Xfood Article

Total Time: 15m

Yield: 24-30 bars

Ingredients

·         2 cups peanut butter OR allergy-friendly sub

·         1/2 cup applesauce

·         2 tsp pure vanilla extract

·         3/4 cup flour, such as oat, white, spelt, sorghum, or even almond

·         1 tbsp baking soda

·         1/4 tsp salt

·         1 cup sugar, unrefined if desired (or xylitol for sugar-free)

·         1/2 cup or more chocolate chips – I used 1/2 cup in the batter, plus more on top

·         up to 1/2 cup milk of choice, as needed

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a 9×13 pan with parchment. Stir together all ingredients to form a batter (see the video above if you want to watch the bars being made). Add milk of choice to achieve a cookie-dough-like batter – the amount needed will depend on the flour and type of nut butter you use. Smooth batter into the pan. If desired, press more chocolate chips on top. Bake 15-18 minutes on the center rack. They’ll look way underdone – let them cool for at least an hour, during which time they firm up, and they firm up even more overnight (covered loosely on the counter).

The bars are or can be egg-free, dairy-free, vegan, gluten-free, paleo, keto, and refined-sugar-free. If you need them to be nut-free, just swap out the peanut butter for your favorite allergy-friendly alternative, such as sunflower butter or pumpkin seed butter.