Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Oatmeal injected with chocolatey peanut butter goodness.
Half dessert, half breakfast, these Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars straddle the breakfast, snack, and dessert worlds. An oat base is flavored with peanut butter and baked until golden and immediately topped with a chocolate-peanut butter coating.
Oatmeal gets a bad rap for being old-fashioned, out of date, and bland, but in this recipe, oats partner up with the famous peanut butter and chocolate dream team to make a bar that covers any sweet and salty craving!
The batter is quick to whip up and bakes in the oven until it firms up. Straight from the oven, the melted mixture of chocolate and peanut butter was spread on top and left to cool until the bars set.
Cut into squares, and these Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars bring oats to a whole new level. The oats aren’t heavy thanks to the addition of flour and baking powder. The touch of cinnamon and peanut butter flavors the oat base without overpowering the earthy complexity of the oats themselves.
The chocolate peanut butter topcoat is purely delightful. And it has that chocolate-peanut butter candy bar flavor we all love.
It’s a great snack for after school while kids are doing their homework and even a treat for grown-ups to have after a busy day at work or working around the house.
It’s salty and sweet without being too salty or too sweet. Not only that, but it’s a perfect balance that’s hard to achieve in the dessert world, but these bars check off all of the boxes!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
For the breakfast bars:
- 1 1/2 cup rolled oats
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 3/4 cup Greek yogurt
- 1/4 cup peanut butter
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
- 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the chocolate topping:
- 1 cup chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350°F and spray an 8x8-inch baking dish with baking spray, line the bottom with parchment paper, spray the parchment paper with baking spray, and set aside.
- In one bowl whisk together oats, flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.
- In another bowl whisk together yogurt, peanut butter, butter, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, eggs, and vanilla.
- Gradually add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing until there are no streaks of dry ingredients.
- Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the middle is set.
- In a microwave-safe bowl combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter, melting in 30-second intervals, mixing between each interval until completely melted.
- Pour the chocolate-peanut butter mixture over the bars just as it comes out of the oven. Use an offset spatula to spread the chocolate evenly over the bars.
- Let the bars cool completely and refrigerate for 1 hour to completely set the bars. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Recipe adapted from Krolls Korner.