Does your stomach start growling between 2:30 and 3:30 every day? I find it’s around that time each day at work that I need a little ‘pick-me-up’ to power me through the final hours of the workday. I usually have an apple or another piece of fruit, but lately I found I was still hungry. You can only raid your co-workers stash of peanut butter filled pretzels so many times, and so I decided it was time to find a new afternoon snack.
Enter these chocolate peanut butter energy bars from Health Magazine. Made with whole wheat flour and oats, they were definitely better than a candy bar from the vending machine or a cookie leftover from a meeting. I even cut the amount of sugar in half, mostly so that after dinner I could justify eating whatever baked good is inevitably in my kitchen at the time. 
These were exactly what I needed—satisfying without being overly sweet. They didn’t bake up as thick as the photo in the magazine, but thanks to the peanut butter, peanuts, and oats they had enough staying power to last me until dinnertime. I found they were better the day after I made them, and we finished off the entire batch in about four days. Not sharing them? I’m sure they’d freeze well individually wrapped, much like I did with these granola bars.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Energy Bars
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 12 bars 1x
Description
Satisfying chocolate peanut butter energy bars made with oats, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries, perfect for an afternoon snack.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
- 2 large eggs
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/4 cup chopped peanuts
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.
- In a small bowl, whisk together the whole-wheat flour, baking soda, and ground cinnamon.
- In a large bowl, beat the peanut butter with the brown sugar until smooth. Add the eggs, canola oil, and vanilla extract, mixing until well combined.
- Gradually add the flour mixture to the wet ingredients, stirring until just combined.
- Fold in the oats, chocolate chips, dried cranberries, and chopped peanuts until evenly distributed.
- Spread the mixture evenly into the prepared baking pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting into bars.
Notes
These bars are better the day after baking and can last up to four days. They freeze well when individually wrapped. You can adjust the sweetness by altering the sugar content.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Snack
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 210
- Sugar: 14
- Sodium: 100
- Fat: 11
- Carbohydrates: 26
- Fiber: 3
- Protein: 5
- Cholesterol: 20
Also check out this recipe for chewy granola bars.
