Let’s rewind to spring 2015. I made vanilla almond snack bars, a homemade KIND bar copycat of sorts, to bring on a camping trip. Sweet, salty, and purely addicting. I remember eating almost the entire batch myself. Since then I’ve made a parade of flavors including cashew coconut, chocolate cherry, pumpkin spice cranberry, and berry cashew. Each variety is wholesome and simple, packed with ingredients you can see, sweet from honey (or brown rice syrup) and dried fruit, and won’t leave you with a mega sugar crash. Grain-free, gluten-free, zero refined sugar, packed with nature’s finest like nuts, seeds, and dried fruit. We can go through a batch in 2 days and I feel so much better snacking on these homemade bars than $3 store-bought energy bars.
For today’s variation, I changed a couple odds and ends. I added a little more vanilla extract, some extra peanuts, and a chocolate drizzle. I mean there always has to be a chocolate drizzle when peanut butter is involved. Right? Plus, then the bars can double as a healthy dessert recipe and gluten free dessert recipe.
You only need 8 ingredients. And they aren’t anything out of the ordinary; I’d say the most unique ingredient would be the almond meal. Almond meal is the “flour” to help bind all of the ingredients together. It’s simply ground up almonds before reaching the stage of almond butter. I make almond meal (also known as almond flour, if using blanched almonds and grinding a little more fine) by pulsing whole almonds until they reach a gritty and rough flour-like consistency.
I shared this photo with you before, but here it is again so you can see:
Sticky honey and 5 finely chopped dates also help bind, while giving the bars flavor and sweetness. A generous Tablespoon of peanut butter does the same: flavor and binding, while peanuts make up the bulk of the bar. I use salted peanuts because I love a salty sweet treat more than anything. You can use unsalted if you prefer and add salt to your taste. About those peanuts: give them a few chops. See them in the photo above? I use my food processor and pulse them a few times. Do you have one? I love my trusty Ninja (which doubles as a blender!). I use the food processor to roughly chop up the dates too. A food processor comes in VERY handy for snack bar making!
Like my other flavors, the prep couldn’t be easier. Mix everything together in 1 bowl then press tightly into a baking pan. They only take about 20-22 minutes at a low temperature; you only want to bake them until they’re properly set and very lightly browned on the edges. In the past year making batch after batch, I’ve learned that a little extra time in the oven is OK and actually helps the bars stay intact when cutting and eating. But, generally, 20ish minutes is the sweet spot.
If you’re looking for similar flavors in a no-bake healthy bar, try my peanut butter trail mix bars. We LOVE those.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Snack Bars
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 22 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours, 30 minutes
- Yield: 9 squares or 12 rectangle bars
- Category: Snacks
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Easy 8 ingredient chocolate drizzled peanut butter snack bars. No refined sugar, gluten free, grain-free, and tastes like dessert!
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (113g) honey or brown rice syrup*
- 1/3 cup (37g) almond meal*
- 1 Tablespoon (15g) peanut butter (any nut butter works!)
- 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups (300g) salted peanuts, roughly chopped*
- 5 Medjool dates, roughly chopped
- 1/3 cup (60g) mini chocolate chips*
- optional but not really: 4 ounces melted semi-sweet chocolate for drizzling
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C). Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, mix the honey, almond meal, peanut butter, and vanilla together until combined. Fold in the peanuts, dates, and chocolate chips until combined.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking pan and press very firmly into an even layer. You really want it packed in tight—as tight as possible. Bake for 20-22 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 1 more hour. This firms up the bars which helps them stay compact. Remove bars from the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into bars. You can drizzle with chocolate before or after cutting.
- Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap or parchment. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I find they get a little sticky at room temperature over a few days, so I prefer the refrigerator.
Notes
- Freezing Instructions: These bars are freezer friendly. After wrapping individually, freeze for up to 3 months and thaw before enjoying.
- Special Tools (affiliate links):Â 8-inch or 9-inch Square Baking Pan | Parchment Paper | Glass Mixing Bowl | Rubber Spatula | Cooling Rack
- Sweetener: I do not suggest a thinner sweetener like maple syrup or agave—honey or brown rice syrup are perfect.
- Almond Meal: You can use store-bought almond meal or almond flour, or you can make your own. Start with 1/3 cup of slivered, sliced, or whole almonds. Pulse them in a food processor until a crumbly meal has formed. Do not run the food processor continuously; you may end up with almond butter. Little pulses are best. You will end up with around 1/3 cup almond meal.
- Peanuts: I like to use salted peanuts because they make the bars salty/sweet. If using unsalted, add 1/8 teaspoon of salt to the recipe.
- Mini Chocolate Chips: I like to use mini chocolate chips because you get more in each bite! Regular size chocolate chips work as well.
Preeeeetty sure you’ll love these healthy dark chocolate almond truffles too.
Hi Sally! Your recipes are always amazing! I love these and have made them 3 times in the past month. I was curious why these need to be baked. Why not just skip to chilling them? Does baking do something to the honey?
Hi Emily, baking helps the bars set. So glad you enjoy them!
I was curious if I could use figs instead of dates, I happen to have some on hand.
I haven’t tested it, but that swap should be fine.
Can you use raisins instead of dates? Thanks!
Hi Kat, We haven’t tested it but if you want to try it we recommend that you soak the raisins in hot water for a few minutes to rehydrate them before chopping them up so that they have the same texture as the dates. Let us know if you give it a try!
Easy, delicious and healthy! My husband thinks they taste like Snickers. I have become addicted to your snack bars—I make a different recipe every week.
I went on a SBA granola bar making binge today and it was so beyond gratifying.. I had to comment in case someone reads this and does the same thing because it was a glorious use of time. I made doub batches of 5 of your recipes, none of which I’ve made before so it was super fun and probably the easiest prep ever! My freezer and family are stoked, GREAT way to start the new year if you ask me. Thanks for the forever detailed and no fail instructions on making deliciousness. I literally cannot wait to do a granola marathon next tomorrow and this is how I know that I have officially become a bake nerd. 🙂
Can your bars be baked in a 10×15 sheet pan?
You’d need to double or (probably) triple the recipe.
I love this recipe! I choose honey for the sweetener, however, I don’t love a strong honey flavor so I half the honey and use coconut oil for the other half. So yummy!
Just made these today and they turned out great! I made the almond meal from whole almonds as described in the notes and since I had my food processor out I used it to chop the peanuts and dates too! The dates ended up in a ball but worked out fine by using some extra muscle when mixing all the ingredients.
I’m allergic to tree nuts, what can I use instead of almond meal? Thank you!
Oat flour works!
OMG:..I could die! Sooo lovely! I am always having one on my way home from work waiting in the traffic jams to move on. Soo great! Calms my nerves totally. Thank you for that great recipie
I LOVE that you said these peanut butter bars calm your nerves, while in traffic jams! I think they would calm me anytime. Hahaha.
Hi Sally,
Love these snack bars! Have you had the KIND Caramel Almond & Sea Salt bars? OMG so good. Im thinking of maybe drizzling your salted caramel over your vanilla almond bars to recreate them?! 🙂
Oh my gosh yes! That’s one of my favorite KIND bar flavors. So good! Salted caramel over the vanilla almond snack bars would definitely taste similar 🙂
I’m alergic to almonds, so I was wondering if cashews could used to achieve the same tesults.
Cashews would work!
So delicious! Thank you for this recipe! Now to make more and freeze some for easy snacks…
These were absolutely amazing! They lasted less than 24 hours in my house. Even my niece and nephews loved them, and they can be extremely picky. Thank you for sharing this recipe, and I can’t wait to make them again!
These bars are absolute perfection! You had me at PB + chocolate!
I love all of your snack bar recipes, and these will be perfect to pack for my daughter’s school lunch! Will these stay OK at room temperature for a few hours, or will they get sticky/messy? Should I put them next to a cold pack, or would that be too much? She will love these, thank you for the recipe! I love ideas for healthy snacks.
I’d stick them next to a cold pack. Especially in the hot summer months, they will get a little sticky.
Love these! Made them tonight! They are perfect!