Make Peanut Butter Cookie Bars, Chocolate Chip, Tasty

• Food: Peanut Butter Cookie Bars

• Writer: Alice

• Content-Type: Food Blog

My favorite treat is these no-bake peanut butter cookie bars. A rich peanut butter chocolate chip layer is topped with a fudgy cacao layer.

Where do I even begin with these cookie bars with peanut butter and chocolate chips? I definitely recommend making this dish if you only cook one dessert or snack from this blog.

Underneath the deep cacao-date-walnut layer is a delicious peanut butter chocolate chip cookie dough layer. All of that may sound fancy, but making these peanut butter cookie bars is really quite simple.

You shouldn’t worry if you can’t stop eating them. They contain a few (amazing) superfoods, including cacao and maca powder, in addition to some wonderful healthy components.

Although they keep nicely in the refrigerator and freezer, good luck trying to keep them for an extended period of time. Despite my best efforts to hide them, they keep popping up somewhere in my house.

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS: INGREDIENTS

Consequently, what exactly are cacao and maca? The healthiest type of chocolate is cacao, which is the purest form and contains high levels of antioxidants, fiber, and magnesium.

A malty, vanilla-y, butterscotch-like flavor of maca, which is a powder made from the Peruvian maca root, makes this cookie dough layer unbelievably wonderful.

It has a history of improving energy levels, vitality, and stamina while also supporting the body’s natural ability to adapt to stress.

I adore utilizing these products, but they may be pricey and difficult to locate in conventional stores, so I’m thrilled to be working with Thrive Market today.

If you’ve never heard of Thrive Market, it’s an online marketplace whose goal is to make healthy living simple and accessible.

Aside from glitzy superfoods, I discovered that a lot of my kitchen essentials, like rolled oats, almond flour, nut butter, dates, organic maple syrup, and more, cost a fraction of what store brands do. These include dates, nut butter, organic maple syrup, and more.

My own particular obsession with peanut butter is the last thing I’m going to talk about. The texture and flavor of their peanut butter are the greatest I’ve ever tasted.

I know it seems like all peanut butter would be (at least partially) equal, but you can see how oozy it is in the photo at the top of this post.

Speaking of oozy peanut butter, you actually need smooth, creamy peanut butter for this recipe rather than the stiff, dry peanut butter that you may get at the bottom of a jar of natural peanut butter.

When making this recipe with peanut butter that was previously refrigerated, let it remain at room temperature for an hour.

MAKE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS AT HOME

The time has come to bake peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars with your wonderful and soft peanut butter. Simply combine the ingredients together and press them into the pan to create the cookie dough layer first.

Add some flaky sea salt to the peanut butter cookie bars to give them an extra touch of beauty.

If you want a snack RIGHT NOW, you can use this to pry these peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars out of the pan.

If not, give them around 20 minutes in the freezer to firm up so you can cut them into squares with precision. The finished bars should be kept in the fridge. They can be frozen for longer-term storage (yeah right). I sincerely hope you enjoy this dish as much as I do!

VARIATIONS OF PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS

If you can’t locate them, it’s okay. The maca and cacao powder offer added nutrients and great flavor to these peanut butter chocolate chip cookie bars. Instead, try one of these simple substitutions:

• Ignore the maca. No maca? No issue. Even without it, these bars of soft and chewy peanut butter cookies are still fantastic.
• Apply cocoa powder. Don’t worry if you don’t have cacao powder. This dish is also wonderful with regular cocoa powder.
• Create energy spheres! Simply combine the bottom layer of these bars and roll it into balls if you don’t feel like blending the top layer. For delicious on-the-go snacks, store them in the freezer!

PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS

One of my all-time favorite foods is these peanut butter cookie bars. They have a deep cacao-date layer on top of a delectable peanut butter chocolate chip layer.

INGREDIENTS

COOKIE LAYER

• 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter*
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• Heaping 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 1/2 cups almond flour
• 2 1/2 tablespoons maca powder
• 1 cup chocolate chips

CACAO LAYER

• 1 1/2 cups walnuts
• 2 tablespoons cacao powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 10 soft Medjool dates
• 2 tablespoons water
• Flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top, optional

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Using parchment paper, line an 8×8-inch baking sheet.
2. Combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in a sizable bowl. Stir in the maca and almond flour after adding them (the mixture will be thick). Add the chocolate chips after pressing the batter into the pan. Place in the freezer to slightly firm up while preparing the following layer.
3. Pulse the walnuts, cacao powder, and sea salt in a mini food processor until the walnuts are finely minced. Add the dates and pulse to blend. If the blade becomes stuck, add 2 tablespoons of water. Spread onto the cookie layer after processing until smooth. Adding sea salt is optional. for 30 minutes, freeze (this will help them firm up, making them easier to cut). Remove, then cut into bars. Keep any leftover bars in the refrigerator.
4. Bars that are finished can also be frozen. Allow each bar to melt at room temperature for roughly 15 minutes.

NOTES

*To create this recipe, use smooth, creamy peanut butter rather than the dry, stiff peanut butter you might find at the bottom of a jar of natural peanut butter.

Before using it in this recipe, let your peanut butter come to room temperature if you keep it in the refrigerator for storage.