These bars might be your new favorite snack.
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.
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
(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.)
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:
I made this for the kids the other day and they loved them.
Mine was Accounting in college. The irony is that now accounting is part of my day-to-day and I’m flying through it!
I just made these tonight, but I didn’t have any rice crispies so I used rolled oats instead. So good! Next time, though, I am putting in some chocolate chips. Because, you know, everything is better with chocolate 😉
Lol, at first I thought you were talking about moles as in the animal, then the Chemistry thing set me straight… Btw, don´t know if you care anymore but my teacher´s always explained moles as if you were counting a dozen eggs, a mole of eggs is just a stranger number 😉 As far as favorite subjects go, I´m def. a science girl Chem, Math, Physics and Bio are my favorites and my least favorite is probably literature… Also, it´s my first time commenting so I´m generalizing, I love all your recipes! I´m not even a vegetarian though I´d like to be but I´ve been giving healthy baking a try and your recipes are a huge help/inspiration. My mom is hooked on your brownie batter pancakes recipe! 🙂
Katie! These are crazy good! You’re a genius ^_^
Awesome! I doubled the ingredients, using half agave and half brown rice syrup. I also added a handful of roasted peanuts with the pretzels, and topped with melted “milk” chocolate. My second batch is setting up in the fridge right now!
This recipe sounds amazing!
I also had to laugh at the moles part. I’m a Biomedical Sciences graduate student. The concept of moles is actually amazing in the way it works, but I didn’t really understand them until college either. I also hated chemistry until I started graduate school.
There are some pure math and science nerds that love everything to do with numbers and chemicals, but fewer than you might think, so who knows? Food may be the way you learn to love science.
These look so yummy! I love PB and pretzels together, and even though you didn’t add chocolate, I think some cocoa nibs or mini chips would make these the bomb! I will try them substituting almond butter because my son is allergic to peanuts but not almonds, go figure?
I guess I’m one of those math and science nerds Mia talked about. I majored in Chemistry in college and worked as a chemist for years until I had kids and became a SAHM. I think it is very common for scientists (particularly chemists) to enjoy cooking and baking since the two are so similar, converting things from grams to ounces is practically the same as calculating moles 🙂 It was the hands-on science classes I enjoyed (biology, chemistry), not so much physics, though. I also loved math up for the most part, although I am not enjoying trying to explain algebra to my 6th grader!
Made these for the second time today. Love them!!!
Just made a double batch…I’ve concluded that none of your recipes need single batch experiments..my shell was too soft but yummy.I used honey and a bit of blackstrap molasses.Great snack!