Calling all peanut butter lovers (with a sweet tooth)! Do we have a shell-breaking treat for you?! The oh so smooth Layered Peanut Butter Pudding Bars will crack open the gooey, peanuty yumminess you have been looking for! It doesn’t get any better than these blankets of creamy peanut-butter-infused cream cheese, stacked with the smooth vanilla and chocolate pudding clouds, and capped off with some fluffy and delightful whipped topping! Don’t let your dessert game go dry with our Layered Peanut Butter Pudding Bars. These little peanuts of a treat won’t take a huge chunk of time to make and can be done in a jiffy. Open the lid to a whole new field of peanut happiness. We are sure it will roast all the other desserts at your next nutty event!
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup butter, cold and cubed
- 1 1/2 cups cashews, chopped, divided
- 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1 cup confectioners’ sugar
- 1 (12-ounce) carton frozen whipped topping, thawed, divided
- 2 2/3 cups 2% milk, cold
- 1 (3.9-ounce) package instant chocolate pudding mix
- 1 (3.4-ounce) package instant vanilla pudding mix
- 1 (1.55-ounce) milk chocolate candy bar, coarsely chopped
Directions
Step 1 –Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 2 –Grease a 9×13-inch baking dish.
Step 3 –In a food processor, add the flour and the butter, cover, and process until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Step 4 –Add 1 cup of the cashews to the butter mixture, cover, and pulse a few times until it is combined.
Step 5 –Transfer the cashew mixture to the prepared baking dish and evenly press it into the bottom of the dish.
Step 6 –Bake the crust until it is golden-brown, about 25-28 minutes.
Step 7 –Transfer the crust to a wire rack to cool completely.
Step 8 –In a large bowl, add the cream cheese, the peanut butter, and the confectioners’ sugar and use an electric hand mixer to beat until it is smooth.
Step 9 –Fold 1 cup of the whipped topping into the peanut butter mixture.
Step 10 –Use a spatula to evenly spread the peanut butter mixture over the cooled crust.
Step 11 –In another large bowl, whisk the milk, the instant chocolate pudding mix, and the instant vanilla pudding mix together until combined.
Step 12 –Allow the pudding mixture to stand until it is soft and set, about 2 minutes.
Step 13 –Use a clean spatula to evenly spread the pudding mixture on top of the peanut butter layer.
Step 14 –Evenly spread the remaining whipped topping on top of the pudding layer.
Step 15 –Sprinkle the chopped chocolate and the remaining cashews over the whipped topping layer.
Step 16 –Tightly cover and refrigerate the pudding until it is chilled through, for at least 1 hour and up to overnight.
Step 17 –Use a sharp knife to get the pudding into squares and serve.