Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars are made with only 5 ingredients! Chewy cookie bar recipe made with a sugar cookie crust that is topped with melted caramel, peanuts and marshmallows.

This cookie bar recipe has a combination of all of the best flavors! We love cookie bars because they save a lot of time, and this recipe is absolutely delicious as well.

EASY PEANUT CARAMEL COOKIE BARS

These Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars are made with refrigerated sugar cookie dough – you can’t get any easier than that! Once the cookie dough is baked in a pan, add melted caramel, peanuts and marshmallows on top. Bake a little longer, cool the bars and slice and serve.

WHY WE THINK YOU WILL ENJOY THIS AMAZING RECIPE!

Here are just a few reasons why you should try this delicious recipe today.

• No scooping individual cookies! I love making cookies, but scooping out each cookie and baking a few different trays can take some time. Cookie bars are so fast – just put all the dough in the pan and bake at one time.
• Basic ingredients. You do not need anything too fancy to make this recipe and you may even be surprised at how many of the ingredients are already in your home. Just a minimal shopping trip (if any) is needed.
• So easy and fast! This recipe starts with refrigerated cookie dough and only takes about 5 minutes of prep time and about 40 minutes of cook time.

TIPS FOR MAKING THE BEST COOKIE BARS

• Preheat the oven. This will help your cookies turn out right every time!
• Use parchment paper. Doing this will make it really easy to remove the cookies from the pan.
• Make sure not to over bake your cookie bars.  Once the edges begin to turn even the lightest golden brown, take them out of the oven! I prefer to err on the side of being slightly undercooked for cookies because if they cook even a little bit too long, they can get hard and I really like soft cookies!

Ingredients in Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars

Sugar cookie dough – You will need a 16.5 ounce tube of refrigerated sugar cookie dough. You can also use the sugar cookie dough that is portioned into small squares – that actually saves you the step of slicing the dough!

Caramels – The recipe calls for an 11 ounce package of Kraft caramel bits. You could use regular Kraft caramels instead. I actually really like to use Werther’s Chewy caramels in this recipe as well.

Heavy whipping cream – Just 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream will thin out the consistency of the melted caramel. You can use milk instead, or even water!

Peanuts – You will need salted peanuts to sprinkle on top of the caramel layer. I like the lightly salted ones, but you can use regular peanuts or even honey roasted peanuts if you prefer. You can also swap out the peanuts with a different type of nut, or you can leave them out altogether or swap them with chocolate chips. The recipe is still delicious with just the caramel and marshmallows!

Marshmallows – Just a few mini marshmallows sprinkled on top are absolutely delicious when baked and melted on top of the cookie bars. If you only have large marshmallows, cut them into smaller pieces before adding to the recipe.

How to make Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars

Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. 

Slice the cookie dough and lay into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside to cool slightly. 

In a small microwavable bowl, add the caramel bits and heavy cream. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval until melted and smooth. 

Spread the caramel mixture over the cookie base. 

Immediately sprinkle with the peanuts and marshmallows all over the top. Bake again for 12 minutes until the marshmallows are just golden brown.

Let the bars cool and then slice and serve!

Print

Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars

Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars are made with only 5 ingredients! Chewy cookie bar recipe made with a sugar cookie crust that is topped with melted caramel, peanuts and marshmallows.

Course Cookie Bars

Cuisine American

Keyword Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes minutes

Servings 12 bars

Calories 332kcal

Author Jessica & Nellie

Ingredients

• 16 ounces refrigerated sugar cookie dough
• 11 ounces caramel bits
• 2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
• ¾ cup salted peanuts
• ½ cup mini marshmallows

Instructions

• Preheat oven to 350°. Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper.
• Slice the cookie dough and lay into the bottom of the prepared baking dish. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden. Set aside to cool slightly.
• In a small microwavable bowl, add the caramel bits and heavy cream. Microwave in 30-second intervals, stirring in between each interval until melted and smooth.
• Spread the caramel mixture over the cookie base.
• Immediately sprinkle with the peanuts and marshmallows all over the top. Bake again for 12 minutes until the marshmallows are just golden brown.
• Let the bars cool and then slice and serve!

Nutrition

Calories: 332kcal | Carbohydrates: 47g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 9mg | Sodium: 216mg | Potassium: 184mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 32g | Vitamin A: 62IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 50mg | Iron: 1mg

What are some cookie bar variations?

This easy recipe can be changed up in a few simple ways.

• Cookie dough. You use a different flavor of refrigerated cookie dough or you can use a homemade dough if you prefer.
• Nuts. You can leave the nuts out completely, or you can swap them out with cashews, almonds or pecans.
• Add some chocolate! Melt some chocolate chips to drizzle over the top – chocolate is always a good idea!

HOW TO CUT PERFECT COOKIE BARS

The answer to getting every single cookie bar cut and looking perfect is parchment paper! I used to always get frustrated with desserts that are made in a 9X13 or 8X8 pan because I felt like I was always destroying the entire first row trying to get them out of the pan! Then I discovered that if you use parchment paper, you can remove all the cookie bars from the pan and slice them perfectly.

If you don’t have parchment paper, you can just grease your pan like you usually do but your first row may just not be quite as pretty! This cookie bar recipe is one of the easiest to cut into squares – they stay intact much better than many other desserts!

HOW LONG ARE COOKIE BARS GOOD FOR?

You can keep these cookie bars stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. This should give you plenty of time to savor a sweet little treat every night.

MORE COOKIE BAR RECIPES TO TRY SOON

• PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS
• PUMPKIN SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE BARS
• BUTTERFINGER COOKIE BARS
• FUDGY OATMEAL COOKIE BARS
• TAGALONG COOKIE BARS
• OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS
• MINT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIE BARS
• SNICKERDOODLE COOKIE BARS
• SUGAR COOKIE BARS
• CHRISTMAS SUGAR COOKIE BARS
• LEMON SUGAR COOKIE BARS
• PEPPERMINT COOKIE BARS
• WHITE CHOCOLATE MACADEMIA COOKIE BARS
• S’MORES COOKIE BARS

Easy Peanut Caramel Cookie Bars are made with only 5 ingredients! Chewy cookie bar recipe made with a sugar cookie crust that is topped with melted caramel, peanuts and marshmallows.

The post EASY PEANUT CARAMEL COOKIE BARS appeared first on Family Cookie Recipes.