I was craving something sweet last night, so decided to go through my recipe book and see if I could find something to make. Luckily I found a recipe that I had all the ingredients for – Peanut Butter Bars!

But don’t let the name fool you – there’s a lot more than peanut butter in these.

Now I know what you’re thinking – those aren’t bars! Those are much too round to be bars! What kind of wool are you trying to pull over our eyes?

The truth is that when you grease the pan properly or line it with parchment paper beforehand, then they can be taken out and cut into bars. However, it’s been a while since I made this recipe, and mistakes were made. Not only did I not grease the pan well enough, I also had to use a butter knife to try to cut them since they were stuck in the pan and a sharp knife would have damaged the pan’s finish.

I was able to salvage a few bars, but the majority of the bake had to be turned into balls. Thankfully changing the shape didn’t change the taste.

And when it comes to baking, isn’t it the taste that really matters?

 

Ingredients:

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1/2 cup butter, softened (easier to melt & mix when soft as opposed to cold)

 

• 2 cups oats
• 1 cup shredded coconut
• 1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used sliced almonds)
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup flax seeds (optional*)

(NOTE: It helps to mix all this in a bowl beforehand so you can just chuck it all in)

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

 

Instructions:

1. Grease or line with parchment paper a 9×9” pan. (If you want thinner squares, use a 9×13” pan).
2. In a pot over med-low heat, melt the first 3 ingredients (peanut butter, honey, butter), until smooth and well mixed. [Note: be aware that you’ll be adding the other ingredients into this, so pick a big enough pot.]
3. Remove pot from heat and add in the dry ingredients (oats, coconut, nuts, chocolate chips, & flax seeds). Stir together, then add vanilla extract and stir again. Mix until the chocolate chips are melted and all is well combined.
4. Transfer into pan, smooth it out, and cool in fridge. Once cooled, you may have to let it sit on the counter for a bit in order to cut into squares.

I store them in the fridge because I like them cold, but if you find the texture too hard, you can let them sit on the counter for a bit before eating.

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*I’ve listed the flax seeds as optional because while I like them, other people might not. For me, they’re kinda like puffed rice, adding a little bit of je-ne-sais-quoi without actually being puffed rice (which I personally wouldn’t want to add to this). They also give these bars an illusion of being a tiny bit healthier.