Nutty Buddy bars were one of my favorite special treats as a kid. If you've never had one, they're made of crunchy wafer layers filled with sweet peanut butter and coated in chocolate. Light, crispy, and hits that popular chocolate / peanut butter flavor combo (Reese's peanut butter cups lovers, I'm looking at you).
These cookies are wildly similar to those bars in terms of texture and flavor, but without the additives and extra junk. Naturally sweetened with maple syrup.
They also kinda remind me of those chocolate, peanut butter oatmeal no-bake cookies, but using rice crispies instead of oats.
If you're a 90s kid like me, you might like my other nostalgic chocolate cookie recipe inspired by Oreos. Or Mr Simon's favorite gluten free Monster Cookies.
Ingredients
Instructions
All you need is a microwave to make these cookies happen.
- Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 45 seconds to get some initial melt going. Stir it up and then continue microwaving at 20 second intervals until all the chocolate chips are melted. Then whisk in the maple syrup, salt and vanilla.
- Add the chocolate mixture to the Rice Krispies cereal.
- Fold the chocolate mixture into the Rice Krispies. Fold in mini marshmallows or other adds in you might like at this step, too. It should be tacky and slightly wet but still hold together.
- Scoop the "dough" onto a parchment or wax paper lined baking sheet (prevent it from sticking to the pan once the cookies firm up).
- Press down on the scoops to make them round cookies. You can do this with your hand or the bottom of a cup.
- Put the cookies into the refrigerator to firm up for about an hour then enjoy!
Optional Chocolate Drizzle
I always love making food look extra cute when I’m photographing it. For the chocolate drizzle, I melted an extra half cup of chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, stirred, then continued heating in 15-second intervals until it was smooth. After that, I transferred the melted chocolate to a squeeze bottle and drizzled it over the cookies. The drizzle will firm up when you refrigerate the cookies like you see in step 8.
Hint: If you're not using chocolate chips and using a bar instead, be sure to chop the bar up into smaller pieces. This helps the chocolate to melt more evenly so that it's nice and smooth.
Top Tip
Be sure the butter is softened or melted so that it incorporates more quickly into the chocolate mixture and doesn't cause the melted chocolate to seize.
Substitutions
Feel free to add your own mix-ins with this recipe.
I added mini marshmallows for a rocky road meets snickers rice krispies treats vibe. Other fun additions could be white chocolate chips, toffee bits or rainbow marshmallows.
Want to make it dairy-free? Use coconut oil in place of the butter and select a dairy-free chocolate.
I've tested this recipe with both natural peanut butter as well as conventional (Jif or Skippy) peanut butter. There are slight differences in measurements which are outlined in the recipe card below.
If you want to lower the sugar content, consider sugar free chocolate chips and / or a quality zero sugar maple syrup like Wholesome Yum syrup.
Want more no-bake dessert ideas without all the sugar? My cottage cheese cookie dough is another easy treat that comes together in minutes.
Joanie's Balanced Bite
When it comes to watching blood sugar, these are a treat. With nearly 40 grams of carbs and 27 grams of sugar per cookie, they'll give your blood sugar a ride if you eat them by themselves. But that doesn't mean they're off the table. They just need to be thoughtfully paired with protein, fat and fiber.
Have one after a protein-rich meal rather than on an empty stomach. The fat from the peanut butter and chocolate helps slow absorption, but pairing it with a balanced meal makes a real difference. You can learn more in my Blood Sugar Education Hub.
Or if you'd rather take the easy route and go sugar-free, check out my Peanut Butter Cookies without sugar.
Browse ➡️ Blood Sugar-Friendly Recipes
No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Cookies
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Total Time: 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 large cookies
- Category: Dessert
- Method: No Bake
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten-Free
Description
No-bake rice krispie cookies are full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor. Crispy, crunchy, light and easy to make.
Ingredients
- 4 ¾ cups crispy rice cereal (120g)
- 1 ½ cups chocolate chips (262g)
- 1 cup peanut butter (240g) *see note below
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened or melted (56g)
- ½ cup maple syrup (120g)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Dash of salt
- Optional: 1 cup mini marshmallows or ½ cup white chocolate chips
Instructions
- Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper and set aside.
- Combine the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and butter in a microwave safe bowl and microwave for 45 seconds to get some initial melt going. Stir it up and then continue microwaving at 20 second intervals until all the chocolate chips are melted. Then whisk in the maple syrup, salt and vanilla until everything is smooth.
- Add the chocolate mixture to a large bowl with the rice krispies cereal and fold everything together until fully incorporated. Fold in any additional mix ins at this time.
- If you're adding the optional chocolate drizzle, melt an extra half cup of chocolate chips in a glass bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir, then continue heating in 15-second intervals until it's smooth. After that, transfer the melted chocolate to a squeeze bottle or use a spoon and drizzle it over the cookies.
- Use a spoon or medium sized cookie scoop to drop portions of the mixture onto the prepared baking sheet, then press them down with your hand and form into cookie-shaped disks, smoothing out the edges.
- Once firm, enjoy. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to three days or in the fridge for up to a week.
Notes
Peanut Butter - the recipe as written is when using natural peanut butter which tends to have a runnier texture compared to conventional peanut butter. If using conventional peanut butter (like Jif or Skippy) reduce the amount of rice cereal to 4 cups even (or 100g)
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cookie
- Calories: 374
- Sugar: 27.2 g
- Sodium: 157.6 mg
- Fat: 23.1 g
- Carbohydrates: 39.9 g
- Fiber: 3.1 g
- Protein: 7.5 g
- Cholesterol: 10.2 mg
JD says
When I made this recipe, the cookies fell apart. Thoughts on what may have been the cause?
Joanie Simon says
Oh no! So sorry to hear! I'm wondering if the ratio of one of the ingredients was off? Did you make any substitutions? One thing that comes to mind is if more rice cereal was used and that there wasn't enough of the chocolate mixture to bind it.