Lightened up Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars (Like a Reese’s) {No Bake, Healthier}

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

1. 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!)
2. 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.