Salted Nut-Roll Bars

These bars are like a childhood dream come true: an entire package of Nutter Butters melted with a stick of butter, and that’s just the crust. Oh, mama. They’re mildly futzy to make, I suppose, what with having to smash up the cookies and make a couple of layers, but I think they’re worth it!

Salted Nut-Roll Bars

(very slightly modified from Cuisine at Home)

For the crust:
1 lb. Nutter Butters or other peanut butter sandwich cookies
1 stick unsalted butter, melted

For the topping:
2 cups peanut butter chips
2/3 cup light corn syrup
4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups mini marshmallows
2 cups dry-roasted peanuts
2 cups Rice Krispies or other crisp rice cereal

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 13X9-inch baking pan with nonstick spray.

If you have a food processor, pulverize the cookies until fine crumbs form. If you don’t have one, smash the cookies in a bag with a rolling pin or whatever your usual method is. Add the melted butter and process (or stir) until crumbs clump together. Press crumbs into prepared pan. Bake 15 minutes or until golden.

Melt peanut butter chips, corn syrup, butter, and vanilla in a saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes. Spread 1/2 cup of the peanut mixture over the crumb base. NOTE: Let the crumb base cool down a little bit before doing this or it’ll break apart as you try to spread the peanut mixture over it. Even if you cool the base slightly, spread the mixture gently.

Top with marshmallows and return bars to the oven. Bake until the marshmallows puff, about 2 minutes, then remove from the oven. Don’t let the marshmallows brown or they’ll turn crunchy.

Meanwhile, toss the peanuts and cereal with the remaining peanut mixture to coat. Drop large spoonfuls of the topping over the marshmallows, then spread with a spatula. Cool the bars before cutting, and enjoy!