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Retro-style – but updated, Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars. Think doughy, buttery oatmeal cookie base, layered with creamy peanut butter, and sweet salted chocolate on top. All made with simple, wholesome ingredients: oats, pure maple syrup, natural peanut butter, and dark chocolate. They’re sweet, salty, heavy on the peanut butter, extra chocolatey, gluten-free, and butter-free. Every last bite is truly delicious.
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When I think of February, I think Super Bowl Sunday, and then of course, Valentine’s Day. This year, we have the Olympics which makes things even more exciting. I’m sharing a couple appetizer recipes next week that will be great for viewing your favorite winter sport as well as the upcoming Super Bowl too. Lots of fun things this month!
For some reason, when I think of the Super Bowl, I always think of chocolate and peanut butter together. I’m sure it’s because I’m from Cleveland. Ohio is the Buckeye State, which means we all love our chocolate/peanutty treats.
These bars are one of my favorite chocolate-peanut buttter combos yet. They’re somewhat inspired by my lunchroom peanut butter bars. But also by the Twix bars I shared a couple weeks ago. I took elements from both and incorporated them into this recipe.
What’s awesome is that they’re naturally gluten-free, butter-free, and have no added sugar other than pure maple syrup! We’re all loving the more wholesome desserts right now.
Start with the oatmeal cookie
I based this layer off of my mom’s oatmeal cookies, but made things less sweet. Just some oats, almond flour, and maple syrup with eggs and vanilla.
I also used coconut oil in place of vegetable oil, something I’ve been doing for years.
Then, just bake the cookies until set. They taste buttery and perfectly sweet, but with no butter or sugar!
The peanut butter layer
Simply just peanut butter, maple syrup, and coconut oil boiled together to thicken the mix. The secret to making this layer really delicious is to use a peanut butter with just peanuts and salt. Don’t use a no-stir peanut butter that contains oils and/or sugar. You just want a natural peanut butter. This will give you the best flavor and texture.
Pour the peanut butter layer over the oatmeal cookies, then freeze the bars. You only need them to freeze them for 30 or so minutes. This helps the peanut butter set up quickly.
When the peanut butter is chilled and stiff, pour some melted chocolate overtop to finish the layers up. My one piece of advice here is to slice the bars before the chocolate top becomes too hard. This will make the bars much easier to cut and prevents the peanutty filling from getting squished out.
The final review? Slightly chewy and crumbly on the bottom, with the creamiest peanutty filling – that’s perfect salted. The chocolate top adds a nice “crack” with every bite.
Delicious! And great for parties too since these can really feed a crowd!
Looking for easy party desserts? Here are a few ideas:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies
Homemade Vegan Peanut Butter Twix Bars
Caramel Butter Cake with Fudgy Chocolate Frosting
Lastly, if you make these Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookies
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 1/2 cup pure maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Peanut Butter Mix
- 1 cup, plus 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter , (just peanuts and salt)
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil
- 12 ounces dark chocolate, chopped
- sea salt
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper. 2. To make the cookies: In a mixing bowl, beat together the oats, almond flour, baking soda, salt, coconut oil, maple syrup, eggs, and vanilla. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes, until lightly golden. 3. To make the peanut butter mix: In a medium pot, mix 1 cup peanut butter, the maple syrup, and coconut oil. Bring to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Cook 2 minutes, then remove from the heat. Pour over the oatmeal cookies. Freeze 30 minutes, until firm. 4. Melt together the chocolate and 1/3 cup peanut butter in the microwave. Let cool 5 minutes and then spread the chocolate over the peanut butter mix. Return to the fridge to set, about 10 minutes, then slice. The chocolate will not be totally set, but slicing is easier this way. Keep in the fridge.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
I think you mention that you live in the mountains – I’m wondering if you create your recipes for high altitude and they need to be adjusted for those who live closer to sea level? I had issues with this recipe (bottom completely fell apart) and I actually consistently have issues with your baking recipes – both those in the blog and in your cookbooks. I bake quite frequently (and have for decades) and use a large variety of cookbooks and recipes and don’t have this issue with other sources. I don’t have issues with your cooking recipes. So I’m wondering what’s different about your baking recipes that they don’t ever turn out for me?
Hey Jenny,
So sorry to hear this recipe was not enjoyed. The oatmeal part of this recipe is crumbly, that’s just how the recipe is. You really shouldn’t have to adjust my recipes for altitude, I have recipe testers at both sea level and high altitude. Sorry you have issues with the recipes! xTieghan
Thanks for the response! I might suggest that if the recipe is intended to be crumbly that the dessert not be referred to as a “bar”? Perhaps if it were called by a different name, there wouldn’t be an expectation for the dessert to hold together?
It shouldn’t be so crumbly that the bar is no longer a bar:)
Can you sub regular flour for the almond flour in these?
Hi Avery,
Yes, that should be fine for you to do! Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
I’d create a separate section in the ingredients breakdown for Peanut Butter Mixture and Chocolate Top Layer. I was rushing and just threw it all in… ended up with a homemade Peanut Butter Nutella.
Hi Malia,
Sorry, I am not sure what to say as it is very clearly written in the instructions. Thanks for trying the recipe. xTieghan
I agree! The Oatmeal cookie ingredients were separate, the peanut butter mix ingredients were separate, but the chocolate topping ingredients were included with the peanut butter mix. Luckily, I caught it, or I would have ended up with the same issue you did!
Can I use something instead of maple syrup?
Hi Carson,
You could use honey or brown sugar in place of the maple syrup. Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
Hi Teighan-
I think what she is referring to that you have the chocolate and 1/3 cup peanut butter included under the peanut butter mix when it is really defrosting. I also had to read the recipe a few times to understand the ingredient breakdown.
Just made these. Bottom layer was underwhelming in flavor (needs some sweetness – maybe mashed banana and less oil?) compared to the top layers, and too crumbly to hold together well. Bottom layer was think but the top layers didn’t come out as thick as those in the picture. The 380 kcal/serving pack a whollop. Is there a way to cut back on the fat content? thanks!
Hey there,
So sorry to hear the recipe was not enjoyed. Sorry, you would have to completely adjust the recipe to lower the fat content. Let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
The bars turned out beautifully. My hubby tried them and declared them to be good!
Hey Elsie,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
I had trouble with the cookie base crumbling apart when I cut them..I did cut them chilled? Any suggestions? They tasted great, but couldn’t get a clean cut due to the crumbles?!!
Hey Wendy,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! The cookie base is crumbly, you can add 1/4 cup additional coconut oil next time to help with that. I hope this helps for next time!! xTieghan
Hi, Tieghan – do you prefer refined or unrefined coconut oil for these? Thanks!
Hi Lex,
I like to use unrefined coconut oil. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xTieghan
Such a perfect mixture of salty and sweet!! These turned out so well (like all your recipes)
Thank you!
Hey Danielle,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
Amazing. Amazing. Followed the recipe pretty much exactly. I weighed all the ingredients where grams were available in the recipe. I was going to add an extra 1/4 c. coconut oil based on reviews but when I weighed it out it seemed like a lot already so I only added a little extra. The bars are delicious and have the perfect amount of crumble. Seriously, they taste amazing.
Hey Lauren,
Happy Friday!! Thanks so much for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xxT
Do you think I could make these dairy free by using flax eggs instead of the eggs??
Hey Anna,
I have not personally tested this, but you can certainly give it a go! Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe!! xTieghan
What could be used instead of coconut oil? Thanks!
Hey Roxanne,
You can use butter in place of coconut oil. Please let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope you love it! xTieghan
For some reason these bars did not turn out at all for me. All the layers came apart when I used a spatula to remove them from the pan. They have good taste though!
Hey Jackie,
Hmmm so sorry to hear this! Was there anything you may have adjusted or anything that I can help with? xTieghan
I followed the recipe exactly. I wonder if the almond flour could be the issue.
I love your recipes that call for less sugar!
I halved the recipe and it was perfect! They are delicious!!! Whole fam loved them. Can they be frozen?
Hey Jen,
Thanks a bunch for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was a winner!! Yes, you can totally freeze them:) xTieghan
The bake time is way, way too long. Mine were almost over done 15 minutes in.
Hey Liz,
So sorry to hear this, was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know how I can help! xTieghan
I’m confused. You have chocolate chips as part of the oatmeal recipe but don’t mention adding them to the mix. Then there is more chocolate as part of the peanut butter layer. Where do the chips go?
Hi Kirsten,
Please reread the recipe, there are no chocolate chips in the oatmeal cookie, just in step 4. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, let me know if you give it a try! xTieghan
My copy of the recipe (printed it off several days ago) also had 1 cup chocolate chunks, and/or chocolate chips listed with cookie layer ingredients. The instructions didn’t say what to do with them, so I added them in to the cookie layer. Now I see that they do not appear on the recipe. I guess that my bars will be extra chocolatey.
Thanks for giving the recipe a try Susan! You must have printed the recipe before I fixed it:)