Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars After School Snack

My grand kids come home after school Starving with a capital S! Typical of most kids, am I right? And boy can they eat. If I am smart, I will have a tummy filling snack already prepared when they arrive and this one, Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars, is a favorite. They, along with their daddy's and papa, will finish off an entire recipe in one shot. It's easy and mostly healthy, so I am happy to make this for them often. My Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars recipe is a version of a no bake cookies recipe and very versatile. Leave out the chocolate chips if you want, use water instead of milk, add more cocoa; you get the picture.

Put oatmeal into a large bowl.

Heat sugar and milk to boiling and boil 2 minutes. Remove from heat and add peanut butter, cocoa, salt, vanilla extract and oil.

 Pour onto the oatmeal and stir.

  You can add the chocolate chips here or let the mix cool a bit then add them so the chips will not melt as much.

I save some of the chocolate chips and sprinkle them on top pressing them into the mix gently. I add a sprinkle of sugar for more eye appeal.

When cool, cut the bars and serve. This will be a soft chewy bar and may not hold together well. If you would like it to be crisper and hold together, add an additional cup of sugar with the milk mix before boiling. I prefer to leave the extra sugar out. You need to be sure and boil the mix for 2 minutes or it will not hold together at all. Once I did forget and we had more of a peanut butter granola instead. I served it in a bowl with milk like cereal and the kids loved it. Some times they ask me to serve it this way instead of on a plate. 

It can be made in the microwave then you only dirty one dish. Boil sugar and milk in a microwave bowl for 2 minutes, add salt, peanut butter, oil, vanilla, and cocoa. Mix well. Add in oatmeal, stir, then add chocolate chips. 

Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars

3 1/2 cups of oatmeal
1 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of milk
1/2 tsp of salt
1/2 cup of coconut oil or butter
1 Tb of cocoa
1 cup of peanut butter
1 cup of chocolate chips

Place oatmeal in a large bowl.  Boil sugar and milk for 2 minutes in a sauce pan. Mix in the rest of ingredients except the chocolate chips. Stir and cool sightly then mix in chips. Press into a buttered 9 x 13 dish. Sprinkle with a sugar and chocolate chips; press chips into mixture with the back of a spoon. Cool, cut and serve. 




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