These peanut butter chocolate puff bars are a enjoyable various to cereal bars or scotcheroos, and so dang crunchy and scrumptious! Made with a puffed quinoa and peanut butter base, and topped with creamy, wealthy chocolate and a splash of flakey sea salt. Slice into bars and hold ’em in your freezer for a yummy deal with at a second’s discover.
These bars are an incredible various to scotcheroo bars! I’ve each honey peanut butter scotcheroos and protein scotcheroos (and even rice cake magic bars), however there’s one thing about puffed quinoa that takes these bars up a notch!
Peanut butter + chocolate = love: My favourite desserts on this earth use PB and chocolate. It’s simply such an unbeatable mixture.
Retailer ’em within the freezer: I really like making a giant batch of those bars to maintain available in my freezer. They retailer extremely effectively, and hold for as much as 3 months (however betting they received’t final that lengthy in your freezer 😋).
Elements You Want
- Creamy peanut butter: Use a drippy, all-natural peanut butter for these bars. Don’t have it? JIF or one other non-drippy model will work, you’ll simply must microwave the peanut butter a bit longer to heat it up sufficient to evenly cowl the quinoa puffs.
- Coconut oil: Coconut oil thins each the peanut butter and the chocolate out sufficient to assist kind these bars. It additionally helps the chocolate from hardening an excessive amount of while you freeze the bars.
- Maple syrup: Maple provides wealthy, heat sweetness to those bars. Don’t like issues as candy? Be at liberty to cut back the maple in half.
- Puffed quinoa: Quinoa puffs are such a enjoyable ingredient to make use of for these bars! They’re excessive in fiber, and add superb crunchy and ethereal texture, too. In case you don’t have puffed quinoa available, or don’t wish to purchase it, I like to recommend utilizing rice krispies or puffed wheat. Each would work nice as alternate options.
- Chocolate chips: You’ll soften chocolate chips for the topping for these bars. I choose semi-sweet chocolate chips, however milk chocolate will even work effectively.
What Puffed Cereal Can I Use?
You’ll be able to actually use any puffed cereal you’d like! I’ve examined these with each rice krispies and store-bought puffed quinoa (as seen in these images!), and each are scrumptious. You might additionally use puffed wheat and even Kix (as requested by my toddler!).
What about home made puffed quinoa? You’ll be able to undoubtedly make your individual puffed quinoa, however be mindful the store-bought quinoa is just like a rice krispie, and the home made puffed quinoa is extra just like a crunch seed. The recipe will nonetheless work, however the bars will style extra seedy than crunchy and puffy.
To make home made puffed quinoa: Preheat the oven to 450ºF and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Unfold the quinoa over the parchment paper. Bake for 20-Half-hour or till golden brown, tossing each 5-7 minutes till the moisture is launched from the quinoa and it turns into crunchy.
As soon as your puff bars have been sliced and the chocolate has hardened, switch into an hermetic container or gallon-size plastic bag and retailer within the fridge for as much as 7 days.
I really choose to retailer home made puff bars within the freezer as a result of they last more, and you may seize one at a second’s discover. Switch sliced bars right into a freezer-safe gallon-size bag and freeze for as much as 3 months.
Extra Granola Bars
-
Line an ordinary loaf pan with parchment paper and put aside.
-
Add the peanut butter, 1.5 tablespoons of the coconut oil, and syrup to a microwave-safe bowl. Warmth the combination for 30 seconds and stir to mix. If the coconut is melted, take away it from the microwave. If not, microwave for an extra 20 seconds.
-
Add the puffed quinoa to the peanut butter combination. Stir to mix. Pour the combination into the lined loaf pan. Unfold the combination evenly within the backside of the pan. Switch to the freezer.
-
Add chocolate chips and remaining coconut oil to a separate microwave-safe bowl, microwave on excessive for 20-second increments till melted and shiny.
-
Pour the chocolate over the peanut butter and quinoa combination. Unfold evenly and high with flaked salt.
-
Return to the freezer to permit the bars to set for a minimum of 2 hours or in a single day.
-
Slice into 9 equal-sized bars earlier than serving.
- I used store-bought puffed quinoa, however you’ll be able to puff your individual as effectively. Be mindful the store-bought quinoa is extra just like a rice krispie, and the home made puffed quinoa is extra just like a crunch seed. To make home made puffed quinoa: Preheat the oven to 450ºF and line a half sheet pan with parchment paper. Unfold the quinoa over the parchment paper. Bake for 20-Half-hour or till golden brown, tossing each 5-7 minutes. How lengthy the quinoa takes to brown might be decided by the temperature of the quinoa, if the quinoa is moist, and the oven used.
Energy: 289 kcal, Carbohydrates: 18 g, Protein: 7 g, Fats: 22 g, Fiber: 2 g, Sugar: 9 g
Vitamin info is routinely calculated, so ought to solely be used as an approximation.
