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Melissa Hemsley’s Chocolate Peanut Butter (No-bake) Bars

Perfect for packing into lunchboxes for a healthy snack on the go, these delicious no-bake chocolate and peanut butter bars are full of nutritious ingredients.

From the book

Melissa Hemsley

Introduction

A no-bake family favourite treat. Pretty irresistible but if you don’t devour them over a few days, they will keep for a week in a sealed container. Store in the fridge in warmer months. If catering to any nut allergies, swap the ground almonds for more oats and switch the nut butter for pumpkin seed butter. If you have a preferred nut butter, try that – I love a cashew butter but keep it to the smooth variety for a silkier texture. Look out for 60% minimum cocoa solids for your chocolate.

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Ingredients

250g smooth peanut butter
100g ground almonds
100g porridge oats
6 tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
Little pinch of sea salt
For the chocolate layer:
180g dark chocolate, roughly broken
1 tbsp smooth peanut butter
flaky sea salt, for sprinkling
Optional Topping:
2 handfuls of toasted peanuts

Method

Takes 20 minutes, plus setting time. Keeps for 1 week, at room temperature.

Line a small tin or dish (about 15 x 8cm or square equivalent) with greaseproof paper, making sure it comes up high enough on the sides so that you can lift the mixture out of the tin once it’s set.

Mix the peanut butter, ground almonds, oats, maple syrup, vanilla and salt together in a bowl. Transfer to the lined tin, pressing down with the back of a spoon or spatula to make it even and compact.

For the chocolate layer, melt the chocolate in a bain-marie (a heatproof bowl set over a pan of very lightly simmering water, making sure the bottom of the bowl does not touch the water). Once melted, stir through the peanut butter and pour this evenly over the base. If topping with the whole peanuts, scatter these over the chocolate layer. Sprinkle over a little pinch of flaky sea salt.

Set in the fridge for 1 hour or until firm, then cut into 16 pieces to serve.

Reviews

3.5 out of 5 stars

8 Ratings

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10 Comments

    default user avatar Annie

    The recipe is fabulous but as others have stated the tin size has to be wrong -15x 8cm is the approximate equivalent of 6 inches x 3 inches which is tiny even if you try to square it 15cm x 8 cm =120 cm which is approx 11cm x 11cm (approx 4.5 x 4.5 inches )Even if you could buy such a tin size it couldn\’t contain the ingredients as listed above .I used my brownie tin 20 x 20cm .I notice the editorial team have confirmed that the tin size as stated is correct -if so could you please let us know where we can buy such a tin ?This is very simple recipe but I can imagine novice cooks / children being put off by not being able to find a tin with such dimensions .

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    default user avatar The Happy Foodie Team

    Hi Annie,

    Thanks for your comment, we’re glad you love this recipe! We have confirmed with the author that the tin size is correct. A smaller tin will provide a thicker bar, while a larger tin will make a thinner bar that sets more quickly, which may be a preference to cut down on time. Really you can use whatever tin you have on hand to save buying a new one.
    Hope that helps!

    The Happy Foodie Team.

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    default user avatar Pam

    I’ve made this recipe every week since it was first posted on Instagram! I use crunchy peanut butter…amazing recipe 😊
    (I use a 9×9 in square pan).

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    default user avatar TS

    Delicious! The tin size is definitely wrong unless they used several. I used a 13 x 23 cm loaf tin (5×9 in), and they turned out thicker than depicted, but yummy nevertheless.

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    default user avatar J

    I love this recipe but agree with other people about the size 15x 8 cm I made mine in 24x 18 cm

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    default user avatar Phil Cape

    Yes, the tin size is totally wrong. And the chocolate benefits from a tablespoon or two of coconut oil to make it easier to cut and to eat. But the bars are delicious, so worth trying.

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    default user avatar Hayley

    Could you use almond butter instead of peanut butter?

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    default user avatar The Happy Foodie Team

    Hi Hayley,

    Thank you for your comment! If you are happy to experiment, the author Melissa Hemsley suggests trying your favourite or preferred nut butter, so we are sure that almond butter would be a suitable substitute for peanut butter in this recipe.

    Happy Cooking!
    The Happy Foodie Team

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    default user avatar Krysia

    Surely the tin size is wrong?
    Haven’t made them yet, was just checking what I need.

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    default user avatar The Happy Foodie Team

    Hi Krysia,

    Thank you for your comment. The tin size stated in the recipe is correct.

    Happy Cooking!
    The Happy Foodie Team

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