The other day I realized that after four months, there are no peanut butter recipes on here. That’s just pathetic and has to be remedied right now.
You all know Bridget from Bake at 350, right? Her Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars are the most heavenly mix of peanut butter and chocolate. I’ve made them as written with butter, lots of sugar and white flour and they’re everything you could possibly want. Then there’s my version with oil, whole wheat, less sugar (let’s just say the all honey version didn’t work out) and honey. Verdict? They’re pretty close!
I have to admit that I used commercial peanut butter for this. I just don’t think the natural stuff works out so well with baked goods. And by natural, I mean peanut butter with peanuts as the only ingredient listed and not Skippy or Jiff Natural, which I don’t really think are natural. Those two would be just fine for this recipe!
Something a bit odd is that the original recipe says to bake them for 30 – 32 minutes. I baked mine for 17 minutes and thought that they were just right. I know that using whole wheat, honey and less sugar (1/2 cup less!) changes things… but halving the baking time? My point: check at 17 but they could take longer.
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (128 grams) peanut butter (I used creamy – not natural!)
1/2 cup (100 grams) unrefined or coconut sugar*
1/4 cup (80 grams) honey
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup (98 grams) whole spelt, whole wheat pastry, or whole wheat flour**
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
* I will definitely reduce that next time as these are pretty sweet (but not sweeter than a normal brownie).
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cup (98 grams) whole spelt, whole wheat pastry, or whole wheat flour**
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 cup (180 grams) semi-sweet chocolate chips
* I will definitely reduce that next time as these are pretty sweet (but not sweeter than a normal brownie).
** I reduced the flour to 3/4 cup from 1 cup to make them gooier.
Directions:
Preheat your oven to 350°F / 175°C . Lightly grease an 8 x 8″ pan or get out a piece of parchment paper to put in the pan. In a large bowl, mix together the oil, peanut butter, sugar, honey, eggs and vanilla. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the dry mix to the wet mix and be careful not to over mix. Then fold in the chocolate chips. Spread over the bottom of the pan and bake for 17 to 20-something minutes until the center is set (I took mine out once the middle was no longer jiggly but I like my brownies gooey).
Source: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars from Bake at 350
German bakers: I use the peanut butter that “the black dog” Netto occasionally has on sale. It’s just about as good as the American peanut butter I brought with me and it was only 1.59 Euro/350 grams. They have the same peanut butter at Strauss for 3.79 or something ridiculous. If you know of another good brand, please leave a comment!
German bakers: I use the peanut butter that “the black dog” Netto occasionally has on sale. It’s just about as good as the American peanut butter I brought with me and it was only 1.59 Euro/350 grams. They have the same peanut butter at Strauss for 3.79 or something ridiculous. If you know of another good brand, please leave a comment!
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32 comments on “100% Whole Grain Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars” — Add one!
My 21 year old son eats very healthy and asked that I make this recipe. He loved them. I followed the recipe but added 20 grams of protein and I did use Teddy Natural Peanut Butter and they came out great. He loved them and now is worried that are not healthy because they taste so good. Do you have the calories and nutritional information on them.
I love how he’s worried that they’re not healthy because they taste so good. ;) I wouldn’t call these (or really any desserts) healthy, but I think that with whole grain flour, natural sweeteners and natural peanut butter, that they’re at least healthier than regular desserts. :) I sent you the link for the nutritional analysis but for anyone else who is wondering, you can copy and paste any recipe here for that info. Thanks so much for your nice comment! I’ll be making these soon with natural peanut butter to see how different they are.
I have been looking at this recipe for a long time and finally decided to make it for my daughter’s birthday cake. I had already made 2 other (practice) cookie cakes that were just ok. This was the best! I used freshly milled whole wheat flour and baked it in a 9″ spring form pan for 20 minutes. The only change was the sugar, I used 1/4 cup dark brown sugar and 1/4 cup white sugar. Thanks again Erin!
I’m so happy that it came out well and I like your idea of making it as a cookie cake. :) I hope your daughter enjoyed it and had a great birthday! Thanks again for your feedback. :)
Can I use coconut oil? I can’t find canola oil!!
I haven’t tried it so I can’t guarantee anything but I think melted coconut oil would be fine!
I love this recipe! Some personal preference changes I did was use whatever peanut butter I have on hand (whipped PB most of the time), fill 1/4 cup half way with olive oil and than the rest with canola oil, 3/4 cup of mini chocolate chips, crumbled a few pieces of pretzels on top before popping it into the oven than once it comes out sprinkle it just a bit of sea salt (I do not add the 1/4 tsp of salt as per recipe called for) …the added crunch from the pretzel is really nice! I also love your chickpea cookie recipes as well!
I’m so happy that you like my peanut butter recipes! :) Your changes sound really great. And pretzels?! Yum! I definitely have to give that a try. Thanks for your feedback! :)
Arizona Girl – Thanks for the stats. :)
Rebeca – So happy that they came out well! But they definitely shouldn't be cake like. I wonder why that is. I've made them several times and they've been gooey. But if you all enjoyed them, I guess that's what's important. Thanks for letting me know. :)
Substituted the flour for Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour plus 1/4 tsp Xantham Gum in order to make them gluten free for my daughter. I baked them for 30 minutes, and they came out cake like and absolutely DELICIOUS!
FYI- as the recipe is written
nutritional info
Total calories: ~3300
12 servings calories: ~275
fat:~14
Fiber: 2
Sorry for the slow response! I haven't internet access. I'm happy you found me too and I hope you enjoyed the bars! :)
Hi Erin! I'm so happy I just found your blog on Pinterest! I am obsessedddd with these chocolate bars! I'm trying them tonight, can't wait to look through the rest of your recipes!
Don't you just love the packaging of "American" products here? Oh well. I'm just happy that we have good peanut butter! The first time I came to Germany years ago, I couldn't find any peanut butter that I thought was good, and so I had been bringing 6 pound containers back with me from Costco up until recently. Netto (the "black dog" one) has really yummy peanut butter too sometimes. The brand is CMC and is about 1.59 / 350 grams, when they have it. They have the same stuff at Strauss, but I think it's 2.79 or 2.99 or even 3.79. When I run out, I'll try the Rewe stuff! I've been worried about missing one of Netto's peanut butter sales so thanks for the tip. :)
German peanut butter- Rewe in NRW carries an "American Peanut Butter" that is really good. Complete with red, white, and blue packaging. Also, Edeka's erdnusscreme is good. The texture is somewhere in between creamy and crunchy and it is slightly drier than what we're used to, but I really like it. I've used both in recipes before with great results. During Aldi's "America Week," they usually stock up on peanut butter too. All three varieties are under 3 Euros.
Sonia – Hehe. Thanks! And thanks for pinning it. :)
Decadent. Food porn at its best. And I am craving something like that just now. Gotta look away… but have to pin them first! ;o)
Bridget – Thanks! But let's be honest. Yours are better. They're just like a big pile of gooey fudge! I tried to make my version that way, but I only got some goo. Oh well. At least they're a little healthier. Thanks for stopping by. :)
Ooo….I'm going to have to try your version! They look delicious! :)
Kare – Thanks! :)
Nora – Hehe. Thanks! I think it's pretty hard to mess up peanut butter and chocolate. You could just mix chocolate and peanut butter in a bowl and even that's lovely. :)
Oh yes you did! Peanut butter + chocolate = MY FAVORITE COMBO! Seriously, you can't go wrong – it's addicting, satisfying, salty, sweet, amazing… I think have an addiction :)
These look scrumptious, I am drooling…
These look mouth-wateringly good. Great idea!
Jeanette – Thanks! I hope you're getting by in Texas. :) I don't know if you actually grew up in Germany, but if my German had to move to Texas, I think he'd wither away. No German bread and all the heat.
MyFudo – I haven't had a good experience using natural peanut butter in baked goods. Like I said in the post, Skippy Natural and Jiff Natural would work, but I don't think they're really natural. And unfortunately I live in Germany so I can't really recommend a natural peanut butter that would work. I'm sure the bars wouldn't be awful if you used natural peanut butter. I just don't think the taste and texture would be the same. Sorry I couldn't be of more help! Good luck to you if you try. :)
I wanna try this recipe…Can you recommend all natural peanut butter brands that will really be good for this recipe? Can Laura Scudder's or Earth Balance brands be okay? Thanks!
I think this is the first time I'm leaving an actual comment, but these look so delicious!!
Also, I was born in Germany and now live in Texas. What are the odds? ;P
I'm a bit short on time today to reply to everyone, so I'll just say thanks everyone! :) What a bunch of lovely comments.
I just made them again because I was paranoid that I wrote down the baking time incorrectly. I didn't. It's just so strange! I'll update the post. And remember not to overbake them. They come out cakey if you do.
Wow, Erin. You've outdone yourself. I'm glad you finally got a peanut butter recipe up. This looks like the ultimate peanut butter bar. So creamy and delicious! I wish I wanted chocolate, but I think I may just have to make these with just peanut butter! Yum!
I adore the peanut butter and chocolate combination! These bars look so tasty and gooey… I wish I could just stick my hand into the computer screen and grab one, but sadly that's impossible.
Oh my word. These look so perfectly gooey; they look like giant gooey cookies!
Strange about the wird baking time though, it could have been because of the honey that was added.
I love how gooey these look inside. That is perfection to me! Plus, I can't resist peanut butter and chocolate :D
holy moly these look good!
These sound absolutely delicious! Love this idea!