Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Bars

These chocolate-covered peanut butter bars are decadent but also guilt-free and gluten-free! The perfect combination, in my opinion. They taste like a candy bar but all of the “bad stuff” has been replaced with healthier “good stuff” while still retaining the best good thing – taste! And, they’re gluten-free to boot.

Let’s Talk Ingredient Swaps First

My chocolate-covered peanut butter bars are made without butter or sugar. That’s because I replaced those two ingredients with those I also used in my peach crisp with salted caramel sauce – maple syrup and coconut oil. They’re used in both the crust of this dessert, which tastes similar to a cookie, plus the yummy peanut butter layer. Instead of conventional flour, I used blanched almond flour. I have tried a few almond flours and I personally like Bob’s Red Mill brand.

There are actually only a handful of ingredients you need to make this recipe:

• Almond flour
• Coconut oil
• Pure maple syrup
• Vanilla extract
• Regular and sea salt
• Natural organic peanut butter
• Semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips

How to Make Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Bars

Even though there are layers involved in this dessert, I promise you it’s easy to put together. The key things to remember are to make sure your coconut oil in the crust is melted and cooled. You don’t want it to re-solidify but you don’t want it hot. I microwaved my coconut oil in the crust step and then let it cool for about two minutes. Instead of regular jarred peanut butter, natural organic peanut butter provides a gooey, candy bar texture. I find mine at my local grocery near the bulk nuts but you may also be able to find some in the peanut butter aisle. Make sure you stir it before putting it in a measuring cup. And you also need to use maple syrup, not pancake syrup!

I recommend an 8″ x 8″ baking pan because anything larger will make these chocolate-covered peanut butter bars too thin. I used extra coconut oil to grease the pan and had no issues getting the bars out of the pan without making a mess. There’s nothing worse than that, especially if you’re making these for a gathering or other event where you want a dessert to look pretty.

Your oven will only be used for the cookie layer, while the peanut butter layer is whipped up on your stovetop. The chocolate covering can easily be melted in the microwave, and voila, your recipe is done!

Chocolate-Covered Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Ingredients

For the Crust

• 1 1/2 cups blanched almond flour
• 3 tablespoons melted and cooled coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

For the Filling

• 2/3 cup natural organic peanut butter
• 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

For the Chocolate Topping

• 3/4 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil

Instructions

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease your baking pan.

In a medium bowl, combine all of the crust ingredients and give it a good stir. It should have a slightly coarse texture.

Pat it into the pan with your fingers or the smooth side of a spatula.

Bake at 350 degrees for ten minutes and then remove from the oven to cool for an additional ten minutes.

While the crust is cooling, you can make the filling by placing all filling ingredients in a small saucepan and heating on your stovetop over low to medium heat until the mixture just begins to boil. Remove from heat and pour onto the cookie layer, being sure to coat the entire cookie crust. Put it in your refrigerator for 45 minutes so it can set up.

Once the time is up, remove it from your refrigerator and make the chocolate later by melting the chocolate chips and coconut oil in our microwave for 30 seconds. If you need more time, keep microwaving for another 15 to 30 seconds. Pour onto the filling layer, carefully tilting the pan so the chocolate can coat the filling while still maintaining that pretty look.

Put it in the freezer until it’s ready to serve. Insert a sharp knife around the edges of the pan to carefully remove the peanut butter bars from the pan onto a piece of parchment paper. Cut the peanut butter bars in half and then width-wise into 1″ x 4″ rectangles. Serve immediately or place them back in the freezer to enjoy later.