These vegan peanut butter chocolate chip buckeye bars are so rich and peanut buttery! The best flavor combination ever. Gluten free and naturally sweetened!
Happy Thursday, friends! What’s new?! I’m almost to the weekend after my first full week with my kindergarten nuggets, and I am more than ready for some chill time! Don’t get it twisted though, it’s been an insanely fun week.
Plus, BUCKEYE FOOTBALL SEASON BEGINS TONIGHT.
I’ll be celebrating with a pan of vegan peanut butter chocolate chip buckeye bars, ya know, to support my team.
As many know, OSU’s mascot is a buckeye nut, which is weird and kind of lame, but I’ve come to embrace it at this point. Mostly because it’s also one of the BEST little sweet, rich, poppable desserts ever, featuring everyone’s favorite flavor combo – chocolate and peanut butter.
Tons of dreamy combinations exist in the dessert world (looking at you, peanut butter and jelly and cookies and cream!), but lets’ be real. Nothing, and I mean NOTHING, can even come close to the bliss that is chocolate and peanut butter put together.
Ingredients for vegan peanut butter chocolate chip buckeye bars
- Chickpeas: you’ll use drained and rinsed canned chickpeas for the base of the bars, which provides tons of nutrition and a super rich and gooey texture.
- Nondairy milk: milk brings the batter together. I use unsweetened almond milk for neutral flavor, but any nondairy milk should work.
- Medjool dates: you’ll blend the dates with hot water to make a paste, which naturally sweetens the bars.
- Peanut butter: make sure to get oil-free, unsweetened peanut butter to avoid junk added to a lot of nut butters and for the best peanut butter flavor.
- Rolled oats: you’ll blend the oats into flour, which brings the batter together.
- Vegan chocolate chips: I like the PASCHA unsweetened chips or Lily’s stevia-sweetened chips, but use any vegan chocolate chips you like.
Tips for making vegan peanut butter chocolate chip buckeye bars
- Use a nonstick or parchment-lined square pan. I use an 8 inch silicone pan which makes it very easy to remove the bars after baking. I highly recommend a silicone pan or lining with parchment paper so that the bars don’t stick.
- Let them cool completely. Make sure to let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour after baking. They’re pretty soft, so they’ll firm up a lot as they cool. If you try to remove and cut them too soon, they may fall apart.
These are almost TOO good. There is no way one can ever go wrong with this flavor combination and with this base bar recipe. The addition of peanut butter is so rich and gooey, while the chocolate takes the decadence over the top. They’re almost too much to handle!
GO BUCKS!
Xo,
Sara
Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Buckeye Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 cup nondairy milk – I used unsweetened almond milk
- 1 cup date paste – 15 medjool dates blended with 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup oil-free unsweetened peanut butter
- 3/4 cups rolled oats, blended into flour
- 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips or chunks
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
- Blend the chickpeas and almond milk until smooth.
- In a large bowl, mix the chickpea puree, date paste, and peanut butter until thoroughly combined.
- Stir in the oat flour, then fold in chocolate chips.
- Pour the batter into a nonstick square pan, and bake for 50 minutes.
- Let the bars to cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before cutting into squares.
Worth every single one of those 50 minutes of waiting for that gooey chunk-filled goodness! Chips are good, but I am loving that you went with big chunks of chocolate in these perfectly peanutty bars–makes the world’s best flavor combo that much more irresistible. And banana flour too, yay! I am happy to hear you are surviving your first full week and hopefully the weekend comes soon and brings some much needed chill time. And kitchen time of course too 🙂
Right?! 50 minutes feels more like 50 hours when you’re waiting for these, haha. Banana flour for the win, always!! The first full week has been great, but yes I’m so ready to chill for a bit. And I’m glad you added the kitchen part, cause I’ve been falling behind with recipes and I can’t wait to catch up this weekend!! Hope you’ve had a lovely week, Natalie 🙂
These look so good Sara! I love peanut butter and I love chocolate and these look so decadent! I have not tried banana flour yet, but am so intrigued. I love how healthy these are and all the closeup shots are making me drool!
Peanut butter and chocolate is forever the best when it comes to food combos, right?! You really should try banana flour if you get a chance – it’s super unique but I love baking with it. I might’ve drooled a little while taking those close-ups 🙂 thanks so much, Brandi!
one can how many grams are?
in Spain they do not come in cans, they come in cans of 400 grams drained weight ????
Hi Alicia! My can says 425 grams, but that’s before draining the water, so yours is probably perfect!
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