Nutter Butter Cookie Bars – These soft, buttery peanut cookie bars are layered with a creamy peanut butter filling and topped with a touch of sea salt. Every bite is sweet, nutty, and totally irresistible. Honestly, there’s nothing not to love here. Think of those classic Nutter Butter cookies, but even better—because now they’re in bar form.

Happy Friday, friends! The fact that I’m sharing two peanut butter recipes this week can only mean one thing: back-to-school and football season must be right around the corner. Every August, without even realizing it, my brain starts shifting into September mode. The second we get even a hint of cooler weather, everyone suddenly gets hyped for fall and all its cozy, colorful goodness.

Kids are gearing up to head back to school, and NFL preseason games are already happening. Yep, fall is this close—I can practically feel it!

(Though, full disclosure: it’s 86 degrees and sunny in New York today, and I’m definitely not complaining.)

I spent most of my childhood in Cleveland, and if you’re from Ohio, you know that football season also means Buckeye season.

And I’m not just talking about the Ohio State Buckeyes. I mean Buckeyes—those amazing chocolate-dipped peanut butter balls. They’re like peanut butter cups, but way better because homemade Buckeyes actually taste real. Store-bought peanut butter candies? Too sweet, too fake-tasting, in my opinion.

At first, I wanted to create something that was a mix between a Nutter Butter and a Buckeye, but my experiment? Total disaster. So, I went back to basics: a simple peanut butter cookie bar with a creamy peanut butter filling. The result? Salty, sweet, and SO GOOD. It’s more of a straightforward cookie bar, but trust me—it’s delicious.

Key Details

Step 1: Make the peanut cookie base

This is a shortbread-style base, so it’s more crumbly than super sweet. Start by beating butter with brown sugar and creamy peanut butter. (I use no-sugar-added peanut butter with salt.)

Oh, and I always use salted butter—it makes a huge difference!

Once everything’s creamed together, mix in the vanilla. If you want a sturdier cookie, you can add an egg, but I usually skip it.

Then, mix in the flour, baking powder, and salt.

Step 2: The peanut butter filling

Next, beat together butter, peanut butter, and honey until it’s light and fluffy.

Step 3: Assemble

Press half of the peanut butter cookie dough into the bottom of a square baking pan. Spread the peanut butter filling over the base, then crumble the remaining dough on top.

Don’t worry if the dough doesn’t cover every bit of the filling—it’s totally fine.

Nutter Butter Cookie Bars | halfbaakedharvest.com

Step 4: Bake

Pop it in the oven for 25 minutes. The edges should be set and just starting to turn golden.

While the bars are still warm, sprinkle them with sea salt, then let them cool completely.

Important: Let them cool before cutting! I found they sliced easiest after chilling for a bit. Since this is a shortbread base, the bars will be a little crumbly.

What I love about these? They’re super easy to make—no chilling required—and they give off all those nostalgic, old-school vibes I was aiming for.

Perfect for school bake sales, dinner parties, birthdays, game nights… you name it. Everyone always loves them.

My advice? Whip up a batch tonight, snack on a few, and kick off the weekend right!