These might be the most delicious little snack bars in the world. I am so addicted! We’ve got peanut butter and chocolate chips and whole grains and all kinds of amazingness rolled into one easy recipe. What’s not to love, right?! (If you are on board, you must try my go-to homemade granola bars. Sooo good!) Side note: Who are we kidding? These snack bars today are like a massive cookie. But I’ve made some healthyish swaps, so it really passes as a decent snack. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it. Back to the super-thick, soft, chewy cookies snack bars. Ah, I cannot get enough! OK, let’s get baking. Now, I’ve got some notes, tips and substitutions coming up below on how to make these peanut butter chocolate chip snack bars. Just tryin’ to be helpful. If you want to jump on down to the recipe, simply scroll right on through the rest of the text. The recipe card is near the bottom of the page, above the comments section.
Ingredient Notes:
Butter: I use melted butter, but canola oil can be used in its place if you prefer. Applesauce: This helps lighten the bars up in terms of fat and calories. You could use extra butter if you’d rather. Brown sugar: I have and use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar is fine too. Peanut butter: I use peanut butter here, obviously, but you could substitute almond or cashew butter if you prefer. Flour: I always bake with white whole wheat flour (it’s more nutritious and you can’t taste the difference!) but you can substitute regular all-purpose flour if that’s what you have. Or you can use a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour. Chocolate chips: I like a lot of chocolate chips here - a full cup! - but you could reduce to ¾ cup if you want to lighten them up a bit more.
So these are pretty versatile. And if you need them to be vegan, just use oil instead of butter, a flax egg in place of the egg and choose vegan chocolate chips. Easy, easy! As you can see, I make mine rather large. I get 9 big snack/cookie bars. You could cut these smaller, into 12 or 16 squares if you want. I don’t really want. I’d rather have large, thick beautiful peanut butter chocolate chip snack bars. Everyone else in my family seems to feel the same way. So we keep them big. Super small little squares but would be cute for a party though, so everyone can have just a nibble. You can also double the recipe and make this in a 9x13 pan, if you have a larger crew. Or if you just want more of these in your life. I understand and I’m so with you. Speaking of, last thing, let’s talk about how to store the leftovers. Leftover snack bars, once cooled, can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days. You just gotta make these. Soon. That is all. Enjoy! XO, Kathryn P.S. Tag me on Instagram when you make these - I love to see your creations! Butter: I use melted butter, but canola oil can be used in its place if you prefer. Applesauce: This helps lighten the bars up in terms of fat and calories. You could use extra butter if you’d rather. Brown sugar: I have and use light brown sugar, but dark brown sugar is fine too. Peanut butter: I use peanut butter here, obviously, but you could substitute almond or cashew butter if you prefer. Flour: I always bake with white whole wheat flour (it’s more nutritious and you can’t taste the difference!) but you can substitute regular all-purpose flour if that’s what you have. Or you can use a mix of whole wheat and all-purpose flour. Chocolate chips: I like a lot of chocolate chips here - a full cup! - but you could reduce to ¾ cup if you want to lighten them up a bit more. Servings: You can cut these bars into 9 large or 12 or 16 smaller bars, depending on your preference. ou can also double the recipe and make this in a 9x13 pan Vegan: To make these vegan, use oil instead of butter, an flax egg instead of the egg and choose vegan chocolate chips. Storage: Leftover snack bars, once cooled, can be stored in a covered container at room temperature for up to 4-5 days.
