Maybe you are trying to eat healthier? Or you’d like to lose a few pounds? I bet you think you can never touch a treat or dessert again? NOT TRUE!! I love a good peanut butter cookie. Add some dark chocolate to that and you have my definition of heaven. Out of all of my cookie recipes, these are by far the best. Chocolate peanut butter bars are a HUGE weakness for me. It took me a while, but I was finally able to lighten them up without sacrificing the flavor. They came out AMAZING!!! I used natural peanut butter, good dark chocolate (71% cocoa), severely decreased the butter and replaced confectioner sugar with powdered sucanat.
What the heck is sucanat???? Sucanat is whole cane sugar that is the least processed. It is simply dehydrated sugar cane juice. It is the healthiest alternative for all of the processed sugars out there.
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 1 cup peanut natural peanut butter
- 4 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips ( I used 71% cocoa)
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sucanat or powdered unrefined sugar
- Pour sucanat into blender (I used my Vitamix) and place on high speed for 10-15 seconds to create a “powdered” sugar. (Yes, it really is THAT easy!)
- In a medium bowl, stir together graham cracker crumbs, powdered sucanat, peanut butter and melted butter. Press firmly into the bottom of a 9×13 inch pan. Melt chocolate chips over a double boiler or in the microwave, stirring occasionally. Spread melted chocolate over the crumb crust. Chill for about 5-10 minutes, then cut into bars before the chocolate is completely set, then chill until ready to serve.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 1 bar (makes 24 bars but you can also cut them into bite size bars which would be less calories)
Amount Per Serving
Calories 171 Calories from Fat 89
Total Fat 9.9g
Saturated Fat 3.5g
Trans Fat 0.0g
Cholesterol 5mg
Sodium 332mg
Total Carbohydrates 18.0g
Dietary Fiber 1.1g
Sugars 10.9g
Protein 4.3g
*Nutritional information not 100% accurate, provided by www.caloriecount.com
I want to hear how much you LOVE these! Everywhere I bring these, people always ask for the recipe 🙂
angie says
April 18, 2012 at 11:11 amOh yummy 🙂 these look great!
Lesley says
April 19, 2012 at 10:08 amLooks amazing. I have never used Sucanat, but I need to look into it because I have seen it mentioned a lot over the blog world. Any info on it you want to share??
LaurenKellyNutrition says
April 19, 2012 at 11:15 amHi Lesley! Basically we use sucanat because it is the least processed from of can sugar. Try it!! 🙂
Lesley says
April 20, 2012 at 9:50 amGreat! Thanks, I will 🙂
nutrisavvysblog says
April 22, 2012 at 11:08 pmOh, I really can’t wait to try this one. Every now and then I’ll just gotta have a good chocolate-covered treat. PB and chocolate is such a delightful combo! : )
Sarah says
April 23, 2012 at 3:16 amthese sound amazing! coming over from successful saturdays. 🙂
angie says
April 23, 2012 at 10:49 amdangerous but amazing! 🙂
Thank you for linking up on Successful Saturdays!
acupofteafortigerandme says
April 25, 2012 at 2:54 amOh my…my kiddos are going to LOVE you for this one!! Thank you for sharing it on Fit and Fabulous Fridays Lauren! 😉
Amee Beck Livingston says
April 25, 2012 at 2:56 amOh my….the kiddos are going to LOVE you for this one!! Great recipe Lauren! Thank you for sharing it on Fit and Fabulous Fridays! 🙂
Mama J says
March 4, 2013 at 11:50 pmI grew up on these and LOVE them. I never thought to make powdered sucanat for them. Great idea!
Donna says
October 23, 2014 at 2:37 pmCould you use the more unhealthy regular powdered sugar and still get the same good results?