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5 Ingredient Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Crunch Bars.
It’s been far too long since we talked about chocolate.
I mean, a good three weeks, which as you guys know, is a very long time for me. I just got so very excited with all the spring strawberries. Plus I’ve also tried to make a point to focus a bit more on easy dinner recipes for you guys. But in doing this, my chocolate desserts got pushed to the side for a minute. Don’t worry, they’re back and I am so happy about it.
What am I also happy about? The fact that it is Friday! That’s obvious though, huh? To be honest, Friday’s are just like any other day for me. I normally always work on the weekends, so I don’t see Friday the same way I did when I was in school. When I was in school, Friday was my favorite day of the week. Come three o’clock on a Friday afternoon I was the happiest kid in the room. I had two nights off from worrying about the following school day, and two days to do whatever I wanted. It was the best feeling. Take me back to those days?!
Haha. Not really, I wouldn’t want to go back because I’m loving where I’m at in life right now, but I guess the point is that weekends are not the same as they were six years ago (…oh my gosh I am getting old). All this said, I was talking with my mom this week and telling her that I always tell myself I’ll take an hour on Friday or Saturday to do something fun, but in the end I just feel guilty for not working, and instead come up with more work to do. Does anyone else experience this? Work guilt? I should note that I do have a really hard time just sitting and chilling. Like it’s not in my make up to naturally do that, but slowly and surely, I’m working to incorporate a bit more “chill” time into my life. Baby steps.
Anyway, I’m still excited it’s Friday. I’m looking forward to hopefully a little bit of down time, and of course making chocolatey treats, because in my opinion, no weekend is complete without chocolate.
Which brings me to these bars. Finally.
Currently, I am all about creating a slightly healthy…ish dessert, cutting back on processed sugar, and using the best ingredients possible. I mean, I’m not doing this always, but when I can, it’s certainly an added bonus to not feel an ounce of guilt while eating chocolate…not that we really ever do around here. Mom always said, if you’re gonna eat it, just enjoy it and then go for a walk later.
Got to love Jenny, aka Mom.
 
Here’s the breakdown on these bars.
They are vegan, gluten free, loaded with protein, packed with antioxidant rich dates (which no one would ever guess), full of good for us fiber, and covered in chocolate, which you know is just good for our sanity. These also happen to be no-bake and for the most part, pretty quick and simple to make. You will need a food processor to really blend the dates and peanut butter together and create the most deliciously sweet dough. From there, you’ll press dough into a pan and sprinkle brown rice krispies overtop. Next, chill the bars really, really well. I cannot stress this step enough. If the bars are not frozen, they will be zero fun to cover in chocolate, so be sure to allow time for the bars to chill. Then generously cover in chocolate and done.
Five ingredients, very simple, healthy..ish, and so delicious. Could you ask for a better Friday treat?!
I think of these bar as a cross between a peanut butter cup and a snickers bar. They have the creaminess of a peanut butter cup, but they’re also a little crunchy like a Snickers bar. It’s the perfect combo, and it’s SO GOOD.
Also, depending on how you look at these things, these bars could easily be considered the perfect before or after workout snack. Hello protein…okay, okay…and chocolate, but hey, chocolate has it’s benefits too (go with the dark).
Hope you all have a great weekend. See ya Sunday!
5 Ingredient Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
Servings: 16 bars
Calories Per Serving: 196 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter or almond butter
- 8 ounces pitted medjool dates (1 cup packed dates)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup brown rice krispies
- 12 ounces melted dark chocolate
- roasted peanuts for topping (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Line an 8x8 inch square baking dish with parchment paper. 2. In the bowl of a food processor, combine the peanut butter, dates, and vanilla. Pulse until well combined and the dough clumps together easily. Press the mixture into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the rice krispies over top, gently pressing them into the peanut mix to adhere. Transfer to the freezer and freeze until firm, 30 minutes to 1 hour.3. Melt the chocolate in the microwave on 30 second intervals, stirring after each interval until melted and smooth. Let cool 10 minutes.4. Cut into 16 bars, shaking off any excess rice krispies that are not sticking. Cover in chocolate and top as desired, with peanuts or more rice krispies. It's easiest if the bars are very cold when doing this step. Let the chocolate set up, about 10 minutes. Keep stored in the fridge.
Notes
*Alternately, you can stir the rice krispies into the peanut mixture instead of just having them as the top layer.
*It is very important that the bars are well chilled before trying to work with them or they will fall apart. The chocolate is what helps them keep their shape.
Nothing but deliciousness.
Just made these today, since I had a surplus of dates around and had been keeping my eye out for a recipe to use them up— the texture and taste was on point, but mine did not come out as pretty as yours. :/ any tips for the chocolate dunking/coating step? My chocolate coating/layer came out gloppy-looking and yours are so pretty and uniform!
Hi! Was the peanut butter layer completely frozen prior to dipping? That is very important when making these bars. Please let me know if you have other questions. Glad you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
nice bars, and with dates! Thank you for subbing those for refined sugar and for this recipe
I am glad you like these Sabrina! Thank you so much!
Do you have sugar and carb break down?
Also does the dates need to be used,Are they added as a sweetener? Will the peanut butter and rice krispies firm up fine without the dates.
Thank you for your time
Hi Stella! I do not have the carb and sugar information for this recipe.. I just try to use whole foods. So sorry about that! The dates are added to sweeten the bars, so I would not skip out on those. I hope you love these and let me know if you have any other questions!
Do you use natural creamy peanut butter or creamy peanut butter like JIF or Skippy? I just tried the recipe with natural pb and it was a little grainy and not as creamy as your pictures. Thanks!
HI! I use whole foods organic peanut butter that is just peanuts and salt. Was your peanut butter oily? Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
What dark chocolate do you use?
I use Lindt 90% dark. Please let me know if you have other questions. Hope you love this recipe! Thanks! 🙂
I’m definitely going to get the ingredients to make these this weekend!! I too struggle with the work/life balance and try to leave time to do things just for myself without feeling guilty! I try to block off uninterrupted work time and attempt to stick to it!
I hope you love these bars! Thanks Jenna!
I’m not a peanut fan (I know, weird) but my hubby is! I will be trying these fabulous looking bars out this weekend. Maybe today! I think this recipe would make a fun video…all that dunking in delicious chocolate! “Every day should be at least 25% fun!” Have a super weekend.
Thank you Maria! It would make for a good video!
hey girl- these bars look so yummy! have a great weekend!
Thank you Shawnna!
I can barely wait to try them! The pics are beautiful of course, and the recipe reminds me of the one you had a while ago for date-sweetened PB cookies, which were a huge hit for me. Yum, yum, yum. We’ll definitely be finding room for these in our diets at my house!
Great! I hope you love these Toni! Thank you so much!
I’m selfishly excited it’s Friday and for these amazing treats, since today is my 30th birthday! 🙂
That is so fun! Happy Birthday!! I hope you had a great day and love these!
Oh my goodness! These look crazy good. Also, your photos always make the food so tantalizing. Hope you get some “chill” time this weekend.
Thank you Kristy!
YuM!! These look divine! What kind of food processor do you have? I am in need of getting one but don’t want to risk getting one that may not be up to making something like the delicious bars above, falafel, etc. Any suggestions would be wonderful. Thank you for your amazing recipes and keep crushin it.
Hi Morgan! I will link below one I love! Let me know if you have any other questions!
https://www.crateandbarrel.com/cuisinart-14-cup-food-processor/s146663?st=Cuisinart%20%C2%AE%2014-Cup%20Food%20Processor&ta=food%20proce&rac=p1&SID=.MjYwNzAwLTExNTE.5e5ec92d-3aa7-11e8-a7ef-7b31149d8ec2&si=2975314&aff=cj
I’m so happy this is date-sweetened! (other than the chocolate). I’m definitely making this with just a drizzle of unsweetened chocolate on top. Also, I always feel guilty when not working, you’re not the only one! It kinda makes me miss school… But not really. Plus, random, but we’re the same age. 🙂
Thank you so much Caroline! I am so glad you like these and hope you’re having a great weekend!
Ah yuuuum, it looks sooo good!!!
Friday evening is the best for me; then I know I have two whole days without going to work; pretty much the same as children know that the school is over for the week, right ? 🙂 Thank you for this lovely idea and enjoy the weekend !
Thank you so much!