Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

July 31, 2016

This girl can’t help it. Another nod to the Great Buckeye State. Plus, I really love peanut butter and chocolate. So I thought, why not in a granola bar? And I started thinking about it and before I got too far into it, I went to visit one of the uber-bloggers out there – David Lebovitz. Our buddy in Paris did not disappoint. He rarely does.

Meanwhile, my niece, her hubby and 2 little guys were preparing to move (the 2 little guys didn’t exactly join in in the preparing part, they’re little). They said their good byes to the Great Buckeye State of Ohio. En route to their next stop of Central California, they stopped off in LA to spend a bit of time with the family and gather their energy for the next step.

I wanted to send the drivers off with a little wholesome snack as they took their road trip up to their new home with little guys in tow. See pics below. We are in the same time zone again!

On to the bars…

Begin with the best quality peanut butter you can find. I love the freshly made pure peanut butter at Whole Foods. It’s the only natural peanut butter I know of that’s non-oily and doesn’t separate. I know, I can’t figure that out either – it’s one of the mysteries of life. I also love pressing the button and watching it swirl into the cup. It brings back soft-serve ice cream memories. Black & White Cones… ahhhhh. (for the uninitiated, that’s chocolate & vanilla).

[Yes, Lulu, you can use Skippy.]

Get out some chips.

Also necessary: oatmeal. Season it up a bit with ginger and cinnamon.

I’m also using sweet butter. But you can easily do a non-dairy version with an Earth Balance stick or something with no trans-fatty acids.

We’ve got a nice thick batter here.

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Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

slightly adapted from David Lebovitz’s version

Ingredients:

2 1/4 c. oats

3/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. ginger

3/4 t. baking soda

1/4 t. salt

1/2 c. chocolate chips

1/4 c. unsweetened coconut

1/3 c. dried fruit (raisins or diced dried apricots, cherries or cranberries)

4 T. unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 c. brown sugar (dark or golden)

2 eggs

3/4 c. peanut butter

1/2 t. vanilla

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°.

Place parchment paper in an 8″ square pan (or grease thr pan).

Mix the oats, baking soda, salt, ginger and cinnamon together in a bowl.

Beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy in stand mixer (important when doubling recipe) or by hand for with a wooden spoon. Add eggs, one at a time, and fully incorporate.

Add in peanut butter and vanilla and mix well.

Add the oat mixture to combine.

Mix in chocolate chips, dried fruit and coconut and blend in well.

Place dough in prepared pan and using a spatula, spread evenly in pan.

Place on center rack. Bake for 20-24 minutes (22 minutes was enough for me), or until top is golden brown and is just set.

Cool completely before cutting. Stores well in refrigerator or freezer.

Makes 16-20 bars.

NOTE: Recipe can easily be doubled. Use a 9 x 13-inch baking pan and use 4 c. oatmeal, 3 eggs and 3/4 c. chocolate chips.. Double all other ingredients.