Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars
If you bought too much Halloween candy and don’t know what to do with the extra, you have to make these cookie bars! Loaded with chocolate, oats, and peanut butter, they’re the perfect dessert for a party or to have as a Halloween treat!
‘Tis the season for all things Halloween! I’m kicking off spooky season with these browned butter monster bars. Besides being the ultimate flavor combo, chocolate and peanut butter serve to make this cookie utter perfection (and it gives you an excuse to use up some leftover Halloween candy). So break out the mixing bowl—it’s time to get baking!
What is Browned Butter?
Browned butter is basically just toasted butter. When you cook butter past its melting point, water evaporates and allows the milk solids to toast (these are the dark brown spots you see after browning it), which gives it its distinct smell and flavor. It sounds more complicated than it is!
A few tips when it comes to browning butter:
- Use a light-colored pan. This way, you’ll be able to tell when your butter is done cooking.
- Cook on medium-low heat. A steady and low heat will let your butter cook evenly and prevents it from burning.
- Have an extra bowl on hand. Once the butter is done cooking, you’ll want to pour it into a bowl immediately—if you leave it in the hot pan, it will continue to cook and will burn!
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Unsalted butter. Butter is an important ingredient in this recipe—they’re called brown butter monster bars for a reason! If you’re in a pinch and don’t feel like browning your butter, you can substitute it with 8 tablespoons of melted butter.
- Peanut butter. More processed peanut butters like Jif tend to do better in this recipe—brands with peanuts and salt listed as their only ingredients won’t work as well here.
- Brown sugar.
- Granulated sugar.
- Eggs.
- Vanilla.
- All-purpose flour.
- Oats.
- Baking soda.
- Cinnamon. I know a lot of people don’t like cinnamon, but I think it adds a bit of warmth to the recipe without a strong flavor. If you’re opposed, just leave it out!
- Salt.
- Chocolate candy. Butterfingers, Reese’s, Hershey’s, M&M, KitKats, Snickers—these are perfect for this recipe. I’d steer clear of anything taffylike or in gummy form, since it may ruin the final texture and appearance.
- Chopped chocolate and pretzels. Pretzels are optional, but I like the extra crunch and saltiness it adds.
Tips and Tricks for the Best Cookie Bars
- Measure your flour correctly. Packing your flour into your measuring cup will result in mis-measured flour and a dry, crumbly cookie. But if you under-measure your flour, the dough will be too sticky!
- Don’t overbake. Overbaking is the enemy of a soft and chewy cookie. They should be done when they’re golden brown on the edges, puffed, and set in the center.
- If you don’t have time to bake them. Press the dough into the 8×8 like you’re about to bake them, then wrap the entire pan in plastic wrap and store it in the fridge. The bars can be kept there for up to 24 hours and then cooked, but keep in mind that they’ll probably need a longer bake time since they’re cold.
Happy cookie baking and an even happier Halloween!
Brown Butter Monster Cookie Bars
If you bought too much Halloween candy and don't know what to do with the extra, you have to make these cookie bars! Loaded with chocolate, oats, and peanut butter, they're the perfect dessert for a party or to have as a Halloween treat!
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Servings: 9 bars
Ingredients
- 10 tablespoons unsalted butter* see note
- ½ cup peanut butter**
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup all-purpose flour fluffed and leveled
- 1 cup old-fashioned oats
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon optional
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ¾ to 1 cup chocolate candy of choice roughly chopped
- ¼ cup chopped chocolate or chocolate chips optional
- ¼ cup pretzels optional
Instructions
- Cut the butter into cubes and put them into a large saucepan. Place the pan over medium heat and stir until melted. Continue to stir the butter every ten seconds or so, until it bubbles and begins to foam. Once you see brown bits floating in the butter and a nutty aroma is released, immediately remove the pan from the heat. Pour the butter into a bowl to stop the cooking process, making sure to get all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Allow the butter to cool to room temperature, or set it in the fridge for around 30 minutes to speed up the process.
- In the meantime, preheat an oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, oats, baking soda, and cinnamon until well combined. Set aside.
- When the butter is cooled, pour it into a large bowl with the peanut butter and whisk until smooth. Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar and mix for 1-2 minutes. Beat in the egg and vanilla.
- Reserve ⅓ cup of the candy and pretzels for topping. Once the wet ingredients are well mixed, add in the dry ingredients, chocolate, and the rest of the candy and pretzels. Stir the mixture together until a dough forms, then press the batter into the prepared pan (if it's too sticky, add 1-2 tablespoons more flour). Press the top of the dough with the reserved chocolates and pretzels.
- Bake the cookie bars for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown on the edges and set in the middle. Once out of the oven, top the bars with flaky salt if desired. Let the cookie bars cool completely before removing them from the pan and slicing.
Notes
*If you don't want to brown the butter, simply substitute with 8 tablespoons of cooled, melted butter.
**Be sure to use a brand like Jif's. Natural peanut butter made from just peanuts and salt will not work in this recipe.
