Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Bars

I like to make reasonably healthy little nibbles to have in the lunch bag. Since everyone loves peanut butter and chocolate that was my starting point for this recipe. Of course, I needed to sweeten the mixture with agave (I try to minimize the sugar my sweetie eats). I added puffed brown rice and rolled barley because that is what I had on hand. Overall these little bars taste great and make a nice sweet little treat with your afternoon cup of coffee.

Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Bars
Makes 16 bars

Ingredients:

½ cup of organic peanut butter
½ cup of raw agave
pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon good vanilla extract
1 ¾ cups of puffed brown rice
1 ½ cups of rolled barley (could substitute rolled oats)
¼ cup of non-dairy chocolate chips

Directions:

Heat peanut butter and agave until it boils. Turn off the heat. Add the salt and vanilla and whisk to thoroughly combine. Stir in puffed brown rice and rolled oats and combine. Add ¼ cup of chocolate chips and stir them evenly thorough.

Grease a 9 by 9 pan thoroughly with oil. Pack mixture into the pan and allow to cool. Cut into 16 squares. I wrap my bars in plastic film and store in the refrigerator in a freezer ziploc to keep them from picking up any odors.

Comments:

These are sweet, but not so sweet they hurt my teeth or make we wish I hadn’t eaten one. I was trying to minimize the amount of sweetener in this recipe intentionally, but I think I need to increase it a little next time. They taste good, but don’t hold together exactly the way I would like them to. Next time I am going to add a tablespoon of both agave and peanut butter and see if that works to stiffen the cookie a little. I may also make them into balls instead of bars. That may help them to stick together. These bars are good just like they are though ..... I tend to be a little picky.