No Bake Crispy Peanut Butter Chocolate Bars
Ingredients
Peanut Butter Crispy Base
- 3 ½ cups gluten-free brown rice crispy cereal note: Rice Krispies brand are NOT gluten-free in the United States.
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter (or nut/ seed butter of choice) If you opt for natural peanut butter as we do, try to avoid the bottom of the jar which can be "harder", you want a creamy consistency.
- ⅓ cup honey or maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- large pinch salt
Chocolate Topping
- 1 cup chocolate chips or dairy free chocolate chips we used semi-sweet but dark chocolate would be great to
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- Maldon salt or any Coarse salt for topping optional
Instructions
- Line an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Pour brown rice cereal into a bowl and set aside.
- In a small saucepan over low heat, heat peanut butter, honey or maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract and pinch of salt stirring often until well combined, smooth and creamy.
- At the same time, in a small saucepan, heat chocolate chips and coconut oil on low heat, stirring frequently until melted and well combined.
- Pour peanut butter mix over cereal and mix well until all the brown rice cereal is well coated. Pour the mixture into the prepared baking pan. Using the backside of a spoon or a spatula, press the mixture firmly into the pan, so that it is even and smooth (don't worry if you hear some of crispy rice cereal crackle)
- Pour melted chocolate over the peanut butter crispy base. Tilt pan side to side a bit or spread with a spatula to make sure it's even.
- Let cool in the refrigerator for an hour (if you can wait!). If you want to top with salt, remove from fridge after 15 mins when chocolate slightly cooled and sprinkle with salt, return to fridge OR top with salt after removing from fridge after the hour, but salt may not stick as well.
- Remove from refrigerator and let bars rest at room temperature for about 5 minutes before cutting. If they are too cold, the chocolate may crack a bit when cutting.
- Store in an air tight container for 3 days or the refrigerator for a week.
Notes
- Use creamy peanut butter and avoid the bottom of the jar if using natural peanut butter.
- Coat all the cereal well with the peanut butter mixture.
- Firmly press the cereal mix into the pan.
- Let the bars set before cutting into them.
Delicious and EASY!!!
Great! Happy you loved them!
I have a soft spot for Rice Krispie treats and peanut butter, and these are so much better than the original. Thank you for yet another hit!! FYI by about day 4 in the fridge the rice is not as crispy.
I prefer them too! Happy you love them! And thanks for the heads up — Ours have never lasted that long lol
Excited to give this recipe a try! Can I sub avocado oil for coconut oil?
Great question! I’m honestly not sure… coconut oil has unique properties in that it hardens when it cools so not sure the bars will hold together with avocado oil…
Is the maple syrup mostly for the sugar content or the flavor? I absolutely hate maple flavor and was wondering if something like Karo syrup or golden syrup would work. Look great otherwise.
I’ve used brown rice syrup with great success!
I made these peanut crispies today & they were delicious but I think I put too many gluten free rice crispies as the peanut butter & maple syrup didn’t seem enough to hold them together. Still loved them. Thank you
I have found that happens with this recipe sometimes… I will continue to see if I can tweak it. Thanks for the feedback…. happy you loved them anyway!