Perfectly Peanut Butter Oat Bars (Better than Clif Bars!)
 
Prep time
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These delicious bars have a taste and texture that reminds us of Clif Bars, only fresher.
Author:
Recipe type: Snack
Cuisine: American
Serves: 16 bars
Ingredients
  • 1¾ cup regular rolled oats (certified gluten-free, if needed), divided
  • 2 tablespoons flax seeds
  • 1¼ teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda (high altitude: use ¾ teaspoon over 3000 feet)
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 1 cup lightly salted peanut butter
  • ½ cup packed brown sugar or coconut sugar
  • ½ cup lite coconut milk (I use So Delicious Dairy Free Lite Culinary Coconut Milk)
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • ½ tablespoon vanilla extract
  • ⅔ cup raisins
  • Peanut butter icing drizzle (optional, see notes below)
Instructions
  1. Preheat your oven to 350ºF and line an 8x8-inch baking dish (see note in post above) with parchment paper or grease and flour it.
  2. Place ¾ cup of the oats and the flax seeds in a spice grinder or food processor and whiz into flour, about 60 seconds.
  3. Add the ground oat mixture to a medium bowl with the remaining whole oats, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt.
  4. In a mixing bowl, blend the peanut butter, sugar, coconut milk, maple syrup and vanilla, with a hand mixer or by hand, until combined and smooth. Stir in the oat mixture, it should be the consistency of a thick but slightly sticky cookie dough. Fold in the raisins.
  5. Scrape the dough into your prepared baking dish, and with lightly damp hands, firmly and evenly press the mixture in.
  6. Bake for 20 minutes, or until lightly brown around the edges and beginning to pull away from the sides ever so slightly. Let cool completely in the pan on a wire rack before cutting (can even chill first).
  7. If using parchment paper, pull the bars out onto a cutting board to cut (otherwise cut in the pan). Cut into 16 bars (cut in half, cut each half in half, turn the pan 90º and repeat). They are a little crumbly to cut but actually hold together quite well, particularly if stored in the refrigerator.
  8. If opting for an icing drizzle, add one of the options below to a plastic bag and seal. If too runny, chill the icing in the baggie for 10 minutes. Snip a small corner from the bottom of the bag, and pipe the icing onto the bars as desired.
Notes
Low Sugar Maple Cinnamon Icing: Whisk together 2 tablespoons lightly salted peanut butter, 1 tablespoon coconut oil, 2 teaspoon maple syrup, ⅛ teaspoon ground cinnamon, and optionally add up to 10 drops alcohol-free stevia, to taste.

Simple Peanut Butter Icing: Whisk together 2 tablespoons lightly salted peanut butter, 2 tablespoons powdered sugar, and 2 teaspoons coconut oil.

Nutrition Note: These bars are cut smaller than Clif Bars (about ⅓ smaller). You can cut them larger for a closer equivalent to Clif Bars in over all nutrition.
Nutrition Information
Serving size: 1 bar Calories: 177 Fat: 9.4g Saturated fat: 2.2g Carbohydrates: 20g Sugar: 10.4g Sodium: 193mg Fiber: 2.4g Protein: 6g
Recipe by Go Dairy Free at https://www.godairyfree.org/recipes/peanut-butter-oat-bars