Just because you’re tired of all that holiday cooking and baking doesn’t mean you’re tired of sweet treats! And trying to back away from the sugary sweets doesn’t mean you have to go cold-turkey on dessert, either.
The perfect answer to both dilemmas? Our No-Bake Chocolate Oat Bars!
Now, we won’t claim that these bars are some sort of health treat, but you can feel better about eating them than you did all those cookies and trifles from Christmas.
The oats give them a delicious crunch, and the chocolate drizzle gives them the perfect amount of sweetness. Even better? All you need to do is mix them up, stick them in the fridge, and enjoy.
Let us demonstrate this simple sweet, then read on for the full recipe so you can try them yourself.
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 cups rolled oats
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup dark chocolate chips
- ¾ cup chunky peanut butter
Directions
- Line an 8-inch-by-8-inch baking dish with parchment paper, and set aside.
- In a medium saucepan, combine the butter, brown sugar and vanilla extract. Heat over low heat, until the butter has melted and the sugar has dissolved.
- Add the oats, cinnamon, and kosher salt. Cook, stirring constantly, for 4 to 5 minutes.
- Pour half of the oat mixture into the prepared baking dish. Spread out the mixture evenly, pressing down.
- In a small microwave-safe bowl, combine the chocolate chips and the peanut butter. Heat on high in the microwave, in increments of 40 seconds, stirring in between each increment, until melted and fully combined.
- Pour ⅘ of the chocolate mixture into the pan over the pressed oats, reserving about ¼ cup for drizzling. Top with the remaining oats and drizzle with the remaining ¼ cup chocolate mixture.
- Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until set.
