I'm in love

One of my coworkers is being induced tomorrow so we had a food day in honor of her. She'll be the first to admit she's been living it up food wise since she got pregnant and today was her last hurrah of eating junk. She didn't give me an option of what type of food to bring. On the email she sent out I was told to bring something sweet and full of calories. I immediately thought of these wonderful No-Bake Bars I saw on Nemmie's fabulous blog. When I told her I would bring these her first comment was "well peanut butter, that's good for me it has protein". Then we realized this also has oats in it, and well, those are good for you too. So this was a "healthy" dessert. ;)

After I prepared these I tried one and it was awesome! I decided that in order to fulfill Sharla's wishes on a calorie laden snack and be able to keep some of these at home I'd better bake something else too. So I made my triple threat blondies and some caramel popcorn and called it good.

Everyone loved these (and everything else, it was all gone before I left work) and I am so glad I kept some at home to enjoy. I have most of the ingredients for these on hand so this will surely become a go-to dessert for me!

No-Bake Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Source: Cast Sugar



Ingredients:

Cooking spray
9 oz. chocolate wafers, finely ground (2 cups) (I ended up using chocolate teddy grahams and didn't completely ground them. I wanted some chocolate chunks)
1 1/2 c. old-fashioned oats
1 1/4 c. confectioners' sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
5 oz. unsalted butter
1 c. chunky peanut butter
3/4 c. + 3 Tbsp. creamy peanut butter
10 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted


Directions:

Coat a 9-by-13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line with parchment, leaving a 2-inch overhang on the 2 long sides.

Combine wafers, oats, sugar, and salt in a large bowl. Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat, then add chunky peanut butter and 3/4 cup smooth peanut butter, whisking until well combined. Add peanut butter mixture to wafer mixture, stirring until combined. Transfer to baking dish, and use the bottom of a measuring cup or an offset spatula to firmly press mixture into an even layer. Refrigerate for 30 minutes.

Pour melted bittersweet chocolate over chilled mixture and, using an offset spatula, spread into a thin layer that covers the entire surface. Refrigerate until hardened, at least 15 minutes.

Heat remaining 3 tablespoons smooth peanut butter in a small saucepan until runny. Drizzle peanut butter over chilled chocolate. Refrigerate until hardened, about 15 minutes.

Use parchment to lift out chilled block of bars. Run a sharp knife under hot water, dry well, and cut into 24 squares, wiping knife between cuts. Let bars stand at room temperature for 10 minutes before serving. (Sliced bars can be refrigerated for up to 1 week or frozen for up to 1 month.)