raw peanut butter chocolate chip brownie bars
raw peanut butter chocolate chip brownie bars
I honestly don’t want to fuss with too many words before i set you free to make these bars. i’ve been nibbling on them for the last couple of days and after some thought have concluded that they do in fact taste like a thick, chewy brownie except they are In fact raw, naturally sweetened, and not actually a brownie but maybe they’re better, in a contrasting way? i tossed around this idea in between snacking on chunks of these and palmfuls of cadbury eggs and it seemed like a sound reasoning.
we’ve basically got two desserts in one because how lucky are we!!! firstly there’s a thick, fudgey brownie layer, then we top it with a peanut butter chocolate chip layer that’s not quite as sweet and delivers some very necessary peanut buttery goodness, and then we truly go nuts and drizzle a layer of melted chocolate on top because we deserve all the best things.
i’m not exactly going to proclaim that this is a ‘health food,’ because sugar is sugar, but we are using dates and maple syrup and so if those mental gymnastics make sense to you, here we are, not adding sugar. it’s mostly about the chewiness from the dates, the dark depth we get from the maple syrup, and the fact that we’re not baking anything that really makes this work. it’s easy and i’m here for it.
a few things before we get going:
- if you are paleo, swap the nuts and nut butter. it will be just as delicious!
- the bars hold up and slice better the longer you let them sit in the fridge, so, deep breaths and paaaaatience
- they’ll keep for about 5 days refrigerated
- if you’re able, share with your friends, and i tip my hat to you if you can refrain from eating the whole pan yourself (may or may not be speaking from experience.)
raw peanut butter chocolate chip brownie bars
makes: 8 bars
prep time: 10 minutes
cook time: at least 1 hour for chilling
for the brownie layer:
1c pitted dates
1/2c cocoa powder
1/2c almond flour
1/2c maple syrup
1tsp vanilla extract
pinch of salt
for the peanut butter chocolate chip layer:
3/4c peanut butter (almond or cashew butter works here, too)
1c unsalted peanuts (almonds or cashews work here, too)
1/2c mini chocolate chips
2tbsp maple syrup
pinch of salt
for the chocolate shell:
3/4c mini (or regular, whatever you’ve got) chocolate chips, melted
line a 4x8 bread pan with parchment paper.
pulse the ingredients for the brownie layer in a food processor until a thick dough forms. press the brownie layer evenly in the bottom of the tin. rinse the food processor, then pulse the ingredients for the peanut butter chocolate chip layer (if it’s too thick, add more maple syrup. too runny, add more nuts.) once a dough forms, press the peanut butter chocolate chip layer evenly on top of the brownie layer. then, pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter chocolate chip layer, making sure to cover the whole thing.
place the pan in the fridge, and chili for at least one hour. once the bars have chilied, slice horizontally.