No-Bake Peanut Butter And Chocolate Crunch Bars Recipe

Rice cakes were a childhood favorite of recipe developer Tess Le Moing. She tells us, "They are such a nostalgic snack for me. I remember eating them a lot as a kid so I thought it would be fun to add them to this adult-ish recipe." Recalling how light and crisp they are, she chose them as the base for her easy peanut butter chocolate crunch bars, "Rice cakes are literally the foundation of this recipe. They have a light, soft, and airy texture which makes it easy to have more than one of these bars."

Not only do these peanut butter-chocolate crunch bars make for a tasty, nostalgic, gluten-free snack, but you can even make them vegan by swapping out the honey for a different sweetener. They're super-simple to make, as well, and as Le Moing points out, "On an 85-degree summer day, they'll scratch your baking itch without having to turn on the oven."

The bars can be refrigerated for about a week, but they also freeze well, too. Le Moing notes that freezing them overnight before cutting them can also make for more symmetrical bars. If you'd rather not wait, that's okay, since Le Moing feels that slightly uneven bars "have more of a rustic charm."

These bars require just six different ingredients to make. They start with a base of rice cakes mixed with peanut butter, honey, and vanilla and are topped off with a layer of melted chocolate chips. As a final touch, they're sprinkled with flaky salt.

Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with extra parchment hanging over the edges.

In a mixing bowl, stir together the peanut butter, honey, and vanilla extract until combined.

Break up the rice cakes into small pieces and crumble directly into the peanut butter mixture.

Stir to combine.

Transfer the rice cake mixture to the prepared pan and press firmly into an even layer using the back of a metal spoon.

Microwave the chocolate chips in a bowl, stirring every 15 to 30 seconds, until melted and smooth, about 1-2 minutes.

Using a spoon or offset spatula, spread the chocolate evenly over the rice cake mixture.

Sprinkle with flakey salt.

Place in the freezer for about 1 to 2 hours until the chocolate firms.

Using the parchment overhang, lift the bars out of the pan, transfer to a cutting board, and cut into 8 pieces (1 cut horizontally, 3 cuts vertically) and serve.

There's no specific type of peanut butter that you need to use for these bars. You can use either smooth or chunky, or, if you like, you can opt for the natural kind that needs to be stirred in order to integrate the oil into the peanut butter. Natural peanut butters are often unsweetened, though, so if you use one you may want to add a bit more honey to the mix.

You can also make your own peanut butter to use in these bars. Homemade peanut butter may differ from recipe to recipe — ours includes salt and honey, but you can also make a very simple peanut butter by simply grinding roasted peanuts in a blender. You needn't stick with peanut butter, either, since almond butter, cashew butter, or sunflower seed butter would all be equally tasty. You could even make extra-indulgent bars by using Nutella (or the Aldi copycat version).

In addition to using a peanut butter substitute, there are a number of other tweaks you might make to these simple snack bars. For one thing, you could leave out the honey if you don't feel it's necessary, since the chocolate layer on top will add sweetness of its own. You can also omit the salt if you're not a fan of the sweet and salty flavor combo. There are other toppings that you could use in its place, including chopped nuts, shredded coconut, or a drizzle of caramel.

Nuts and coconut could also be mixed with the rice cake base, as could dried fruits such as craisins or cherries. The rice cakes themselves don't have to be plain, since sweet rice cake varieties like cinnamon, chocolate, or caramel would add their own flavor.

While Le Moing prefers a dark chocolate topping for the bars, you can use milk or white chocolate if you prefer. You needn't stick with chocolate chips, either, since chopped and melted chocolate bars will yield the same results. If you go with a bar, this will allow you to choose chocolate flavored with mint, orange, or even chile.