Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies
Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies are an easy, no-bake, sweet and salty treat using Ritz crackers. A sprinkle of sea salt flakes puts these over the top!
Ritz Cookies with Chocolate and Peanut Butter
This recipe is one of my all-time favorite Christmas food memories. I’ve been making these Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies for as long as I can remember, right alongside my mom’s homemade peanut butter cups!
If you’re crazy for chocolate & peanut butter, also check out these buckeyes and buckeye fudge!
This fabulous little sandwich cookie has everything going for it. With just a few ingredients, this no-bake treat delivers the perfect mix of sweet and salty.
There’s chocolate, creamy peanut butter, and crunchy, buttery, salty, crackers. IMO, they’re better than any candy bar I could ever purchase!
On top of that, these Ritz cracker cookies are SO EASY TO MAKE. If I’m needing a last-minute treat for a holiday sweets platter, this is one of my go-to recipes.
“So easy and so good – my entire family went crazy for them – will be making them for a banquet that’s coming up – they do not disappoint!”
Sue
A few more of our favorite no-bake holiday treats: Peppermint Bark is pretty and festive, a must-make for our daughter Hatti each Christmas season. Marshmallow Caramel Rice Krispies Puffs and Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies bring a smile to everyone’s face. And Mom’s Microwave Caramel Corn comes together quick and easy!
How to make Ritz Cracker Cookies
I’ve tweaked my method and ingredient proportions for these Ritz cookies over the years. And now these cookies are just the way I like them. They turn out perfect every single time!
Line a rimmed pan with wax paper. This 15″ x 10″ uncoated rimmed pan is just the right size for a single recipe of these cookies.
A note about these pans! They’re commercial quality = nice and thick, and won’t warp. We use these nearly every single day for various things (baking cookies, roasted veggies and meats, transporting foods out to the grill, as a tray for s’mores around the fire pit, etc), and have several different sizes.
Arrange half of the Ritz crackers on the wax paper, then add peanut butter to the center of each one. When our girls were too small to dip the cookies into the melted chocolate, this was always their job. They counted out the crackers, set them on the pan, and then helped to add the peanut butter.
I used to make these with considerably less peanut butter sandwiched in the middle….
But I gradually increased the quantity to slightly more than a tablespoon per cookie. Nice and generous in the peanut butter department, which we all love.
If you’re not into peanut butter quite as much, feel free to hold back and use less!
Place another cracker on top of the peanut butter and press it down gently to create a sandwich cookie.
Dip each sandwich cookie into melted chocolate and place on pan to cool and set.
(Optional) Add a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. The Ritz crackers and the peanut butter already include some salt, but we love these cookies with an additional sprinkle of flaky sea salt.
Whenever I offer both sprinkled and non-sprinkled, the ones with the salt sprinkle ALWAYS disappear first!
If you want to add sea salt flakes, I highly recommend this salt (affiliate link). Sprinkle it over the chocolate-dipped cookie before the chocolate hardens, as little or as much as you like.
Tips for Melting and Dipping Chocolate
Here’s my best advice for getting that perfect chocolate dip!
- Use the right chocolate combination. Use a 50/50 combination of chocolate almond bark (affiliate link) and my favorite semisweet chocolate chips (affiliate link). The almond bark allows for a solid set, so the chocolate doesn’t get melty when sitting out on a treats platter for hours. And good quality chocolate chips give a richer chocolate flavor.
- Melt gently. Take special care to melt the chocolates gently, so they don’t scorch. Because scorched chocolate is ruined chocolate. So sad.
- Use a double boiler method. I prefer to use a double boiler method for melting the chocolates – because it’s super reliable, ensures there’s no scorching. If you don’t own a double boiler, create one with a saucepan and heat-proof bowl. A microwave also works, just be sure to heat slowly and gently in intervals, stirring the chocolates often.
- Use 2 forks. Once the chocolate is melted, drop an assembled sandwich cookie into it. With two forks, quickly turn the cookie to coat on all sides with chocolate.
- Remove excess chocolate. Then lift the sandwich cookie out of the chocolate with one of the forks. Gently tap the fork handle on the side of the bowl, forcing excess chocolate down through the fork’s tines, back into the melted chocolate. Slide the fork outward from the bowl, dragging the bottom of the tines along the rim of the bowl, letting any other excess chocolate drip down the inside of the bowl.
- A toothpick helps! Transfer chocolate-dipped cookie onto the wax paper, using a toothpick to aid in sliding the cookie off the fork’s tines.
- Rewarm, if necessary. If the chocolate becomes thick or difficult to work with, simply warm it up a bit more, and stir to incorporate.
Variations for Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies
Add sea salt flakes, my favorite! When I was growing up, Mom’s Ritz peanut butter crackers recipe didn’t include a sprinkle of sea salt flakes. That’s something I started doing many years ago, and now there’s no going back!
I usually leave a few cookies without the sea salt flakes, but the salted ones ALWAYS disappear first, no matter where we are.
Here are my favorite sea salt flakes. The flakes are beautiful and tasty as a finishing touch to both sweet and savory dishes.
Swap out the chocolate. Try dipping the Ritz cracker cookies in melted white chocolate almond bark or colored candy melts.
Use almond butter. If you prefer almond butter over peanut butter, then go for it! Just make sure that the almond butter is thick enough to stay in between the two crackers.
Only half-dip the sandwich cookies. This offers less chocolate, plus a fun peek at what’s inside the cookie.
Add sprinkles. Fun sprinkles are always a festive holiday touch!
Beyond Christmas… These cookies really deserve to be enjoyed all year long. Think about them for special occasions. How about with little heart sprinkles for Valentine’s Day. Or with school colored melts or sprinkles for football tailgating or a graduation party. Or for a birthday treat, customized with a theme special to the birthday person!
Tips for storing no-bake cookies
I’m a “Hurry, let’s get this batch of cookies off the counter and into the freezer” kind of person. Because there’s more cookies to make, of course!
So once the cookies have all been dipped in chocolate, I promptly place the pan in the refrigerator or freezer for about 20 minutes. This quickly sets the chocolate.
The cookies can be eaten as soon as the chocolate has hardened. Or store them in the freezer for later enjoyment.
To freeze, simply transfer the cookies to a freezer-safe container, separating each layer of cookies with wax paper or parchment paper. Top with a tight-fitting lid and place in the freezer. They keep really well for a few months in the freezer…although they will most definitely not last that long!
One last comment before I go.
I never, ever make just a single recipe of these chocolate peanut butter Ritz cookies. My family loves them too much. There’s never a question; this recipe always deserves a double batch!
More Peanut Butter Desserts:
- Peanut Butter Fudge
- Buckeyes
- Peanut Butter Blossoms
- Buckeye Fudge
- Peanut Butter Ice Cream
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Krispies Bars
- Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie
- Peanut Butter Balls with Rice Krispies
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Chocolate Peanut Butter Ritz Cookies
Equipment
Ingredients
- 48 Ritz crackers
- ¾ c. creamy peanut butter
- 8 oz. chocolate almond bark
- 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips – I use these
- sea salt flakes optional
Instructions
- In a medium heat-proof bowl, melt the chocolate almond bark and chocolate chips in the microwave on a low setting, stirring regularly. Or set up a double boiler (my preferred method). Take care to not let the chocolate scorch.
- While chocolates are melting, line a 15" x 10" rimmed pan with wax paper. Place 24 of the Ritz crackers on the wax paper, leaving an inch of space in between each one. Place a generous tablespoon (some people think this is too much, use less if you like!) of peanut butter onto the center of each cracker. No need to spread the peanut butter. Place another cracker on top of the peanut butter and gently press the cracker down a bit at the center of the cracker. This will spread the peanut butter out in between the two crackers. Repeat until you have all sandwich cookies assembled.
- After chocolates have melted, drop a sandwich cookie into the chocolate. Using two forks to maneuver the sandwich cookie, quickly turn the cookie to completely cover it with chocolate. Lift the cookie out with one of the forks, and tap the fork handle lightly on the side of the bowl to force excess chocolate down through the fork’s tines and back into the bowl. Slide the fork outward from the bowl, dragging the bottom of the tines along the rim of the bowl, letting any other excess chocolate drip down the inside of the bowl. Transfer chocolate-dipped cookie onto the wax paper, using a toothpick to aid in sliding the cookie off the fork's tines. Repeat until all cookies are dipped. If the chocolate becomes thick and difficult to work with, simply warm it up a bit more.
- If you wish to top the cookies with sea salt flakes or sprinkles, be sure to sprinkle the cookies before the chocolate sets up.
Notes
Nutrition Information:
This post was previously published in 2010. Photographs and some of the text were updated in 2019.
I love these! My mom makes them every year for Christmas and they are my favorite. My idea is to put a small reese’s peanut butter cup in between each stack instead.
So glad you like these cookies, too!! :)
I’ve made these several years in a row now and everyone loves them.
Would it be a good idea to put them in the fridge, I live in AZ and it’s still warm here
So easy and so good-my entire family went crazy for them-will be making them for a banquet that’s coming up-they do not disappoint!
Yay! So glad you liked this recipe! :)
Thanks for your easy instructions. I made them and they won a prize! But some of the sides are not covered completely. Should I just hold in the melted chocolate a bit lomger? Thanks again. You are the best.
Hi Ann – you won a prize?! :) You probably just need to dunk the cookies into the melted chocolate a bit more, to cover the sides better.
Don’t hesitate to make these. I can’t stop eating. Such a delicious little desert.
These also work well with marshmallow filling.
YUM! I need to try that!!
Can these be made with milk chocolate chips rather than semi-sweet?
Hi Marilyn – yes, you can use milk chocolate chips + the almond bark. Or just straight almond bark.
We make these with about half as much peanut butter and add marshmallow fluff. Then do the rest the same.
YUM!!
I make these for my grandchildren every year using crunchy peanut butter.
I had the same idea! Any special adjustments? Im also going to use white chocolate bark and butterscotch chips with the semi-sweet chips.
Absolutely one of the best “cookies” I have ever made or had, for that matter. Made one batch and had to make another. Everyone thought they were delicious. A much requested cookie for the holidays.
So glad you liked them so much, enough to make another batch!!!
I was very excited to see the cookies were made with Ritz Crackers. My Mother has made what she calls a poor man’s apple pie using these crackers you can’t tell the difference between the taste of the real apple or the Ritz it taste just like apple pie
I just made a variation yesterday with white almond bark, banana flavoring, they disappeared quickly!!
Awesome!!
1
I love making these but have always used the white chocolate. I usually make about 200 every Christmas for my nephews and niece. That’s a lot in one day. Now I may freeze them a little at a time
Made 10 fancy desserts and these for a party last night, and these were by far the best. Definitely recommend the salt