Vegan Peanut Butter Crumble Bars, Two Ways

Two years ago I posted a recipe for Peanut Butter & Jelly bars.

At the end of the post I wrote: “If you’re gluten free or vegan, I’ll post a similar recipe that you can enjoy soon!”

Tada! It’s here.

I’ve made these bars three times to work out little kinks in the recipe, and can say that for someone who generally doesn’t love peanut butter cakes or cookies, these bars are good.

One of my latest baking goal is making health(ier) desserts that are good enough to share, and not just something I can enjoy–looking at you super avocado-flavored brownies.–and these fit that criteria.

They’re soft, super peanut butter-y, and melt in your mouth…kind of like a cross between blondies and shortbread. I brought them to a fourth of july gathering with friends and they were all eaten, so that qualifies as a success to me!

Peanut Butter Bars (Vegan)

In a medium bowl combine:

• ¼ cup almond flour
• ¼ cup spelt flour (replace with oat flour to make gluten free)
• 2 tbs sugar or erythritol
• 1 tbs ground flax seeds
• ¼ tsp baking powder
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2 tbs peanut flour (optional–can replace with 2 tbs almond flour)

In a small bowl, microwave for 20 seconds and then stir until smooth:

• 2 tbs maple syrup
• 3 tbs peanut butter (decrease to 2 tbs if you added peanut flour)
• 1 tbs melted coconut oil

Stir in:

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients, and stir until combined. They should form a crumbly, but cohesive dough.

PB&J Option: 

Set aside ¼ cup of dough and press the rest of the dough into a small cake pan (about 6″ diameter) or ramekins.

Meanwhile combine in a microwave safe bowl:

• 1 tbs strawberry jam
• ½ cup frozen or fresh berries

Microwave, stirring every 20 seconds, until thick and gooey. It should take around 3-5 minutes. Spread on top of the dough, and then sprinkle with the remaining ¼ cup dough.

Bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. The very top of the bars should be lightly golden, but the bars shouldn’t appear totally baked through.

Chocolate Fudge Option:

Add to the dough:

•  2 tbs chocolate chips

Set ¼ cup of the dough aside, and press the rest of the dough into a small cake pan (about 6″ diameter) or ramekins.

On top of the bars spread:

• 3 tbs chocolate fudge sauce (I used this sugar free, fat free fudge sauce, but if you’re aiming for a purely vegan recipe, feel free to use otherwise)

Sprinkle the remaining ¼ cup of dough on top.

Bake at 350 degrees for 16-18 minutes. The very top of the bars should be lightly golden, but the bars shouldn’t appear totally baked through.

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Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

I’m very particular about peanut butter. Offer me a peanut butter and jelly sandwich on honey whole wheat bread and I’ll be unreasonably happy, but offer me a peanut cookie or slice of cake with peanut butter frosting and I’ll be less inclined to accept.

I can never tell if I’ll like a particular peanut butter dessert, so I usually just make recipes and hope I like them.

The other day I stumbled upon this recipe for peanut butter oatmeal bars while looking for a recipe to make for friends. They looked delicious so I decided to make them, figuring that if I didn’t like them others would.

I didn’t have any Reece’s and planned to add chocolate chips instead, but halfway through making the bars I remembered seeing a recipe for peanut butter jelly bars, and decided that, yes, that was what I needed in my life.

I was right.

These bars are intensely good. The peanut butter flavor is subtle but still evident, and the jelly adds a delightful gooeyness. They’re soft and buttery and fragrant. Yum.

If you’re looking for a fun recipe to try, I would definitely make these bars (now, optimally). If you’re gluten free or vegan, I’ll post a similar recipe that you can enjoy soon!

Peanut Butter & Jelly Bars

Recipe adapted from here.

• ¾ cup unsalted butter, at room temp
• 2 cups light brown sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 tbs vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 cup old fashioned oats
• 2 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 cup peanut butter baking chips
• strawberry jelly or jam

1. Cream together the butter and brown sugar.
2. Mix in the peanut butter.
3. Add the eggs one at a time, beating the mixture until smooth.
4. Stir in the vanilla.
5. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking powder, salt, and peanut butter baking chips.
6. Fold in the wet ingredients until no flour streaks remain.
7. Pat 2/3 of the dough into a greased 9×13 inch pan.
8. Spread a layer of strawberry jelly or jam over the dough, using however much desired. (I added just enough so the bottom was completely covered.)
9. Add the remaining dough to the top of the jam in small chunks.
10. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes, or until golden the top is light to medium golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the bars comes out clean.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

The hardest part of these blogs for me is writing the blurbs.  I figure that I could probably just post recipes and pictures, but that seems awfully impersonal and unchallenging-and an objective of this blog is to challenge myself.

The problem is, there isn’t really much to say at any given moment.  I struggle to decide what to talk about and then I write a whole little blurb, realize it has no relevance to the recipe, and delete it.

So, maybe I need to just ramble a bit, and eventually I will find some inspiration.  When that inspiration comes I’m sure the blog posts will roll in, but until then, I’m vacationing in Taiwan, eating exotic food, and daydreaming about these homemade peanut butter cups.

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

• 2 cups milk chocolate chips (1 bag)*
• 1 TBS shortening or butter
• ¼ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ¾ cup powdered (confectioners) sugar
• 2/3 cups crushed graham crackers*
• ½ tsp salt

1. Melt together the chocolate chips and 1 TBS shortening or butter.
2. In another bowl, stir together the butter, peanut butter, sugar, crushed crackers, and salt.
3. Set out cupcake liners (~30 mini).
4. Divide the filling into ~30 parts, about 1 ½ TSP’S each part. Freeze the parts until hardened, and then shape each into a small disk.
5. In each cupcake liner, place about one TSP on the melted chocolate.
6. Press one part of the filling on top of the melted chocolate.
7. Top the recipe of the cupcake liner with chocolate.  The filling should be totally submerged.
8. Repeat the process for all cups, freeze until hardened, and then enjoy!

*I used semi sweet since I didn’t have milk chocolate.  They were still delicious.

**I used crushed ritz crackers