Super easy no-bake bars with peanut butter and mini marshmallows that will leave you craving more!
JUMP TO RECIPEYears and years ago I spent a week in Buffalo, NY on a business trip. The trip tried very hard to be a disaster.
My luggage was lost for three days. A terrible snow storm hit and driving was impossible. I was stuck in a little rinky-dink hotel by the airport. I was cold and bored and absolutely miserable on all counts.
But there was one silver lining. The hotel had a little restaurant that doubled as a diner by day and bar & grill by night.
Since I was practically stranded there, I ate almost every meal in the little joint. And since I’d talk to a wall, I quickly made friends with the staff.
One afternoon, one of the waitresses brought me something from home. It was a plate of these peanut buttery marshmallow thingies.
She said, “Since you’re stranded here with us, I've decided to adopt you. I made these last night so you can have something sweet to munch on in your room.” How sweet was that?! I think I got a little juicy-eyed.
I graciously accepted them and thanked her. But I wasn't overly excited about sampling them because I’m not a huge marshmallow person 😬
Later that night, boredom got the best of me and dug into my little sweets. I took a bite out of one and fell in love. It was all I could do to not finish off the whole plate! You really don’t realize you’re eating marshmallows… when you have a taste, it’s like biting into a peanut butter pillow.
When I saw the waitress the next day I told her how much I loved them and begged her for the recipe.
You won’t believe how easy this recipe is. Seriously, it’s ridiculous! These only have three ingredients!
And they aren't overly sweet. I've had a similar treat made with butterscotch chips but I like these better as they aren't quite as tooth-achey sweet and the texture is more tender.
I, honest to God, can’t remember what these are called. I’m not even sure my new friend told me. I call them Fluffernutter Squares because of the marshmallow/peanut butter combination but you can call them whatever you like!
THANK YOU, BUFFALO
All these years later (20+), I still look back fondly on my time in Buffalo. Yes, I was stranded. Yes, I was bored. Yes, I was cold. But the people I met made an impact. The staff at the hotel and diner were so kind and attentive to me.
We managed to venture out to Salvatore's, which is an Italian restaurant and hotel with so much personality I don't know how to describe it without thinking of Pesci, De Niro and Pacino. I met a gentleman with a matching pair of doberman pinschers on golden leashes and armed bodyguards who took time to welcome me and insist I try the escargot. Which mysteriously appeared on the table 10 minutes later.
Against all the common sense in my bones, I drove my little rental car to Niagara Falls (because I had to try!). Swatting the snow out of my hair and cussing my stupid canvas shoes, I discovered the battery was dead when I got back to the car. Within 5 minutes several people stopped to help me and one lady even insisted she follow me back to the hotel (because I'm sure she thought I was too stupid to make it back alive!).
EVEN IF YOU THINK YOU DON'T LIKE MARSHMALLOWS
As I mentioned, I'm not a huge marshmallow person but there are a few recipes I absolutely love where the texture is jusssst right and the springiness of the marshmallows sort of disappears into the recipe.
Avalanche Bombs - An easy no-bake recipe that’s somewhere between rice krispy treats and peanut butter fudge.
Red, White & Blue Cheesecake Salad - A berry cheesecake salad recipe made with strawberries, blueberries and cream cheese filling.
Easy Salted Caramel Rice Krispies Treats - The easiest recipe for elevated rice krispies that are chewy and crispy, packed with buttery caramel and warm vanilla flavor.
Ambrosia Fruit Salad - This retro fruit salad recipe is simple and perfect with fruit, pecans, coconut, marshmallows and sour cream.
Recipe for Fluffernutter Squares
Fluffernutter Squares
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup real, salted butter
- 1 10-ounce bag peanut butter morsels
- 1 10-ounce bag mini marshmallows
Instructions
- Melt butter over medium heat in a saucepan. When butter is completely melted, reduce heat to low and add peanut butter morsels. Stir until morsels are completely melted and mixture is smooth.
- Remove from heat to cool 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Mixture needs to be cool enough to touch but loose enough to stir smoothly.
- While mixture cools, line an 8x8 or 9x9 square pan with wax paper; set aside.
- Combine marshmallows and cooled peanut butter mixture in a large mixing bowl. Stir until all marshmallows are evenly coated with peanut butter mixture.
- Spread mixture into square pan then refrigerate until set. Once set, lift from pan by pulling up on wax paper. Cut into 9-16 squares (3x3 or 4x4).
- Store in an air-tight container. OK to store at room temperature if 70 degrees and under. Otherwise, refrigerate to store.
Notes
You can also line the pan with aluminum foil or parchment paper but you'll want to give it a light spray with cooking spray to make sure the squares don't stick.
Seriously, my jaw literally dropped when I saw this!!! Can't wait to make them and even more, can't wait to taste them. It's all your fault if I gain 5 lbs. this week...
ReplyDeleteMy mouth fell open, too. I'm not particularly a peanut butter fan... but for some reason these look amazing to me. Definitely going to try them.
ReplyDeleteThis is such an easy-peasy recipe.....I like it!
ReplyDeleteSometimes when there aren't enough hours in my day to make a dessert, (one MUST HAVE a nightly dessert!!), this will be a simple solution.
I'll get it all together and by 8 or 9 in the evening it's dessert time for us. :-)
Peanut butter is always in my pantry....crunchy, creamy, natural....you name it's in there.
Plus, it's an easy clean-up, yay for wax paper, thanks Mandy!
Pinned!
I have been making this one for years. Especially good if you add skinned Spanish Peanuts
ReplyDeleteBut don't the marshmellows melt? I've made rice krispy treats for years and the minute the marshmallows hit the hot pot, they start to break down. I think I would let the peanut butter mixture cool a little first.
ReplyDeleteIt doesn't take long for the peanut butter morsels to melt in the hot butter so the mixture never gets terribly hot. And you remove from heat before adding the marshmallows too. I've never had any issue (you can see in the photo that the marshmallows are intact) but feel free to let things cool a bit if you prefer.
Deletejust made this. DEEEEElishous.
DeleteLove this and can't wait to try it!! Thanks for sharing, keep them coming!
ReplyDeleteCould you substitute peanut butter for the morsels? If so, would you use about 10 oz of pb?
ReplyDeleteNo, sorry, I don't think that would work. It won't firm up without the chips/morsels.
DeleteIn the fridge right now. Can't wait to taste them!
ReplyDeleteUpdate: Delicious! And ridiculously easy to make. I wanted to try these last week, but accidentally bought butterscotch chips (I swear the bags said Peanut Butter when I put them in the cart!). I think I'm going to try them with the butterscotch chips next :)
ReplyDeleteYAY! Glad you liked them!
DeleteI made these Sunday and they were freakin' delicious!!!!! So easy and so good!! I sent the bulk of them with my partner to work and they disappeared - thanks for the recipe!!!!!
ReplyDeleteedgar
You are welcome! I'm glad everyone enjoyed them!
DeleteThanks for a great treat the family loves. At the request of my boys, I throw a large handful of chopped peanuts into the mix. Another recipe from your kitchen that has made it's way into my permanent list. Thank you!
ReplyDeleteGreat I almost ate it all by my self wonderful. So easy its going to be my go to thing for pot lucks.Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI just made a batch of these, yummy!!! i added 1/2 cup of Heath toffee pieces at the end with the marshmallows and they turned out so good!!!!!! i will be makin these again! Thanks for sharing!!!
ReplyDeleteSHUT UP! These are good!
ReplyDeleteI made these because I love Fluffernutters (I didn't know that fluffernutters are known in the South - I thought they were a New England specialty). Well, they are absolutely delicious. I think the eye appeal is less than ideal, but that sure doesn't stop my husband from gobbling all of them up.
ReplyDeletecould you use marshmallow fluff in place of the marshmallows if so how much would you use
ReplyDeleteI think it would turn out like fudge if you tried that. Which might be good too but I don't know how much to use.
DeleteI could definitely get into trouble with these!
ReplyDeleteBy God, I bet you made an impact on Buffalo too!
ReplyDelete