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Home » Recipes » Desserts

Peanut Butter and Jam Nanaimo Bars

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These are the bars you make for someone you’re madly in love with.

Or maybe just have a crush on.

These are the bars you make when you have a broken heart.

 

Or better yet, to celebrate being single.

These are the bars you make when you want to say I’m sorry for being a jerk face.

Or maybe Happy Belated Birthday.

These are the bars you make when you’re celebrating 3 years of marriage and your husband has been dropping some serious hints about those amazing Nanaimo bars you made back in 2010.

 

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Peanut Butter and Jam Nanaimo bars

Vegan, no bake/raw
★★★★★
5 from 1 reviews
Yield
16 squares
Prep time
25 minutes
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
2 hours
Total time
25 minutes

Also known as: I Love You bars. Forgive Me bars. Bite Me bars. Anniversary Bars. Ange’s New Favourite Dessert Bars. Or the always popular, Me Time Bars. There’s always a good reason to make these scrumptious bites of peanut butter, chocolate, and jam! Be sure to keep them in the fridge as they will soften at room temperature. Use gluten-free graham crackers and they will be gluten-free to boot. Adapted from my other 3 flavours of Nanaimo bars and inspired by Guilty Kitchen.

Ingredients

For the bottom layer
  • 1/4 cup sugar
  • 5 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
  • 1/2 cup vegan butter (or regular butter)
  • 1 flax egg (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp warm water, mixed)
  • 1 and 1/4 cup peanut butter graham crackers or store bought, processed into crumb
  • 1/4 cup almonds, processed into crumb
  • 1 cup unsweetened coconut
For the middle layer
  • 1/4 cup non-dairy butter (I use Earth Balance)
  • 2/3 cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
  • 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 cup smooth all-natural peanut butter (if firm, you may need to increase butter)
  • 1/4 tsp kosher salt
  • 1/3 cup strawberry jam
For the top layer
  • 4 oz non-dairy dark chocolate chips (about 1/2 cup maybe?)
  • 1 tsp coconut oil (or butter)
  • Shredded coconut, to garnish (optional)

Directions

  1. Line an 8 inch square pan with parchment paper and grease with butter on all sides.
  2. Bottom layer: In a small bowl mix the flax egg together (1 tbsp ground flax + 3 tbsp warm water). Set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together the butter, sugar, and sifted cocoa powder. Heat on medium to low and stir frequently until smooth. Now add in the gelled up flax egg and stir well. Now remove from heat and stir in the coconut, processed almonds, and graham wafer crumbs. Stir well and then mix with your hands. Press this mixture into your prepared pan, ensuring that you press it down very firmly. I used a pastry roller to smooth it out, but this is not necessary. Place in freezer to set.
  3. Middle layer: In a medium bowl with an electric mixer, beat together all the middle layer ingredients except the jam until smooth. Spread middle layer over top the bottom layer with a wet spoon as evenly as possible. Now gently spread on the jam over top. Place in freezer to set.
  4. Top Layer: Melt your chocolate and oil in a double boiler or in the microwave. Stir well until smooth. Remove the pan from freezer and spread the chocolate quickly over the top. Sprinkle coconut on top. Place back in the freezer for about 1 hour until set. Once set you can transfer it to the fridge to keep until ready or you can place it on the counter for about 10 minutes before cutting it into squares.

Tip:

The middle layer gets very soft at room temperature. Please keep in the fridge until serving.

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If you've made this recipe I'd love to see it.
Tag @ohsheglows on Instagram and hashtag #ohsheglows so that we can all take a look!

Did I mention these are no bake?

As if you needed another reason to make them.

IMG_1116

The graham coconut base is a cross between a coconut macaroon and a graham crust, with a chewy, moist, and chocolaty flavour that is impossible to resist. The middle layer is basically a peanut butter ball in bar form topped with strawberry jam and a rich chocolate coating sprinkled with coconut.

Hot damn.

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If these bars aren’t the answer, I don’t know what the question is.

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Happy 3rd Anniversary, to my one and only chocolate monster! Red heart

For photos and a video of our wedding day, check out this post (as well as some love butter muffins!).

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Now, where can I hide these so I don’t eat them all before tonight?

Don’t say “at my house”…your sticky fingers can’t be trusted either!

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Filed Under: Chocolate, Cookies/Squares, Desserts, Wedding Tagged With: peanut butter and jam, Peanut Butter and Jam Nanaimo Bars

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190 Comments
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eliz@thesweetlife
14 years ago

Love this! My husband and I took the ferry to Nanaimo on our British Columbia adventure in July–beautiful part of the country!

Reply
Angela (Oh She Glows)
Reply to  eliz@thesweetlife
14 years ago

Oh that sounds like a blast :) I cant wait to go to BC someday!

Reply
Charlie
14 years ago

Happy anniversary! These bars look amazing.
My boyfriend often drops “hints” when he wants me to make something too :P.

Reply
Katie @ Plates and Paste
14 years ago

Oh my goodness…those look beyond amazing.

Reply
Heather (heathers dish)
14 years ago

Heaven in a pan!!!

Reply
Brittany @ Itty Bits of Balance
14 years ago

Pretty much, you can make this bars on ANY occasion :)

Reply
Paige
14 years ago

Happy anniversary!

Reply
Alyson @ Nourished Fitness
14 years ago

Oh I am making these ASAP! And congrats :-)

Reply
Jenny @ Simply Be...me
14 years ago

The best part about his post? The link to the other Nanaimo bar recipes! Seriously, how did I miss those. Definitely pinning all of these!

Reply
Jenny @ Simply Be...me
Reply to  Jenny @ Simply Be...me
14 years ago

Happy Anniversary too!

Reply
Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
Author
Reply to  Jenny @ Simply Be...me
14 years ago

Enjoy!

Reply
Meg @ Maknwaves
14 years ago

I loved the ones you made last winter and I know I will love these too. You have a real gift for making great bars like these that are the perfect dessert/snack. I loved your strawberry oat bars last year and made them gluten/vegan free for my family. They got totally devoured! Happy Anniversary!! You guys look so happy and in love always :)

Reply
Sarah @ SarahFit
14 years ago

You look gorgeous in this photo!!! I have a question for you, as a healthy living blogger myself, do you struggle to have one of your delicious recipes? I know you are recovering from an ED, and I personally feel like having ingredients to create recipes lying around the house tends to create an unstable environment for me. Just curious. You may have answered this in a previous post and I missed it too.

Reply
Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
Author
Reply to  Sarah @ SarahFit
14 years ago

Hey Sarah, I have found a great balance with treats and healthy food these days, but it did take me a while to learn moderation with food. For years it was always ‘all or nothing.’ When I first was recovering, it probably would have been much more difficult to have sweets around because I was still trying to stop binge eating. Thankfully it’s not an issue now and because I don’t label treats as ‘bad food’ anymore, it’s not as tempting or guilt-inducing when I do have them around and enjoy them. I also feel like I eat so well most of the time that a treat is nothing to worry about. I guess it was just about finding the balance with food, what makes me feel my best, and not imposing unrealistic weight or calorie standards on myself. Does that make sense?

Reply
Sarah @ SarahFit
Reply to  Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
14 years ago

Thank you and yes! Makes perfect sense. I feel like most of us food bloggers have had our own issues and our blogs are great therapy but sometimes can also be harmful (in my case). My YouTube videos get dissected under a microscope from many viewers. I wish they agreed with me on what my “happy weight” is but I know I chose to my profession and the help I know outweighs the bad. Blog readers are much more friendly. I LOVE how honest you are! It’s really inspirational.

Reply
Julie
14 years ago

That video made me smile, chuckle and tear. I am not in a relationship, but when I get there, I hope my love is as genuine as you and your husband’s looks. Happy Anniversary :)

Reply
Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
Author
Reply to  Julie
14 years ago

aww :)

Reply
Christa
14 years ago

Have you made these without the added sugar in the PB layer? I may try that. Recipe looks awesome – I can’t wait to try it! Thanks!

Reply
Cait's Plate
14 years ago

ADORE that picture of you and Eric! That is seriously a wonderful moment that was captured!! (I’m a huge fan of candid pictures that really capture a feeling/moment).

And – peanut butter and jam? You just can’t go wrong with that combo!

Reply
Brooke
14 years ago

OSG? more like O M G! I think my fiance would wash dishes for these! I have to make them asap. Thank you angela for the recipe, so excited :)

Reply
Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
Author
Reply to  Brooke
14 years ago

hah that’s cute!

Reply
Nicole
14 years ago

Those bars look DELISH!

Happy Anniversary!!!

Reply
Kathleen @ KatsHealthCorner
14 years ago

Oh gosh those are amazing!

Reply
Gloria
14 years ago

Those look delicious!!

Reply
Tracy @ Tracy's Treats
14 years ago

Those bars look delish. Anything no-bake is wonderful in my eyes!

Happy Anniversary! I absolutely love the style of your wedding dress!

Reply
Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
Author
Reply to  Tracy @ Tracy's Treats
14 years ago

Thank you Tracy! All the strapless gowns didn’t look right on my body type so I went with a V-neck (which was hard to find!)

Reply
Amber K
14 years ago

Aw, happy anniversary!

Reply
Leslie
14 years ago

Ok, please help! First though, they look awesome and happy anniversary–

Still new to the vegan lifestyle. I have seen in your recipes to use carob powder and cocoa powder. Is cocoa powder vegan? And can I sub one for the other? I was going to purchase the carob powder, but was too afraid of not using it, not liking it, etc.

Please help!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Thanks, am a chocoholic over here, and need to know!!!! =)

Reply
Angela Liddon (Oh She Glows)
Author
Reply to  Leslie
14 years ago

Hey Leslie, Yes cocoa powder and carob powder are vegan. :) Generally you can’t sub one for the other as cocoa powder is very bitter and carob is very sweet. I buy carob powder in a bulk food store, so I suggest doing that if you just want to try a tiny amount. Goodluck!

Reply
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About Angela

I’m Angela, the founder of Oh She Glows. Since 2008, I’ve been on a journey to glow from the inside out by creating crowd-pleasing plant-based recipes. I’m a New York Times Bestselling cookbook author and award-winning app creator. Click below for my full story!
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