridge, they will have a much softer consistency (eat them right after taking them out of the fridge or they will soften too much).
