Healthier Peanut Butter Bars

I know I have mentioned several times that I love to bake. I also, OBVIOUSLY, have to be careful not to bake so much that I gain a million pounds. Plus, I do like to attempt to make the desserts at least semi-healthy so I am not filling my family with completely empty calories.


Notice - I said healthier, not healthy! I don't think you can ever attach the word healthy to a dessert. Some come close, but let's face facts. We don't need ANY desserts to nourish our bodies. That being said, I don't like the picture of life without them. So, I TRY to use moderation and modifications.

This weekend we had a last minute party at a friends house. I wanted to bake something to take, but quickly discovered I was out of most of my standby ingredients. So, time to get creative!

I decided on Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip bars. Bars - because they are fast. I knew I wanted chocolate, but only had about 1/3 package of chips. I was out of Crisco. (Yes, I usually use that as the fat in my chocolate chip cookies - at least part of the fat. My family does not like the taste of butter in the cookies. I know weird, but that is us.) This is what I came up with. They were a hit! They are a bit more cake like than I would choose. So, to solve that, back off on the yogurt (or liquid) a little. You could likely also just omit the egg - but I haven't tried this yet. Let me know if you try these, we will be using them again.

Recipe:

1/2 c Peanut Butter

3 TBSP unsalted butter, room temp

1/4 c non-fat yogurt (plain or vanilla will work)

3/4 c sugar

3/4 c brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 c white flour

3/4 c whole wheat flour

3/4 c quick oats

1/2 c chocolate chips

1. Line a 9x13" pan with foil. Preheat oven to 350 degF
2. Cream butter, peanut butter, yogurt, and sugars for 2 minutes in stand mixer.
3. Add egg. Mix until combined. May need to scrape sides.
4. Add baking soda, salt, and vanilla. Mix until combined.
5. Add flour and oats. Mix until combined. Mixture will be stiff.
6. Spread/press mixture into pan.
7. Sprinkle top with Chocolate chips. Press chips into dough.
8. Bake for ~25 minutes until golden brown.

.