I let you all in on my deep love for chocolate right from the get go, so it’s only fair that I now share my second, though by no means less significant, obsession.
Peanut butter.
Ohh…peanut butter. I eat it everyday. At least twice a day. I smear it on apples, bananas and celery. I drizzle it over yogurt and my morning bowl of oats. I spread it on slices of toasty bread and freshly made pancakes. I eat it straight up from the jar. You may think I’d tire of the nutty treat, but no. You may ask, why don’t I give other nut butters a chance? Switch it up a bit! Oh, believe you me, I’ve tried branching out – almond butter, cashew butter, etc. But nothing beats the original PB. I heart you PB.
Clearly, it was only a matter of time before peanut butter made an appearance on this blog. It was just waiting for the right inspiration. And then that inspiration came. And so I made Crumbly Peanut Butter Oat Bars.
I love the combination of peanut butter and oats, so I was really excited about making these bars. Here’s the recipe:
1/2 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup honey
2/3 cup oats
2/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup turbinado sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons skim milk
Preheat the oven to 325*F. Spray an 8 x 8-inch pan with cooking spray and set aside. In a bowl, stir together peanut butter and honey. In a separate bowl, mix together oats, whole wheat pastry flour, turbinado sugar, salt and baking powder. Drizzle canola oil and milk over oat mixture. Mix with a fork until evenly moistened and crumbly. Set aside 1/2 cup for topping and press the remaining oat mixture into the prepared pan. Spread peanut butter mixture over the top – I microwaved it first to make this easier. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture over peanut butter mixture. Bake for about 25 minutes.
OMG. Peanut butter goodness! The top of the bars are perfectly crumbly and the peanut butter middle is deliciously sweet and gooey and oozing with rich peanut butter flavor. SO. GOOD.
Since there are oats in there, I can eat these for breakfast, right? Right?
Do you have a favorite peanut butter baked treat?
oh my gosh- these bars sounds freaken delicious and i have all of the ingredients right now to make them. except that turbinado sugar…i am so making these tomorrow night…cross my fingers i have time! thanks for the recipe
these look SO heavenly! i’m with ya on the love for pb. straight up on the spoon and all that naughty stuff !! haha. i would love the make these, but i’m not that great in terms of baking. but ill drool over them through the internet, for sure
Yes, you can definitely eat this for breakfast!! That’s exactly what I was thinking when I read the recipe
My favorite Peanut Butter treat is good old-fashioned Peanut Butter kiss cookies!
RIGHT!
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peanut butter….i just love it straight up
! second best way, on an ezekiel english muffin. i’m not a huge fan of peanut butter cookies or things like that!
I love peanut butter, too! It’s insane how many different ways there are to eat it – but I think my favorite way is with a spoon
Your oat bars look so yummy! My favorite PB baked treat are those blossom cookies I made the other day – PB + Chocolate together?! A match made in heaven!
I can’t say I have a super favorite when it comes to PB treats, since I rarely have an abundance of peanut butter in the jar, because well.. it usually goes with everything else that I eat Hahah!
bar looks delicious, thanks for sharing!
talk about peanut butter porn, i really want to make this now! too bad it’s bedtime…
oooooooooooooh love this!!! i love contrasting textures of crumbly/crispy with creamy!! thanks for taking time to visit and comment on my blog too! I hope to see some more yummy posts!
I NEED THOSE BARS!!!!!! HOLY YUM HOLY YUM HOLY HOLY YUM (etcetera, etcetera…)!!!!
**Favorite baked PB treat = peanut butter-oatmeal cookies.
Those look so good! I love peanut butter too…I will have to make these for my husband, he likes peanut butter granola bars and I think these will be a hit!
love these.. im a peanut butter fan too so yummy!!!!
These look great! And so simple!
Yuuuummmm! I love, love, love PB treats! Yours looks amazing! My favorite PB treat is: http://carrotsncake.com/2008/05/pumpkin-peanut-butter-chocolate-chip-muffins.html They’re like PB cake!
Megan - I used turbinado sugar for the purpose of the blog – it’s unrefined – but brown sugar would be just fine.
Amy - These were super easy so I bet you’d be great if you wanted to try them!
Bridget - The PB Kiss cookies are a holiday favorite with my fam.
FollowMyWeigh - I like straight up with honey drizzled on top!
eatingbender - Chocolate + PB = heaven. There’s a reason Reese’s were born.
Sharon - That’s why I keep TWO jars around!
nhuy, Mariposa, Meghann - Thanks!
ttfn300 - Maybe in the morning.
jenn - I love the contrast too. Thanks for stopping by!
VeggieGirl - These are like extra peanut buttery, gooey oatmeal cookies.
Tina - I love the PB and pumpkin combo, so those seem right up my alley!
Oh my goodness, these look heavenly! I’m printing this out to make ASAP!
Holy peanut butter.
I have to say- I could hardly contain myself when I clicked onto your blog. MUST EAT THAT!
Yay! I have been dying over here waiting for your next creation. Delicious and beautiful.
Interestingly, I don’t care for PB baked goods that much, but really liked my peanut butter pumpkin blondies. These seem similar in consistency, so I am sure I would love them!
ohhh my those look like a little slice of heaven. i love PB straight out of the jar.. and I love no bake cookies!
These look AMAZING!!! I’m always so happy when my google reader tells me you’ve posted a new recipe!
PB is definitely my favorite of the nut butters as well, I’m giving almond butter an honest shot but PB is the only one that I will actually eat by the spoonful, on its own. 
Mel - Be sure to report back if you do!
ashley - PB definitely has seduction powers.
HangryPants - You “don’t care for PB baked goods”?! Sacreligious! j/k, j/k, we can still be friends.
Amanda - I’ve actually never made no bake cookies! Have a good recipe?
Andrea [bella eats] - You’re so sweet!
PB is definitely number one. There’s just nothing better.
my mouth is totally watering!
About seitan – I can totally see how a burger of it would be too much. I had it in bite sized bits.
Lindsay – PB has a way of doing that.
HangryPants – I’ll give it a second chance!
Those bars look ridiculously delicious!!! But then again anything that contains PB is a winner in my book.
Sammie – These may be my favorite recipe so far! And I’m in total agreement with you about PB.
If I subbed in white sugar for the turbinado sugar would it ruin the taste/texture, or do you recommend using brown sugar if I really need a substitute?
catms916 - I made these for my bf’s family over Thanksgiving using brown sugar – all his sister had around the house – and they came out great! I’m sure you could use white too. Hope you try the recipe!
Lip-smacking good. Peanut butter and oats. It’s like a chewy breakfast bar that you can even eat for dessert!
duodishes - Glad you like! I actually think they’re more gooey than chewy, but you’ll have to try them out and see for yourself!