No-Bake Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars


These bars might be your new favorite snack.

peanut butter pretzel bars

Peanut butter snack bars!

Salty and sweet, these no-bake bars taste even better than peanut butter pretzel Luna Bars. But they confuse me: How can a recipe with absolutely no chocolate taste so good?

It just doesn’t make sense.

pb lunas

You know what else confuses me?

Moles. And protons and neutrons and electrons. But mostly, moles. I sat through an entire year of AP Chemistry and still don’t understand moles. Not in the slightest.

Until I learned to cook, I thought I disliked science. Only recently did I realize the reason for my animosity towards the subject: I just couldn’t figure out how our school science experiments applied to real life. (Even the more exciting experiments, such as growing plants in 7-up or red food dye… how on earth was I ever going to use the information gleaned from that study?)

But it turns out I do like some branches of natural science, such as the science of nutrition, and the science of cooking. (Edible experiments are the best!) My advice to science teachers: Ditch the moles.

Focus on pretzels and peanut butter!

peanut butter pretzel bars

Peanut Butter Pretzel Bars

(No-bake!)

Category: Healthy Peanut Butter Recipes.

  • 1 cup rice crispies (30g) (either brown or white)
  • packed 1/2 cup oat flour (70g) (see instructions for substitution)
  • 1/4 tsp salt (my pb also has salt)
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 5 tablespoons agave (Pure maple syrup will probably work)
  • 3 tablespoons pb (or other nut butter) (Or you can switch the proportions of peanut butter to agave.)
  • optional: handful of broken-up pretzels (I didn’t measure)
  • optional: double batch PB Magic Shell

Combine all dry ingredients. In a separate (large) bowl, combine wet and stir to form a thin paste. (If you store your pb in the fridge, you should warm it a little for easier mixing.) Pour dry into wet (not the other way around), and stir until evenly coated. Line a baking dish or tupperware container with a large piece of wax paper and pour the mixture into the dish. Fold the extra paper over the mixture and squish down as hard as you possibly can! Use a heavy object to really press it down. (The mixture will fill a 7×5, or about 2/3 an 8×8.) Stick the mixture in the fridge or freezer to harden before cutting into bars. Makes 6 bars. (If you can’t find oat flour, you can make your own by blending oats in the food processor. Just be sure to measure after blending.)

View Nutrition Information

peanut butter luna bars

For authentic Luna Bars, top with: Peanut Butter Magic Shell.

As stated earlier, you should make a double batch to coat the bars. Spread it on evenly. When the bars cool in the fridge/freezer, the tops will magically harden.

Question of the Day:

Did you have a least favorite subject in school?

Growing up, I dreaded science class, whether it was chemistry or biology or physics. People always told me how lucky I was to get good grades on Spanish and English tests without studying… Little did they know I once studied for an AP Chem test and still got a 25 (my worst-ever test grade). But you know what? I’m more proud of the C I earned in Chem than the As in subjects that came more easily. I worked hard for that C; it could have so easily been an F! Link of the Day:

oat-bars_thumb_3

Oatmeal-Raisin Cookie Bars

Meet Katie

Chocolate Covered Katie is one of the top 25 food websites in America, and Katie has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Fox, The Huffington Post, and ABC’s 5 O’clock News. Her favorite food is chocolate, and she believes in eating dessert every single day.

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187 Comments

  1. Jamie @ Don't Forget the Cinnamon says:

    Oh. my. gosh. These look AWESOME! I love salty/sweet combos! Note to self: purchase pretzels, stat.

  2. Katie @ Peace Love & Oats says:

    I hated chemistry! Ironically I was a chem minor in college…. my adviser thought it would be helpful if I applied to grad school… I didn’t.

  3. Ashley @ My Food 'N' Fitness Diaries says:

    the honey peanut butter pretzel luna bars are my new favorite luna bar! definitely making your version. 🙂

  4. Gina @ Running to the Kitchen says:

    These look awesome. We’re going away this weekend and have a long car ride ahead of us and I was trying to come up with a good snack/bar idea. These may be it 🙂

  5. Gabrielle @ LookSharpSconnie says:

    Ohhh Lordy. Need to make these PRONTO. PB&Pretzel may very well be my favorite taste combo ever.

    Think I scrolled up to look at those pictures 8 times while writing this comment. I could totally do those for breakfast.

    Hated science. Hated hated hated. Loved……lunch?

    -Gabrielle

  6. Samantha says:

    I actually really enjoyed chemistry but was terrible at it. I got it at a concept level but just struggled with the detailed work. It was a very strange experience.

    I haven’t thought about moles in years – but you are right, that idea was just a little unreachable.

    I thought I hated spanish too until I got to college and finally got some great instructors. I always wanted to really be good at it and finally was!

  7. Stephanie Murphy says:

    Salty-sweet combo. Mmm delicious!

  8. Yellow Haired Girl says:

    Sweet + salt is the best combo! These looks awesome.

    I hated math, but not until the 11th grade. I always had done “okay” in that class … and then, BOOM, it got really hard for me. I barely made it out of it alive by the time high school was over!

  9. Suzie says:

    Yum, these look delicious and such a great snack for on the go! I appreciate you sharing another route to not using peanut butter, as I am allergic. And yes least favorite subject was either math or science, I was just like you fighting for survival in those courses, thanks for being so open 🙂

  10. Liz @ Tip Top Shape says:

    I hated math. I was in AP Calc and couldn’t manage Cs on tests even with a tutor. I guess the fact that I was in AP Calc at all means I wasn’t really AWFUL at math, but it sure felt like it.