Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Though we love the Carmelitas bars and chocolate chip oatmeal bars profusely, the idea of a no-bake snack that combines so many delicious flavors caught my eye immediately.

Things are hectic nowadays, so I love finding one-bowl recipes that make life easier and baking fun. Dumping all ingredients into a bowl and not using the oven. It's still baking, right?

Turning on the oven can be a deal-breaker when the weather gets hot.

It's during those times when these chocolate peanut butter bars with chocolate come into play.

They're especially great to make with kids, and I think the colored sprinkles have something to do with it. My nephew calls them chocolate confetti bars. But that topping is optional, of course.

Ingredient list

• Oats: they give crunch to the top layer. I use old-fashioned rolled oats (traditional oats) because they have more texture, but you can use instant or quick-cooking oats.
• Chocolate cookies: use plain cookies or wafers.
• Powdered sugar.
• Chocolate: use your favorite dark semisweet chocolate for this recipe. I like Callebaut 54% chocolate wafers or Ghirardelli Premium baking bar.
• Peanut butter: the commercial type works best for this recipe, such as Jif or Skippy peanut butter.
• Unsalted butter.
• Cream: heavy, heavy whipping, and double cream, they all work.
• Salt: I like to use kosher salt when baking. But regular table salt works just fine.
• Edible confetti or sprinkles for decoration

Type of peanut butter

Though I'm a big fan of natural products, regular commercial peanut butter, such as Jif or Skippy peanut butter, works better as it has a thicker consistency.

The idea is to make the bars firm enough to cut easily and not make a mess while eating them.

If you use a natural, more fluid peanut butter, you might need to add a tad less to achieve the same firmness. That will depend on each nut butter.

Ground cookies

They add crunchiness and a unique flavor depending on the type of cookies you use.

I love chocolate ones, but this recipe is also great with vanilla or coconut cookies. Or be more adventurous and use a spicy one like gingersnaps.

Ganache topping

This adds a layer of chocolate flavor that is amazing if you want more of it. You can omit it, but it complements the oat bars well. 

What type of chocolate can you use? I love semi-sweet, but milk chocolate is an option if you like sweeter-than-average snacks. Or a mix of both. Your choice. 

Type of oats 

• Old-fashioned rolled oats (traditional oats): I use them for everything because they have more texture and make chewier bars.
• Instant or quick-cooking oats: the flakes are smaller and sometimes more powdery, rendering a softer bar with less texture.

Both work fine for this recipe.

Substitutions for peanut butter

• Dulce de leche: the bars will be sweeter, and the flavor different. If you've never tried chocolate and dulce de leche together, you're in for a real treat! You can buy dulce de leche repostero Vacalin online. 
• Almond butter or cashew butter: the flavor is mellower than peanut in my opinion. But similar in texture.