No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars (GF, V)

Ya ever crave sweet, salty, crunchy, chewy, and smooth all at one time? No? Just me? Sounds good….

But really, I always want something sweet after something savory. And I always want something crunchy when I have something smooth. Think smoothies – decadent, smooth, creamy…. but I HAVE to have granola or something crunchy in there. Think ice cream…. always have to have sprinkles or chocolate chips on top! Orrrr a salad, am I the only one who always craves some chocolate afterwards?!

Long story short… I’m always craving what I don’t have. Guess that’s the run of the mill!

We’ll just say if I don’t have a stash of chocolate to break into for a little post-meal dessert each day, the cookie monster side of me starts to come out.

I came up with this recipe out of a similar feeling! I was craving something crunchy and also sweet – and usually I like my sweets made up of with smooth chocolate and some real DECADENCE. We’ve got a crust layer, a smooth peanut butter chocolatey layer, and a layer of salty crunchy peanuts and dark chocolate chips. Everything I could ever want!

No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars (GF, V)

5 from 1 vote

Recipe by Lindsey Goldschmidt Difficulty: Easy

Servings

1

servings

Ingredients

• Layer 1

• 1 cup GF Rolled Oats

• 3 Tablespoons Maple Syrup

• 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

• 1 cup Walnuts (chopped or whole)

• Layer 2

• 2/3 cup Peanut Butter (runny)

• 2 Tablespoon Cocoa Powder

• 1 Tablespoon Coconut Oil (softened)

• 1/2 Tablespoon Maple Syrup

• Layer 3

• 1/3 cup peanuts – I used salted peanuts here, but totally up to preference. 🙂 Use chopped peanuts or pulse into pieces in the food processor.

• Chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life brand mini dark chocolate chips)

Directions

• Pulse all of layer 1 ingredients (walnuts, oats, maple, vanilla) in a food processor until finely processed and well mixed.
• Press mixture into the bottom of a parchment-lined 8×8 pan.
• Place the pan in the freezer while you make layer 2, or for about 20-30 minutes.
• In a mixing bowl, add all of layer 2 ingredients (PB, cocoa, maple, coconut oil) and mix well – I used a hand mixer here.
• Process the 1/3 cup of peanuts for layer 3 in the food processor. Only pulse the nuts here to break them up a bit.
• Mix the chopped peanuts with chocolate chips (I used about 1/3 cup here).
• Remove the baking pan from the freezer. Spread your layer 2 mixture (peanut butter, cocoa powder, coconut oil & maple) over top of the first layer.
• Spread layer 3 mixture (peanuts & chocolate chips) on top of the second layer and lightly press the peanuts & chocolate in so they remain in place.
• Place pan back in the freezer for at least another 30 minutes.
• 10. Slice the bars and enjoy!