Peanut Butter Snack Bars
I hate the boxed snack bars. Don't and won't buy them and the kids know it. This is something I can at least see the ingredients and I get to teach kitchen skills at the same time and bond. Can't get that in a box.
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Snack Bars
- 200 g Light brown sugar
- 115 g Whole unsalted butter
- 150 g Honey
- 350 g Sugar free peanut butter
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
- 150 g Regular rolled oats Not instant or quick cooking
- 100 g Good quality puffed rice cereal
- 150 g Mini marshmallows
- 50 g Raisins, soaked in water 2 hours
- 50 g Sliced almonds
- 225 g Dark chocolate chips
Instructions
Make the bars
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In a thick bottomed 6 qt sauce pan, add the butter, honey and brown sugar. Gather, scale, and organize the rest of the ingredients. Place the oats, rice cereal and almonds into a deep, tall bowl. I use the mixing bowl from the Kitchen Aid mixer.
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Heat the butter, sugar, and honey on medium heat to 230°F. This may take a few minutes for everything to start to melt. Use a wooded spoon to ensure no sugar is sticking and burning to the pan. Once the caramel starts to boil, do not stir.
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When the caramel reaches 230°F, carefully-to avoid burning you-remove the thermometer and place it out of the way.
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Add the peanut butter and mix.
Add the marshmallows and mix until melted.
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Now, a slight shift. Add the caramel mix to the rice and oats. Add the raisins and vanilla and mix with a wide rubber spatula, folding and pushing with some urgency as the relative cool oats/cereal mix is cooling the caramel and making mixing challenging.
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Once all the ingredients are mixed, pour the mixture onto a parchment paper lined quarter sheet pan and push the bar mixture to the edges and corners of the pan with the rubber scraper.
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Place another piece of parchment paper on top of the mix and press gently to spread and even.
I discovered that pressing with vigor makes a bar too hard to eat. I prefer a softer bar.
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When the mixture is mostly cool, place the chocolate chips on top, cover with the other piece of parchment paper, and press the chips into the bar.
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The heat from the bars may make the chips melt a bit. When they cool, the chocolate may bloom-the funny looking dusty color on the outside.
It is unattractive but perfectly fine. The chocolate has lost its temper.
If you wish, add the chips into the mixture, but know that the heat of the mixture will melt the chips completely making chocolate peanut butter bars.
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When the mixture has cooled to the touch, remove the slab by lifting up on the parchment paper. Place it on a cutting board and portion as you see fit.
I bisect the slab lengthwise and the cut bars from the two pieces.
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Wrap each in plastic wrap and if you wish, then into a snack sized zip top baggie. Store in a cool place or in the refrigerator.
Recipe Notes
This bar is very versatile. I've added and subtracted items looking for that perfect bar for the kid.
This as is pretty much is it, for us.
I have used chai seeds and sesame seeds, flax seeds and wheat germ. You can add almost anything you wish, but I suggest keeping the quantities for the caramel intact.
I don't know the volume of the rice cereal, but it's a kinda a lot. As long as you can keep the basic balance of ratios intact, so the caramel can grab all the stuff, you should be good to go.