Spring has finally arrived to NYC, and I’m so excited.
Yesterday, I took full advantage of the spring sunshine to go for a long run in Central Park and was marveling at all the flowers which seemingly bloomed overnight! Just a few days before, I had been walking along a path where some initial green shoots were starting to poke through, and yesterday they were already full-blown daffodils!
With the spring and extended daylight, I’m definitely looking forward to more baking, but today I’m actually starting off with a quick and easy no-bake treat!
These Chocolate Peanut Butter Oat No-Bakes are not quite a bar, not quite a cluster, not quite a cookie….they’re just sort of pieces of gooey goodness.
Any really, I could call them Chocolate Nut Butter Oat Bars/Clusters/Cookies, because I’ll tell you a secret: I didn’t actually use peanut butter in this batch 😀
Super easy and quick, these are sure to be treat for anyone!
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 1 1/2 cups sugar
- 1/2 cup milk (regular, almond, soy – anything works)
- 1/4 cup cocoa powder
- 6 Tbsp butter
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 cup any nut butter (peanut, almond, sunflower…)
- 3 cups oatmeal
- Handful of chocolate chips
Instructions:
- In medium-sized pot, combine sugar, milk, cocoa powder, and butter and melt together over medium heat, stirring occasionally. After butter has fully melted, cook for another 2-3 minutes until just bubbly.
- Reduce heat to low, and add salt and nut butter. Stir until nut butter begins to melt and incorporate.
- Add oatmeal 1 cup at a time, mixing in with a spatula after each scoop.
- Line an 8×8 baking pan with wax paper and pour mixture into pan, spreading evenly to the edges. Sprinkle chocolate chips on top and gently press into mixture. (Feel free to go as chocolatey or not as you like, and if you’re really feeling it, you could even mix these in the pot for chocolate chips throughout!)
- Place pan in the freezer for at least 20 minutes for bars/clusters to cool. Can be stored in container at room temperature.
