{Chewy & Healthy} Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Granola Bars

For the past year and a half, I've been making chewy granola bars just about every single week. (You can find that recipe here.) We can't get enough of them around here!  They make a great snack that is quite filling and not too bad health wise.  

A few weeks ago I was making my usual Saturday batch of granola bars for snacks for the next week, and I was a little low on honey and had no chocolate chips.  Hmmm.  Not good.  Time to improvise.

So I began experimenting and this is what I came up with!  Thankfully my hubby LOVED them and said they were his very favorite granola bars to date.  Wanna know the best thing?  There's nothing unhealthy in them.  At all.  These have a Reese's type flavor, but without all the sugar and bad stuff. And they are chocolatey without being overly sweet and leaving you with a sugar high.  It's like eating dessert for snack. YUM.

Seriously though, if you're in the "I must have some chocolate right now mood!" and you're trying to eat well and avoid refined sugars, than these Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Granola Bars definitely fit the bill.  But I warn you, they are really good.  As in it's the "stand at the counter, slicing off little pieces and before you know it you've eaten half the pan" kind of good.  But I wouldn't know about that. Nope, never. 

Ha. =D

{Chewy & Healthy}Peanut Butter Dark Chocolate Granola Bars
yield: 24 bars...but this all depends on how you slice them =)

Ingredients:

1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup honey
3 tbsp. coconut oil ( I use Trader Joe's organic)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbsp. dark chocolate cocoa powder
2 cups old fashioned oats
2 cups Rice Krispies cereal
1/2 -1 cup peanuts (chopped or left in halves)

Directions:

1)  In a large bowl, combine oats, rice krispies, and peanuts.  Set aside.
2)  In a saucepan, combine honey, peanut butter, coconut oil and cocoa powder.  Heat on medium low until oil and peanut butter are melted, stirring often with a whisk.  You don't want it to boil, but keep heating until it's hot and the mixture is runny.
3)  Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract.
4)  Pour melted mixture over oat mixture.  Stir well to combine.
5.) Pour into a greased 13x9 inch pan and spread it out.  Next, take your spatula and press the mixture into an even layer in your pan.  You want to really squish it...makes your granola bars stick together better!
6.)  Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cutting.  Store in the refrigerator.

* Note: These granola bars are great to add to your freezer stash!  After chilling and slicing, wrap individual bars in plastic wrap or put in little snack baggies and chunk in the freezer.  And you most likely will want to do this. If not, there's NO way these bars are going to last very long.  They are just way too good to leave sitting in in the fridge....just being honest. {ahem}

One great thing about this recipe is that you can alter it so easily!  Don't like peanuts?  Use almonds!  Can't have peanut butter?  Use almond butter, or sunflower butter! This recipe calls for 1/2 -1 cup of peanuts, but you can use up to 2 cups of "add-ins" as I call them, and they will turn out great.

I hope you'll try these granola bars and love them!  If you have any questions, leave it in the comments.

Happy Monday, friends! =)

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