5-Ingredient Peanut Butter Crunch Bars
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup (105 g) maple syrup (or any other liquid sweetener)
- 1/2 cup (120 g) peanut butter (+ 1/3 cup more if you like/see notes)
- 1/4 tsp sea salt (optional/see notes)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 cups (130 g) rice puffs
- 5 oz (140 g) dark chocolate chips (dairy-free)
Preparation
Line a 6×6 inch (ca. 15 cm) pan or 7×7 inch (ca. 18 cm) pan with parchment paper. You can also use an 8×8 inch (ca. 20 cm) pan, however, the bars will be less thick
Add liquid sweetener, 1/2 cup peanut butter, vanilla extract, and salt to a bowl, and stir to combine
Add the rice puffs to the bowl and stir until the rice cereal is well-coated. Depending on the size of the rice puffs, you will need 2 1/2 to 3 cups
Spread the mixture in the pan and press it down as firmly as possible with a spatula. You can also use the bottom of a jar to compress the mixture
I added 1/3 cup peanut butter in addition on top, but this step is optional
Melt the chocolate chips in a double-boiler or in a microwave and pour the melted chocolate over the peanut butter cereal mixture. Spread it evenly
Put the pan in the fridge for about 60 minutes (or in the freezer for a shorter time)
Cut into bars (which works best with a hot knife) and enjoy! Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge
NOTES
You can use any other nut butter instead of peanut butter. Some examples are almond butter, cashew butter, etc. To make the recipe nut-free, simply use sunflower seed butter
The additional 1/3 cup peanut butter will make the bars moist, but at the same time, they will stay crunchy. You can leave out the additional layer of PB though
Please do NOT add water to the recipe otherwise the bars get soggy
I recommend using salt if your peanut butter is unsalted
