Trying Betty Crocker’s Reese’s No bake peanut butter bars

Peanut butter and chocolate together make up my dream team, especially when it comes to Reese’s. Now put them together into a dessert that requires no baking and I am immediately sold on the product. Betty Crocker has recently partnered up with Reese’s to make a couple of box mixes and one of them is a peanut butter chocolate no bake bar. The packaging is super inviting so let’s see if it holds up to the potential.

This box mix sounds super easy to prepare and only requires a stick of butter. You start with melting said butter and then you mix in the powdered mix they provide. It comes together into almost a batter and it tasted like a chunky peanut butter cookie dough but more liquidy in consistency. At this point, I had my doubts about this product actually coming together since it was a lot thinner than I expected. The next step is to put the mixture into an 8×8 pan and I smoothed it out with a rubber spatula. It actually started to stiffen up at this point as the melted butter cooled some more and solidified in the batter.

I expected to see a refrigeration step here in the directions but there isn’t one. You just move on to the chocolate frosting that tops the peanut butter batter. The frosting is exactly how it sounds. Hershey’s branded frosting you can buy in the tub at the store. It tastes exactly how you think it tastes. I started by kneading the bag of frosting they provided then snipped the corner of the bag off and piped it over the mixture. Unfortunately it wasn’t coming out very evenly so I knew I had to spread it out but I had low expectations since it was a soft frosting on top of a soft batter. I went ahead and used an offset spatula to spread it out over the top and then by dragging the spatula back and forth, created a cute little pattern. It actually spread very well and didn’t drag the peanut butter batter around like I feared.

Once finished, the pan goes into the fridge for 20 minutes for everything to set and harden. I pulled it back out after the specified time and the peanut butter bottom had stiffened up nicely but the frosting was still a frosting consistency, not really a solid. I cut the pan into 20 pieces and despite the soft frosting, the bars cut very smoothly and looked good. I had many doubts about this box mix at different stages and it always seemed to prove me wrong.

Taking a bite of this dessert, I was pleasantly surprised. The peanut butter bar was reminiscent of a Reese’s, and was a nice stiff consistency that still melted apart in your mouth. The frosting was thin on top so it was not overwhelming. I did wish it was hard like a melted chocolate on top similar to a Reese’s cup but I wasn’t complaining at all. This was an enjoyable bar and so easy. I stored these in the fridge and the next time I ate a bar, the frosting had actually hardened up more after being in the fridge for hours. I definitely recommend making that change and chilling the pan for longer than the box says, it makes for a better, more Reese’s like, dessert. This box mix was about $4 on amazon and at my local Walmart. This price is okay, it definitely isn’t the cheapest and with such a simple mix, I would like to see a lower cost. However to make it yourself, you’d likely want the Hershey’s tub of frosting which is $2.24 so it would be similarly priced to make your own version homemade. It’s a good product and I would pick it up again.

This mixture as prepared comes to a total of 2900 calories. If divided into 20 as I did, they would be 145 calories a piece.

Here are the links to products used today:
Betty Crocker REESE’S Peanut Butter No Bake Bars Mix – https://amzn.to/4cg9DCI
Rubber Spatulas – https://amzn.to/3JWDtAA
Oven Mitts – https://amzn.to/3JYq5Mg
8×8 baking pan – https://amzn.to/4dyO2Yb
*These are affiliate links meaning if you click on the link and buy the product, I will earn a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more.