One day, I was looking through my collection of recipes I'd jotted down on scrap paper from various places, when I found one that I'd completely forgotten about. I have no idea where it came from, but it sounded good, so I kept it out so I could make it. I could see that I would be changing it in different ways, leaving some things out and substituting others, but I'm always willing to experiment. For example, the recipe as I wrote it calls for honey, but I do not like honey and it doesn't agree with me, so I left it out. It also called for espresso powder, which I do not have. I briefly considered using regular instant coffee, but decided I'd rather just leave it out. I had to adjust quantities as well. Finally, the original said to freeze the bars and store in the freezer. I do not do this, but just chill and keep them in the fridge.
The first attempt tasted good, but was crumbly (we ate it all anyway). The second time I was able to correct that by adjusting the amount of peanut butter and I continue to make these bars this way.
There are a lot of things to love about these. First of all, they're yummy! 😋 They are not overly sweet, which is a problem I have with a lot of no-bake cookies that use a large quantity of sugar. They're convenient to keep in the fridge, ready to grab for a snack--so good with a nice afternoon cuppa! They take just a couple minutes to make and there is no oven needed to make them--no heating of the ingredients at all. This is something I especially appreciate on a warm/hot summer day.
No-Bake Double Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars
Place the following in a bowl:
1 cup porridge oats (quick cooking oats in the US)
3/4 to 1 cup of peanut butter (you could use whatever nut butter you like, I'm sure, but I haven't tried this)--runny is best, like the kind that has no added oils or sugar
a bit of sugar, honey, or other sweetener if you want
1-2 tablespoons cocoa, according to taste
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2-3 tablespoons, or according to taste, mini dark chocolate chips
Mix everything together. Line a pan with parchment paper and press the mixture into the pan. Place in fridge for a couple of hours or more. When they have been chilled, lift out using the parchment paper, place the whole thing on a cutting board, and cut into squares or rectangles. You can place the whole thing back in the pan or place in a container, then stick back in the fridge. That's it! They're ready to enjoy whenever you want.
If you use honey or another liquid sweetener, you will probably need less peanut butter. If it's too wet or sticky as you mix it together, you can add more oats. If too dry, add more peanut butter. Exact amounts are not important here.
I'll end with a note on comments. I had turned off comments for a time yesterday, because I had about 30 spam comments in the space of a couple of hours. I've turned comments back on, but left moderation on, in an effort to better control the spammers.
7 comments:
We love them--I'm glad I came across the recipe. I'd forgotten all about it!
Looks good. Love finding old recipes...
Yes, happy surprises are nice! I found another one at the same time, but that one was a disappointment. Can't win 'em all! :-)
They do look good, thanks for sharing the recipe.
All the best Jan
These look wonderful and i love the no-bake aspect. Would you say they are chewy?
My issue is finding any sort of porridge or oatmeal that I can tolerate here in the US (it was never a problem in Scandinavia). The ones here seem to bother my GI. (GMO?)
I'm sorry about the spamming, I hope it stops!
No, the ones I make are not chewy, but the original recipe calls for 2 or 3 tablespoons of honey, so if that is used, they might be. Honey upsets my stomach, so I don't use it.
I don't know how well you tolerate gluten, but I know some oats are processed in the same machines as wheat products so unless they say they're gluten free that can be an issue for some people. Also, maybe just aging has caused your system to change. I now have issues with tomato/spaghetti sauce! I can have it in a dish with ricotta or something, but I can't just have spaghetti and sauce--makes my stomach hurt. This blows my mind, because I grew up on my Italian Nana, aunts, and mother's sauce! But within the last few years, I have to be very careful with that, so usually avoid it unless I make lasagne, baked fusilli, or something like that. :-(
Wow that's something, I also cannot tolerate honey or tomato sauces. I can handle some marinara or italian tube paste but not in large amounts. I've gone to the garlic alfredo's etc. No tomato-base soups etc at all though. I think these things run acidic which is why I can't figure the oatmeal issue. All the things flavor I like fine just don't tolerate lol. I don't care for noodles or not bulky ones at least and as you say over time just got more and more away from it. I can handle the asian noodles a lot better such as those by Green Noodle and some are high in protein. Lasagna at least can be made with thin strips of zucchini though, so that's helpful if one wants it. I can mix a bit of the marinara with the alfredo to 'have some flavor' without killing my tummy. Oh i've also found a really good organic salsa works (cooked) for a tomato-y option without the pain. You may be right that I've just 'run-out' on the aging aspects of what I can do with some things because I also can't have lentils now but most beans are fine lol (Never a dull moment.) I did a blood study on food allergies and antibodies and that was pretty revealing. I'd already stopped eating most anything it said I'd probably be bothered by.
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