Throw raw thick peanut butter dollops in the slow cooker and 3 basic pantry staples to get a sweet bite so delicious your husband will be begging for more.

These 4-ingredient slow cooker peanut butter blondies are the kind of no-fuss sweet treat you can toss together on a busy afternoon and still feel like you’re spoiling your family a little. Thick raw dollops of peanut butter melt right into a simple blondie batter made from three basic pantry staples, so you don’t need any fancy ingredients or special equipment. This is a cozy, small-town, weeknight-friendly recipe—perfect for when you want something warm, sweet, and a little indulgent without heating up the whole kitchen or hovering over the oven.

Serve these peanut butter blondies warm right out of the slow cooker, scooped into bowls like a soft bar cookie. They’re wonderful on their own, but a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a drizzle of chocolate syrup makes them extra special for family movie night. A cold glass of milk is a natural pairing for the kids, while a hot cup of coffee or tea is perfect for the adults. If you’re serving guests, you can cut the cooled blondies into squares, arrange them on a platter, and sprinkle a little powdered sugar on top for a pretty, simple presentation.

Servings: 8

1 cup thick peanut butter (creamy or crunchy, unsweetened or regular)

Lightly grease the bottom and lower sides of a small slow cooker (about 4-quart works well) with cooking spray or a thin swipe of butter so the blondies release easily.

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the brown sugar and eggs until the mixture looks smooth, glossy, and slightly thick. This helps the blondies bake up fudgy instead of dry.

Sprinkle the flour over the sugar-egg mixture and gently stir just until no dry streaks of flour remain. Try not to overmix here; a few small lumps are okay.

Spoon the thick batter into the prepared slow cooker and spread it into an even layer with a spatula, pressing it gently into the corners so it cooks uniformly.

Using a tablespoon or small cookie scoop, drop raw, thick dollops of peanut butter all over the top of the batter in the slow cooker, spacing them an inch or two apart. You want visible mounds of peanut butter; do not stir them in.

If you’d like a marbled look, very lightly drag the tip of a butter knife through just the tops of a few peanut butter dollops, but keep most of them in distinct blobs so you get those rich pockets of peanut flavor in every bite.

Cover the slow cooker with the lid, place a clean kitchen towel under the lid if you’re worried about condensation dripping onto the blondies, and set it to LOW.

Cook on LOW for 2 to 3 hours, or until the edges look set and slightly pull away from the sides and the center is just barely set but still soft. The top may look a little shiny from the melted peanut butter—that’s perfect.

Turn off the slow cooker and let the blondies sit, covered, for about 15 to 20 minutes to finish setting. This rest time helps them slice more cleanly while still staying soft and fudgy.

Scoop the warm blondies straight from the slow cooker into bowls, making sure each serving has some of the melted peanut butter dollops, or let them cool completely, then loosen the edges with a spatula and cut into squares or wedges to serve.

For extra peanut flavor, use crunchy peanut butter for the dollops so you get little bits of peanut in every bite. If your family prefers things a bit sweeter, you can use a heaping cup of brown sugar or a sweeter commercial peanut butter; for a less-sweet option, stick to unsweetened natural peanut butter and level off the brown sugar. Picky eaters who aren’t big on strong peanut flavor might like smaller, more frequent dollops of peanut butter instead of big pockets—just use a teaspoon instead of a tablespoon. If your slow cooker runs hot, start checking at the 1 hour 45 minute mark so the edges don’t overcook. You can line the slow cooker with a parchment sling for easy lifting and cleaner squares. For a fun twist, swirl in a little grape jelly alongside a few of the peanut butter dollops for a PB&J-style blondie, or sprinkle a small handful of chocolate chips over the batter before adding the peanut butter for a chocolate-peanut butter version that kids usually go crazy for.