Salted Nut Roll Bars

From-scratch salted nut roll bars are basically homemade candy bars. Peanut butter lovers can indulge in the velvety filling made of melted peanut butter chips, marshmallows and sweetened condensed milk sandwiched between two layers of salty peanuts. Eat the bars warm, cold or at room temperature and, since they travel well, take them on your road trip or to a picnic. Easy to make, easy to deal with and easy to love, this salted nut roll bars recipe is perfect in all its peanut butter deliciousness.

Ingredients for Salted Nut Roll Bars

• Peanuts: Salted peanuts are best here, otherwise this salted nut roll bar recipe will be way too sweet! I recommend roasted peanuts, too, as they’ll have a deeper, nuttier flavor.
• Butter: You’ll need a little bit of butter to enrich the filling.
• Peanut butter chips: Reese’s is a common brand for peanut butter chips. You could also use Lily’s brand if you’re looking for certified gluten-free chips with no added colors or flavors.
• Sweetened condensed milk: As a pro baker, I’m embarrassed to admit how many times I’ve accidentally purchased evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk. Double-check those labels!
• Mini marshmallows: If you can’t find any mini marshmallows, buy a bag of regular-sized marshmallows and cut them up.

Directions

Step 1: Make the filling

Place half the peanuts in an ungreased 11×7-inch dish. Try to spread them out as evenly as possible. Set the pan aside.

In a large saucepan, melt the butter and peanut butter chips over low heat. Pour in the sweetened condensed milk and the mini marshmallows. Cook and stir the mixture until everything has melted together.

Editor’s Tip: It may take a while to melt the ingredients together over low heat, but be patient. We want the mixture to come together seamlessly and not be scorched over medium or high heat.

Step 2: Add the top layer of peanuts

Pour the peanut butter marshmallow mixture over the peanuts. Scatter the remaining peanuts evenly on top.

Step 3: Chill and cut

Cover with storage wrap and refrigerate the dish until the recipe is chilled. Cut into neat squares.

SARAH TRAMONTE FOR TASTE OF HOME

Recipe Variations

• Add a base: If you love a dynamic candy bar—one with tons of flavor and textural components—consider lining the bottom of a pan with a thin layer of homemade Rice Krispies, baked shortbread or baked vanilla cake. Once the base is at room temperature, build the recipe for salted nut roll bars on top.
• Go Nutella-inspired: Love Nutella? Swap in hazelnuts (just be sure to toast the nuts and chop them) for the peanuts and semisweet chocolate chips for the peanut butter chips.
• Top with mix-ins: Once the bars are assembled and just before they chill in the fridge, sprinkle your favorite mix-ins on top. Chopped Oreos and Reese’s, M&M’s and Reese’s Pieces are great additions.
• Swap the nuts or chips: Feel free to swap in chopped macadamia nuts or pecans for the peanuts. The peanut butter chips can be switched with butterscotch chips, white chocolate chips or dark chocolate chips.

How to Store Salted Nut Roll Bars

Store your salted nut roll bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to five days. You could also keep them in the fridge for up to one week.

Can you freeze salted nut roll bars?

You can freeze these salted nut roll bars in an airtight container for up to three months. When you’re ready to enjoy them, simply thaw at room temperature.

Salted Nut Roll Bar Tips

SARAH TRAMONTE FOR TASTE OF HOME

Can you use evaporated milk instead of sweetened condensed milk?

No, we don’t recommend swapping evaporated and condensed milk. Sweetened condensed milk is much sweeter than evaporated milk. Without sweetened condensed milk, this salted nut roll bars recipe won’t be as tasty as it should be. Also, evaporated milk is much too thin. We need the thick viscosity from sweetened condensed to thicken the filling just so.

Why are my salted nut roll bars super sticky?

Your salted nut roll bar recipe may be super sticky if you don’t use enough peanut butter chips. We recommend measuring out the chips to get 2 cups worth. Some bags have just under 2 cups, which alters the consistency of the filling.