Peanut... peanut butter! (no jelly)

The local coffee shop, Z's Divine, has great peanut butter bars. They are dense and packed with peanut butter. And it's no secret that PB is a staple in our diets. Again, kind of like eggs get a bad rap because of the cholesterol issue, nuts get a bad rap sometimes because of the fat issue. And, like cholesterol, there is good and bad. In my opinion, peanut butter = good.

Back to the PB bars, I'd love to have a go-to recipe that might come close to the taste and consistency of the ones from the coffee shop. I found this recipe and decided to give it a whirl. Snacks are a biggie for us - I am constantly searching for new recipes and/or creations that are not-processed, easy to make from scratch, and will give the girls that little "something" between meals that will tide them over without requiring the consumption of large quantities. We're definitely talking quality here, not quantity. I'd much rather feed them a nice, little peanut butter bar than a bowlful of goldfish crackers (which we've never purchased) that will leave them thirsty from the salt and hungry in 27 minutes. Back to the recipe...

Peanut Butter Bars

• 1/2 C organic whole wheat flour
• 1/2 C ground flaxseed
• 1 C organic oats
• 1 tsp baking soda (I felt like I could taste the baking soda, so I think I'll reduce to 1/2 tsp next time)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/3 C organic brown sugar
• 3/4 C organic peanut butter (no salt added)
• 1 T organic vanilla extract
• 1/2 C organic 2% milk
• 1/3 C mini chocolate chips
• 350° oven
• Combine PB and sugar (I mixed it by hand); add vanilla
• Add flour, flaxseed, oats, baking soda, salt
• Mix in milk; add chocolate chips last
• Squish into an 8x8 pan (I buttered the pan)
• Bake 15-18 minutes

This really is a nice recipe - and in terms of ingredients, it has no eggs and no butter. I might experiment with replacing the sugar with honey and/or sorghum (shocker!) but would I blog about something that I didn't find worth sharing???

Or, if you're feeling a little peanut butter crazy... this was one of last week's post-nap snacks. The girls found them hilarious and named them "crazy man", as in "Momma, you make this crazy man for me to eat again?". Yes, part-Yoda, part-cavechild. Momma make this for you again, I will.