Chocolate “Peanut Butter” Cookie Bars
Let me first preface this recipe by telling you something really important here: I LOVE THIS FREAKING RECIPE!! No, I effing love it. It may be one of my favorite dessert recipes of all time. And I tested it out on 5 different people, most of them non-paleo people, and they all loved it. So just make this. Stop questioning it, just do it. After you read my Bachelorette recap duuuuuuuh.
First of all, why the fudge is the Bachelorette not on next week? You mean I have to wait 2 more weeks to see JoJo cry her eyes out for a reason that is completely unapparent to me?? I hate you ABC, I hate you. If I come to find out that some presidential election bullsh*t is on instead of the Bachelorette…oh, you’ll hear about it. Except the election is very similar to the mansion’s dramatic incidents, so I guess it will do.
Anywho, where the hell to start? Last night was one hell of a mess. Chad style. But we will get to that a bit later. Let’s first talk about the super awkward dates.
- Date #1: The sex yoga studio. She told them to have an angergasm. Is that a real thing outside of sex yoga? Think about that for a second. Then the camera zoomed in on the instructors crotch while she hip thrusted and yelled. Is this real life? Then they straddled each other sitting next to the straddling instructors. It was just so f*cking weird. Except I’ve taken a liking to this Chase fella.
- Date #2: Sex improv. All the men had to go on stage and tell their most awkward sex story. Which, obviously, we heard nothing on our end. Don’t take the guys on a date that you aren’t going to share the details from, ABC, ya d*ck!!! And really, who wants to hear about their new lover’s sex life? Answer: only weirdos. Chad may be weird AF, but he was right about not wanting to share his own personal stories. He may have been right about the that, but he was definitely in the wrong when it came to not shooting steroids in his legs. Did you see those little things?! Ah, I’m scared he’s gonna come hunt me down now. No, but seriously.
- Date #3: Farmer Joe guy date. I forget what his name is but I’m a bit of obsessed with his mysterious ways. And his nice figure. I like that he doesn’t smile much, but when he does he’s all adorbs. I don’t know or care what they did on their date, I just remember his cute lil’ bum bum and rugged face. I hope she keeps his cuteness around for a while.
- Date #4: Again, what is with having tasks that one person is a pro at. The firefighter challenge with the firefighter, now the football challenge with the pro football player. How is that fair? I’m surprised Wells and Evan didn’t end up breaking bones. Proud of those lil’ guys!
- Date #5: The epic 2-on-1 date. Battle royale. Whatever the hell that means. Didn’t you just want to punch Chad the entire time but then feel bad about it because you’re mad at him for wanting to resort to violence? That guy has major roid rage. I’ve worked in gyms since I was in college, I know what it looks like. And when Chris Harrison asked him about his steroid use, he said, “It’s not like I could bring them with me here anyways.” His answers are always so solid. So manipulative. He’s a real stand up act.
So obviously Chad took center stage these past two episodes. But he was a bit of a disappointment. He was so so boring, but then he would have these waves of massive anger, but still be boring when he was threatening people. Honestly, he looked like me 2 weeks ago when my birth control sent me into an angry b*tch spiral. Maybe he’s just on birth control. Either way, I’m glad he got the boot. He reminds me of the dude Charlotte from Sex and the City dated for a little bit but then he ended up fighting everyone no matter what the incident. Chad is that guy. He would fight someone at a restaurant for spilling JoJo’s drink. Fo. Sho.
Other things that caught my attention this week: their sweet microphone puka shell necklaces. The creators of that incredibly beautiful jewelry should win an award for outstanding attention to detail. They were magnificent. And what’s up with JoJo bringing up Ben again? He must be watching this and loving the fact that she keeps bringing him up. So awkward. Did you see Chad eat a full baked sweet potato? What an odd thing to eat with your hands. Not saying I haven’t done that at a competition when I forgot utensils, but biting through the skin when you have a knife and fork readily available in a giant mansion, come on bruh. Just odd. Sh*t, I bruh’d him, he’s definitely going to come find me. I wish I could act like I was joking, but a small part of me is definitely scared of the Chad. I would beat him in thigh size, but he would beat me with…anything around him. Ahhhhh.
Now seriously, what’s JoJo crying about in the next coming episode? And WTF am I going to talk about next Wednesday?! Balls.
Chocolate “Peanut Butter” Cookie Bars
- Yield: 12-15 slices 1x
Ingredients
For the shortbread crust
- 1½ cup almond flour
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon coconut flour
- ¼ cup + 1 tablespoon tapioca flour
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 4 tablespoons ghee
- 4 tablespoons maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
For the “peanut butter” layer
- 1 1/2 cup cashew butter (or any nut butter you prefer)
- 3/4 cup maple sugar (or coconut sugar, i just prefer the taste of maple sugar)
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For the top
- 1 cup chocolate chips, melted
- couple pinches of flaked salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Grease a rectangle quiche pan (13-3/4″ x 4-1/4″)*. Add all ingredients for the crust into a food processor and pulse until completely combine. The dough should combine into a slight ball once combine. Put dough in a pan and use your fingers to press dough around evenly throughout the pan, pressing the dough higher on the sides. Use a fork to poke about 10-12 holes in to keep the crusting from rising as it bake. Bake crust for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown. Remove then let crust cool for about 30 minutes.
- Once crust has cooled, wipe out the inside of the food processor and then place cashew butter, maple sugar, ghee, vanilla extra and salt in the food processor and pulse until completely combine. Use a spatula to remove all the mixture and place in the crust and smooth out. Place in the freezer to harden for 30 minutes.
- Lastly, melt chocolate. Pour chocolate on top of slightly hardened “peanut butter” mixture, smooth out then sprinkle with salt on top. Place in fridge for 10 minutes to harden chocolate before slicing into bar or triangles or whatever shape you prefer!
Notes
*If you don’t have a quiche pan, you could always use an 8×8 dish, they will be a little thinner so you will have to watch the baking time, but it will still work
____________
More Layered Ideas For Ya:
Salted Caramel Cookie Ice Cream Cups
Holiday Raspberry Caramel Tart
________________
Click Here To Get All My PaleOMG Recipes Into Your Meal Planner With Real Plans!
I may be compensated through my affiliate links in this post, but all opinions are my own. This compensation helps with expenses to keep this blog up and running!
Oh, Hi! I’m Juli.
DON’T MISS A BITE
discounts, and stories straight to your inbox for FREE!
82 thoughts on “Chocolate “Peanut Butter” Cookie Bars”
These look amazing!! One question, can you taste any hint of coconut with the coconut flour? I want to make these for my bf’s birthday since he loves peanut butter, but he hates coconut (he’s a weirdo 🙂 ). And on that note, have you tried this recipe with actual peanut butter? Just curious if it would be as good with PB or if it would be better with cashew butter!
i can’t! and no, i haven’t tried it with PB yet!
Tori – I hate coconut but use coconut flour and sugar for pretty much everything. Tastes nothing like the “traditional” coconut that is commercially used. I also used almond butter for this recipe as instructed above and it turned out delish!
★★★★★
Totally making these this weekend!! Quick question: can I use butter instead of ghee and if so, should it be melted and cooled or just softened?
Thank you!
i would melt it!
Hey!! I just made this and it tastes amazing!! Thank you, love it! But I did use butter instead of ghee (and melted it) but the base has broken off on all pieces 🙁 so I’m going for a deconstructed slice! What can I do for next time? Thanks for all you do!! 🙂
★★★★★
use ghee like i recommended and you shouldn’t have that issue!
So I made these with butter, but I cubed it instead of melting it and they turned out just lovely
good to know, thanks for the update, caitlin!
Yum … definitely making these tonight!! I can’t wait … umm, did they really leave the Chad in the woods last night whistling that creepy tune he does? And then let him come back to the house? Come on … they never let them come to the house after they have been dumped. But he’s the only drama and entertainment, so why not? I think ABC is premiering those Family Feud type shows the next 2 weeks…boo. Anyway, thanks for the recipe – have a great Wednesday! 🙂
ewwwwwww who the hell is watching that? that’s some bullshit!
I could not wait to see what you had to say about the yoga instructors hip thrusts… at that angle?!
so awkward!!!!!!
Totally thought Chad in the woods was a serial killer movie moment! Also, how could you forget about the swing dancing date with James?! I heart him but don’t think Jojo is the girl for him. About the bars, I can’t wait to make them, is there a substitute for tapioca flour?
arrowroot
What would be a good paleo friendly chocolate chip? BTW LOVE you site!! Your cookbooks love! Cant wait to try these.
Sharon – I use the brand “Enjoy Life” dark chocolate chips for all of my baking. It’s dairy, nut, and soy free. My local Whole Foods carries it.
★★★★★
I made these tonight in a glass 8 x 8 pan with a combo of almond butter and peanut butter because that’s what I had. I turned the oven down to 300° and cooked them about 20 minutes. They were much thicker because of the pan I used, but the taste was great. Very rich and satisfying. Thank you for the recipe, Juli!
That being said…I have lots of leftovers. 🙂 How would you suggest storing them? Fridge? Freezer?
★★★★
fridge!
I made these last night and they were super easy and delicious! I totally effed up the first batch by mistakenly adding the sunbutter I used to the dough (epic fail). I wound up using that batter to make blondies instead which were pretty tasty! lol Even my screw ups of your recipes are delicious!
I wound up using almond butter for the next batch because I used the last of the sunbutter on my failed batch and I used the Enjoy Mega chips for the chocolate. So. Friggin. Delcious! Thanks for posting this awesome recipe!
★★★★★
haha YES these are always my favorite posts of yours. I don’t even have to watch The Bachelorette and I get all the info I need from your “recaps”. dying!
and these bars look dangerously good….
I think I’m going to make these instead of studying for finals…whoops! Looks amazing =)
Oh my gosh! You’re recap of the Bach was hilarious and spot-on! Laughed out loud during the entire read!
lol love hearing that!!
Hi! I love your almond butter cups so I can’t wait to try these.
My question, you might have already addressed this multiple times- have you intentions of adding the nutrition facts to your recipes, or at minimum macros to your suggested serving sizes? With so many people (including myself) trying to be more conscious of the quantities I eat (I LOVE my fats but they don’t love me!) it’s always helpful ahead of time to know what the content is. I have plugged and chugged away ingredients into my fitness pal before but the more extensive the ingredient list gets the more of a pain it becomes. Plus if you know what the macros are for the base recipe and needed to make it less carbs/fat you know where to tweak. Convenience factor 100% here haha. My apologies again if this has already been addressed. Thank you!!!
hey amanda, no intentions of sharing nutritional facts here. as much of a pain in the ass it is for you, it’s the same amount of a pain in the ass for me. and since i’m creating the recipe, photographing it, editing the photos, doing the dishes, writing the post, editing the post then moderating the comments, adding figuring out the nutritional facts to that long list is not something i’m interested in. and to me, listening to your body is more important than tracking numbers, especially when it comes to desserts and sweets. sorry i can’t be of more help when it comes to that!
Amen!
I’m dying right now! I don’t watch the Bachelor or Bachelorette shows, but found this to be absolutely HILARIOUS!!!! I so look forward to your articles, almost more than the recipes. Keep ’em coming, girl!
Yum, I love the pb and chocolate combo!
These bars look like drugs. Not even kidding. But we don’t generally have ghee in the house–would coconut oil be a good substitute?
From my experience, it would work, but I think it would affect the flavour somewhat. A lot of recipes give the option of which fat to use and since these two are solid at room temp they are pretty swappable.
★★★★
This looks awesome. However, you might want to read through and do some editing. “Pork” isn’t “Poke” Although we get the meaning!!!
lol i do that every time
These are fabulous ! Julie you hit this one out of the park. So true, just shut up and follow the recipe.
Amazing cookie crust…. the filling is just right. And the chocolate brings it home.
SOOOOOO satisfying.
Thanks for the great recipe.
★★★★★
I made these last night and they’re so evil! My boyfriend and I aready ate half the batch ????. Thanks for sharing! Now time for us to share these treats so we don’t eat the rest lol
★★★★★
Would it work to sub a vanilla protein powder in for the coconut or tapioca flours? I’m still figuring out the difference with alternative flours!
haven’t tried that out so i’m not sure!
Hi Juli, I made these today and they’re very good! My problem is that (just like your awesome caramel tarts), the chocolate gets too hard, then cracks when I try to cut these up into nice slices. If I leave them out too long, the filling will get too soft and the chocolate too melty (that’s what happened with the tarts). In both cases, I used EL mini chocolate chips, melted in a double boiler. Not sure what I’m doing wrong. Any advice? Thanks!
p.s. this must be the 5th recipe of yours I made this week, between the blog and your latest book, so you’re basically keeping my family well fed! 🙂
★★★★
Hi Juli- these bars are effing AMAZING. It might be one of my favorite dessert recipes of yours. This comment is way overdue because I’ve been following your blog for years, have all of your cookbooks and have made hundreds of your recipes. Let me just say, you ROCK. Perhaps this is overkill with the flattery/praise, but seriously thank you because you’ve made paleo easy for me for years now- and damn delicious, too!
If it helps others, I used coconut oil instead of ghee with no issues. And I also used coconut syrup instead of maple syrup only because I haven’t been able to find grade b maple syrup at the store for several weeks. A bit stickier than I image maple syrup would be but everything worked out great.
★★★★★
awwwww thank you so so much, Michelle! so glad you liked the bars! you’re the best and thanks for following for so long and for sharing your substitutions that works for you!
Juli,
They will forever be one of my top ten favorite dessert things.. I used half coconut oil/ half butter cause I couldn’t find ghee. They turned out amazing! I also used a cheesecake pan and that kind worked…Thanks for all your amazing yumminess and adorable fashion.
Lindsey
awesome!! so glad you loved them, lindsey! i’m glad made your top ten!
Making these !! My son can’t talk dairy – what do you suggest instead of ghee? Can I use coconut oil? Or almond butter as the base ? Thanks so much !
you could use coconut oil instead!
OH MY WORD, these bars.
Do you have a good source for maple sugar in bulk? Or at least a decent value? I love the taste too.
I made these the past weekend but the dish I used was too deep, so it ended up looking like a single giant twix & were probably a lot richer than your version.
Saying that I made the slices a lot smaller, brought them into work – and they were devoured!!
Thank you for the very yummy recipe….only downfall is now the work folk expect Monday treats every week 🙂
★★★★★
Just made these for the Hubs’s birthday! Love at first bite. (Was gonna post you a picture but don’t see how. And they were so cute with the candles.) Anyways, I plan to use this crust for lots of other stuff since it taste so much like graham cracker yummy stuff. Thanks!
These were awesome! Even my husband, who is sick of my ‘testing recipes’, loves them. I took them on a camping trip and everyone preferred these bars to s’mores.
★★★★★
yay!! glad he liked them!
I’m super excited to make these!! All I’ve done the whole summer so far is make your desserts (flourless chocolate cake, samoa cupcakes, apple caramel crumble….). Can’t wait to try these!!
yayyyy! hope you’ve loved all of them! i think this one is the easiest of all those desserts!
what can I use instead of a food processor for the crust?
maybe a blender or you could mix by hand, but it might not be the exact same consistency
I have a Vitamix (not the dry container), and a Kitchenaid mixer, but I know nothing about food processors. can you recommend any particular one?
i have a cuisinart 9 or 11 cup (can’t remember) and it works great, i’ve had it for 5+ years now!
I made these yesterday and took them to the beach and had every intention of taking and posting a pic but they were gone in a flash, they were AMAZING!!!
★★★★★
I have a Vitamix (not the dry container), and a Kitchenaid mixer, but I know nothing about food processors. can you recommend any particular one?
JC, I have an older Kitchen Aid 7-cup food processor with slicing/grating blade, and it works well for basic food processing needs for a family of 4. If I were going to get a new one I would probably buy either a Kitchen Aid or Cuisinart 9 cup food processor with wider feed tube and slicing, grating and miscellaneous/dough blades. Hope this helps!
I used 1 c cashew butter and 1/2 c almond butter, but I ended up not really liking them. Next time I will try all cashew butter.
Juli – I love you and hate you for this recipe! I finally made them over the weekend and holy crap, they are delicious; we can’t stop eating them!
Just sharing some tidbits for others: I don’t have a quiche pan (who has one of those?!) so I used my glass 11 x 7 pan and they turned out perfectly. I also don’t have a food processor so used my blender and had no issues at all.
★★★★★
These are freaking delicious!!! Can I share the recipe to my blog (while giving you credit of course)?
★★★★★
i would prefer you not share the recipe on your website. you are welcome to share a photo of the recipe, but please just link back to my blog for finding the ingredients and directions!
It appears she did anyway, thats kind of shitty after you asked her not to!
what a dick move
sorry Juli! It never showed your response! I took the recipe down. Not trying to be a dick I promise. I didn’t think I had heard back from you and so I read your Terms of Use and thought I was okay using the link in the description. I’m new to this whole thing so please forgive me. I love your stuff and think you are hilarious.
sorry Juli! It never showed your response! I took it down. Not trying to be a dick I promise.
Made this for the first time about a month ago and I still can’t get my mind off of them. They are delicious!! To date my bf’s favorite paleo dessert! Thank you, Juli!! This one is a keeper.
★★★★★
so glad you loved them!
Hi Juli! Love your recipes!! I would really like to make these, but I have an allergy to coconut. Can I use more of the almond or tapioca flour in place of the coconut in this recipe? Thank you!
honestly, i have no clue. i don’t bake enough to really know how flours can be substituted. i’m sorry i can’t be of more help!
THESE ARE LIFE! I finally got around to making them and yes they are that good. And hallelujah mine looked just like the picture!
I did sub coconut oil for ghee cause I didn’t have any and they worked out great.
★★★★★
glad to hear the coconut oil works great too!! and so glad you loved them!
I don’t have any maple sugar and since I live in the sticks the only way I can get it is to order it but I would like to make these tonight… Any sub for the maple sugar?
i think that would work, i just haven’t made it that way so i can’t say for sure
Hi Juli!
I recently made these- amazing btw! Question. Do you find that these are pretty high Cal/pro/carb/fats? I entered them into MFP, because I’m counting macros and they are like 500 cals for one bar. ???? crazy right!
Anyways, the 12-15 serving size is from your 8×8 baking pan? Just trying to understand the size! Thanks!
★★★★★
yeah i mean all of these ingredients are high fat and high carb – it’s starch, sugar and fat. it’s not something i recommend for people who are trying to lose weight but i also don’t recommend dessert in any way other than berries for people who are trying to lose weight.
I’m probably going to give this a second try, but the first rendition didn’t work out so well. I didn’t want to buy ghee and figured butter would be a fair replacement. For the crust it was fine, but not the filling. I think the ghee is important to make it firm up. Also, the amount of oil in the nutbutter seems to be a factor. Mine has been in the fridge for plenty long enough and it’s still really gooey. I’m going to get a less oily nutbutter and use the ghee it calls for. Something else I learned was that without access to a food processor, I made the crust by hand without issues. The filling, though, requires at least a blender to grind up the sugar because it doesn’t dissolve.
I might try freezing it to at least make it hold its shape to cut it.
★★★
Made these for my husband yesterday with almond butter! SO SO SO GOOD! Your blog and podcast has helped get me through a very rough postprtum period…. I turn on your podcast and the lightheartedness of it always cheers me up, so thank you for sharing your stories and humor. I don’t even watch the bachelor/ bachelorette (even when a friend of mine was on it) but I always listen to your recaps and love em! I don’t know why haha! Anyways, thanks again, keep doing good things 🙂
★★★★★
yay!! glad you liked them!! and thank you so much for supporting the podcast, so glad I can be around in a positive way while you’re going through a hard time!
HOLY SHIT! THESE ARE SO F’EN GOOD! So I didn’t have coconut flour on hand and I didn’t feel like going to the store, so I looked up what exactly coconut flour does and I decided to try out 1/2 tsp of xanthan gum and it work beautifully! I also used honey instead of maple syrup because again, didn’t have it on hand and was too lazy to go to the store. But they came out perfect! Thanks so much for the recipe, you rock!
thanks for sharing your changes, that’s always helpful for people who are missing ingredients! so glad you liked them, rick!
This recipe was amazing!!! Question-I have a kiddo with a ton of allergies, and she could actually eat these! She doesn’t get many treats, so these were a God send! She asked that I use the cookie layer to make her a cookie cake for her birthday. I was thinking I would add chocolate chips and 1.5 the recipe, and put it in a 9×13 pyrex. Do you think that would work, or do you have a better recipe for a cookie cake?
oh man, i have no clue. since i haven’t tested that, i can’t say for sure, but i don’t see why not