Chewy Peanut Butter & Oat Bars
These no bake, chewy peanut butter and oat bars are a breeze to make and so addicting! They are gluten free and grain free, great for quick snacks, and are perfect right out of the fridge or freezer.
Servings 10
Ingredients
- 2 cups almonds, pecans. walnuts or a mix
- 1 cup peanut butter or any other nut butter like almond, cashew or tahini (sesame seed paste) or a mix
- 1 cup dates, soaked 30 minutes and drained
- 1 cup desiccated coconut
- 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Line a 8 x 8-inch baking pan or dish with parchment paper on the bottom and sides leaving some overhanging to act as a handle to get the bars out easier for cutting.Place nuts, dates and coconut in a food processor and process until broken down and crumbly. Be careful not to over process as its nice to have texture variance and different sized “bits” in your energy bars.Transfer the mixture to a mixing bowl. Place melted coconut oil in a small bowl and whisk in the nut butter. Once mixture is smooth and well combined, stir in the vanilla.Pour the wet mixture into the bowl with the dry ingredients and stir to fully combine - I used a silicone spatula for this step. Thoroughly mix to make sure all the dry mixture is coated. Once coated, gently stir in the chocolate chips.Scoop out mixture into lined pan and spread out evenly with a spatula or back of a spoon.Cover the top with parchment or plastic wrap, then set in the freezer for at least 1 hour to firm,or longer if you have time.Remove pan from freezer and lift out slice with the parchment paper handles, set on a cutting board.Using a sharp knife, cut into 10 bars or more smaller squares. You can wrap them in parchment individually storing in the fridge (for up to two weeks) or freezer for longer.Bars will start to melt around room temperature due to the coconut oil, so they will need to be kept chilled to stay firm.