almond butter Ritz crunch bars are rich, easy and SO delicious!

I’m in love with these easy almond butter Ritz crunch bars – they are so decadent and delicious, and completely customizable!

a loyal reader connected me with this recipe!

If you follow me on Instagram you know that I am doing a weekly series called “Milk Bar Monday” – every Monday I post a recipe from Christina Tosi’s (of Milk Bar fame and my personal baking hero) new book “All About Cookies“. It’s so fun and I’d love you to check it out if you haven’t already!

I digress – so a lovely reader of mine wrote in and asked if I’d ever made anything using Ms. Tosi’s Ritz Crunch. I hadn’t, though I knew all about it and HAD made her Cornflake Crunch (let’s just say YOU’VE BEEN WARNED).

Stephanie directed me to a Food52 recipe using Ritz crunch, and let’s just say I got busy real fast.

my love for Ritz is REAL……..

We all have those foods that – when we come face-to-face with them – force us to relinquish all self-control. “Weakness foods”, if you will. For me, these include:

• McDonald’s french fries
• coffee ice cream
• halva
• Ritz crackers

So I was enthralled, to say the least, with the idea of topping a cookie with some Ritz crunch magic!

what are almond butter Ritz crunch bars?

These delish almond butter bars are triple layer, no-bake cookies that are truly easy to make. The base is kind of like a super rich edible cookie dough, made with almond butter, cream cheese, butter and sugar.

The filling is a basic ganache, made with chopped chocolate and heavy cream.

And the topping is that divine Ritz crunch. Ritz crunch is simply crushed Ritz crackers – combined with a few other ingredients and some melted butter – baked till golden and, well, crunchy. And while you could eat it out of hand or top some ice cream (maybe coffee?) with it, it’s especially delicious in cookies.

what ingredients do you need?

To make almond butter Ritz crunch bars you’ll need:

almond butter
confectioner’s sugar
unsalted butter
cream cheese
brown sugar
Ritz crackers
granulated sugar
milk powder
kosher salt
white chocolate
heavy cream
vanilla extract

these bars are VERY adaptable!

I made a few changes to the original recipe – and you can too!

To start, I halved the recipe and made it in an 8 x 8 pan. These bars are SUPER rich, and I knew that a full pan would be way too much.

I swapped the peanut butter in the base for almond butter, but I bet tahini would be ah-mazing too.

And because I’m always and forever Team White Chocolate I subbed it for the semi-sweet chocolate originally called for. But you do you!

While there’s no denying how decadent these cookies are, the savoriness (is that a word?) of the almond butter and crunchy-salty Ritz topping beautifully offset all that richness.

Let me know if you try them – and what your “weakness food” is (this is a safe space)!

Almond Butter Ritz Crunch Bars

sherisilver

Easy, decadent, totally delicious cookie bars made with white chocolate ganache and Ritz crunch!

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Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Dessert

Servings 12

Calories 405 kcal

Equipment

• Sheet pan
• parchment paper
• 8 x 8 baking pan
• hand mixer
• small angled spatula
• whisk

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

For the Ritz crunch:

• 15 Ritz crackers
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons milk powder
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

For the base:

• 1 cup almond butter
• 1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 2 tablespoons cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar

For the ganache filling:

• 4 ounces white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 tablespoons sour cream
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions

 

Make the Ritz crunch:

• Pre-heat the oven to 275 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
• Place the crackers, sugar, milk powder and salt into a bowl and use your hands to crush the crackers and mix into the remaining ingredients. Don't crush the crackers too finely. Pour the melted butter over the mixture and stir gently to combine. Spread onto your prepared baking sheet and bake for 20 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and set aside. Clean and wipe the bowl.

Make the base:

• Line an 8 x 8 baking pan with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all sides.
• In your now-cleaned bowl beat all of the ingredients till completely combined. Press into your prepared baking pan and smooth with a spatula. Clean and wipe the bowl again.

Make the filling:

• Place the chopped chocolate into your cleaned bowl. Heat the heavy cream and sour cream in a small saucepan till hot. Pour over the chopped chocolate and whisk till smooth. Pour in the vanilla and whisk again.

Assemble the bars:

• Pour the filling over the base and use a small spatula to smooth into an even layer. Top with the crunch. Chill till firm and cut into squares.

Notes

1. Any nut or seed butter can be substituted for the almond butter.
2. You can use chips instead of chopping the white chocolate if you prefer.
3. Swap the white chocolate for milk chocolate, semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate.

Nutrition

Serving: 1gCalories: 405kcalCarbohydrates: 38gProtein: 6gFat: 27gSaturated Fat: 10gPolyunsaturated Fat: 4gMonounsaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 33mgSodium: 110mgPotassium: 230mgFiber: 2gSugar: 32gVitamin A: 366IUVitamin C: 0.2mgCalcium: 127mgIron: 1mg

Keywords almond butter, ganache, ritz crackers, white chocolate

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About the author

Sheri Silver

Sheri Silver is a New York-based food photographer and recipe developer who has been cooking and baking for over 30 years. She works with brands, authors and restaurants to create recipes that are as beautiful as they are foolproof - and every recipe on this blog has been made, tweaked and eaten in her own kitchen.

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