Chocolate Peanut Butter Mousse Bars
When I was a kid, my dad managed our local grocery store in the town where I grew up. On Wednesday afternoons, I would go to the store where my dad a stack of their weekly sale flyers waiting for me. My job was to deliver the flyers to the small retirement apartments just a few blocks away.
Distributing the flyers to each apartment usually took me about an hour. I was to then return to the grocery store where I would collect my payment from dad. Dad didn’t pay me in cash. Instead, we would walk up to the small candy section at the front of the store where I could choose any regular sized candy bar. My choice was always a chocolate bar, which I would immediately take home, unwrap and dip into the peanut butter jar. From this very moment, my obsession with chocolate and peanut butter begins!
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, or follow my Facebook page, you’ll discover that I truly LOVE to share any recipe that involves chocolate and peanut butter. Last month I posted my Peanut Butter Lovers Brownie Bars, and it appears, you guys love peanut butter and chocolate just as much as I do….I think we’re gonna be really great friends!! 
Ingredients
- 25 chocolate sandwich cookies (like OREOs)
- 5 Tbsp. butter, melted
- 1/2 cup hot fudge ice cream topping
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg., cream cheese at room temperature
- 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 2/3 c. creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 c. milk
- 1 (8 oz.) container, frozen whipped topping (like Cool Whip), thawed
- 1/2 c. mini chocolate chips
- 1/2 c. peanut butter chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x9" pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside.
- In a food processor, crush the chocolate cookies. Add the melted butter, and pulse a few more times in the processor to combine. Pour the crumb mixture into the 9x9 pan, and press firmly and evenly into the bottom of the pan. Bake the crust for 6-8 minutes, just to get the crust to set. Remove from oven and let cool.
- To the cool crust, pour the hot fudge sauce and spread evenly.
- Using a hand or stand mixer, begin mixing the mousse. To a mixing bowl, add the cream cheese and powdered sugar. Mix until creamy. Add the peanut butter and mix until completely combined. Mixture will be thick. Slowly add in the milk, and mix until smooth, making sure to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Lastly, add in the thawed whipped topping, a few scoops at a time until combined. Mixture will be light and creamy. Pour onto the top of the hot fudge covered crust. Top with the chocolate and peanut butter chips. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least two hours. Slice into 16 square bars.
- Keep any leftovers refrigerated for up to one week.
Notes
You can also line the pan with aluminum foil, draping enough foil over the edges of the pan. This makes it easy to lift the entire dessert right out of the pan before cutting. Make sure that when you slice the bars, the foil stays on your cutting surface, and doesn't transfer along with the bar.