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.
