Everybody hold onto your hats… I’M GIVING YOU TWO DESSERTS IN A ROW!!!
What is this world coming to???
If you take a look at my Recipe Index, you can clearly see that I’m due to give you either a salad or a soup next. Those poor slots have only one lonely post each… oh, the woes of a baby blog! But sometimes dessert just happens to happen at my house- and that’s never a bad thing.
My friend Emilie described this recipe to me while we sprinted around the block during bootcamp one morning, and in my acute oxygen deprivation, I didn’t note the details. But it sounded fabulous- and healthy! When I began to make it, I couldn’t recall the exact ingredients (honey, no honey?), nor the proportions (a whole jar of peanut butter??) Yet I forged ahead anyway, knowing that she would rescue me from any peanut butter square emergency. I think I might have made the recipe a bit differently than Emilie does, but the end result was the same: rich, perfectly salty/sweet, glazed with dark chocolate… and dangerously delicious.
Made with only 4 main ingredients (natural peanut butter, coconut, oats, and honey,) these no-bake squares are high in healthy fats and fiber, with no refined sugar. You don’t have to drizzle it with dark chocolate… but why wouldn’t you?
I recommend that you cut these little guys small. They are cuter that way, and also, you can try to make them last longer- I promise you will want to eat them in the double-digit numbers.
Here in Philippines we need to keep them in the freezer, but if you live in a cool climate, they will probably be fine on your counter…
…for all 45 minutes they last.
Ingredients
for the squares:
- 2 cups nautral peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
- ½ cup honey (use maple syrup for vegan option)
- 2 cups unsweetened coconut
- 2 cups quick-cooking oats
for the glaze:
- ¾ cup 60% dark chocolate chips
- ½ T. extra-virgin coconut oil
Instructions
- Spray a 9 x 13 rectangular pan with non-stick cooking spray, and line with parchment paper, leaving the edges hanging over. This is so you can pull it out easily when it is done.
- Melt peanut butter and honey in a small saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth. Remove from heat and mix in coconut and oats.
- Spread in prepared pan. You may want to oil your hands to press it in without it sticking to your hands too much. Freeze until set.
- For the glaze, melt the chocolate chips and ½ T. coconut oil in a double boiler or over very low heat, stirring all the while and watching closely, as chocolate burns easily. Remove your bars from the freezer and drizzle melted chocolate over in a thin stream, or spread it over in a thin sheet. It will set quickly.
- When glaze is set, cut into small (1-inch) squares. Makes about 120 squares.
Hello Rebecca!
I made those today with Mark (11). The consistency was bit different, so I was wondering, how big is your peanut butter jar;-)). I used 280 g one.. and made 1/2 batch….Anyway, since the bars were hard to form, we made a small balls, chilled them and decorated half with dark chocolate. I used the coconut oil inside the “dough” to make it bit more playable…Great snack! Thanks for inspiration;-)).
XXX
P.S. I will send you a photo tomorrow via email, as not sure how to add one here…
Hi Sharka! I used 2 cups (dry measuring cups) of natural peanut butter for the 9×13 pan. It was close to the whole 454g jar, but not the whole thing. Your measurement should have been correct for half batch, but you might want to measure it out in the cup to be sure. I’m also wondering if there could be some difference in the brands of natural peanut butter… mine was more runny than some and therefore probably had more oil. Yes, you’re correct to add some coconut oil to soften the dough up a bit. 🙂 We love them! Can’t wait to see your pix!! Miss you so much and thanks for commenting!! xoxo
P.S. You can add a photo via Instagram and tag me #thexpatdietitian if you have Instagram 🙂 xxx
YUM! What could I use instead of coconut – the oil is fine, but not the meat. Hubby doesn’t like it!
Hi Pc, the coconut lends texture to these bars, but not really any taste… the predominant flavor is definitely peanut butter- and chocolate, of course! You might give almond meal a try, though. I’m not sure how it will work, but let me know if you try it! Have fun!! 🙂
Hi LR, How do I print a recipe from your website?
Hi Pc, I just activated the print button… hopefully you should see it on the upper right side of the recipe. 🙂 Let me know how it works!