
Eric says I make my best recipes when I’m pmsing.
Wait, is that a back-handed compliment?
Errr…
And how did he know I was pmsing?
“Well,…remember the other night when you started to cry watching that wedding dress show…?”
“When the Dad cries, everyone cries.”
“…and the other day, I caught you with chocolate all over your face talking about some chocolate river…”
“….and how is that different from any other day?”
“Good point. Or yesterday, when you were yelling on the phone with the phone company…”
“She was a phone robot, that doesn’t count! Robots have no feelings, pulse,…or comprehension of the English language, evidently.”
“Or this morning when…”
Ooooooook, no need to live in the past. I’m sure we all get the point. ;)
After some careful thought, his statement did make sense.
PMS –> increase in calorie expenditure (yay, eat more) –> increase in hunger –> empty stomach feeling 24/7 –> chocolate river dreams –> cooking/baking success.
Now, let’s look for concrete proof of his claims over the past week:
- Chocolate Cake Batter Smoothie
- Stuffed Phyllo Rolls
- Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Glazed Doughnuts
- Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Spiced Doughnuts
- 5 Ingredient Cheeze Sauce
Guilty as charged.

If that is hard evidence, these Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bars are the final nail in my coffin. Eric declared the recipe ‘in the vault’ and mumbled something about chocolate while his eyes glazed over. Typical. The stash quickly disappeared in the span of 3 days. Not surprisingly, more by him than me!
I guess he’s suffering from Male Menstrual Syndrome. I better keep my distance…there’s nothing worse than MAN-MS, right ladies?

And don’t worry, I pointed and laughed at the chocolate smudges on the side of his mouth.

Chocolate Chunk Toffee Bars

Yield
9 large bars
Prep time
Rest time
45 minutes
Cook time
Total time
Everything I love in a granola bar- a crisp, toffee-like exterior with a chunky and chewy middle. Be sure to allow the bars to cool completely before slicing. If you adapt the recipe, please leave a comment with the changes you made and how it turned out! I’m curious if other flours and nut butters might work.
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup oats
- 1/4 cup whole grain spelt flour
- 2 tbsp chia seeds
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 1 cup walnuts, chopped
- 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
- 2 tbsp Earth Balance (or other non-dairy spread)
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1/4 cup all natural peanut butter (my PB is very ‘drippy’- if yours is dry add another tbsp Earth Balance)
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup chocolate chunks or chips
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and line an 8-inch pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper (one going each way), so the bars do not stick to pan.
- In a large bowl, stir together the dry ingredients (oats, flour, chia seeds, cinnamon, salt, walnuts).
- In a microwavable bowl, stir together the brown rice syrup, Earth Balance, brown sugar, and peanut butter. Microwave on high for 45 seconds. Alternatively you can heat this on the stovetop.
- Pour wet mixture onto dry and stir well. The mixture will be very tough to stir (it’s a thick dough!) so don’t be alarmed. Allow the dough to cool a bit before mixing in the chocolate (otherwise, if you add in the chocolate too soon, it will melt, and it’s best chunky).
- Scoop into prepared pan and with a wet spoon spread out the mixture. The dough will be very thick and sticky. I dipped a pastry roller into water and rolled it out. Try to get it as even as possible!
- Bake for 30-32 minutes at 350°F. Allow to cool in the pan, on a cooling rack, for at least 15 minutes. Remove carefully from pan and allow to cool on the rack for another 20-30 minutes. If you cut the bars before completely cooling, they will crack, so it’s a good idea to wait as they will firm up.

These granola bars took me a few tries, but I finally got the outcome I was looking for- a crispy, toffee-like exterior with a chewy, chocolaty middle. They have a slight toffee flavour and are like a less sweet, more natural candy bar!

The bars will firm up a bit once cooled which is exactly how I prefer to eat them. Their flavour and chewy texture gets better with age. :)

Ok, I just Googled ‘male PMS’ for fun and there’s an actual term for it called Irritable Male Syndrome (IMS).
I can’t wait to tell Eric I found his diagnosis!
I made a batch of these on my lunch break. I used agave instead of brown rice syrup and peanuts instead of walnuts. I also added in 1/3 cup of coconut flour (my mixture wasn’t stiff enough – because of the agave maybe – and needed some more dry ingredients.) I haven’t had a chance to try them yet but my house smelled delicious when I left to go back to work :)
How’d they turn out?
We have officially found our new granola bar recipe! I can’t wait to try them with other nuts. The agave worked well and so did the coconut flour. I just wish there were more of them because they won’t last long :)
yay so happy to hear that!!!
Eric and I ate so many this week. I had to hide them in the freezer!
ok i love Toffee! These look so good!..
ooooh another delightful creation to add to my ‘must make’ list!
delicious!! I love the PMS/baking connection :) I always said older men have MANopause…
My heart is weeping with joy while reading this recipe right now.
My husband so has it, he even admits it during his time! We both enjoyed your post :-)
Oooh, aren’t both of you sweet teasing each other :)
And you had a week of such a fantastic set of recipes!
You know, I made a recipe almost exactly like this back in 2009. . . KIDDING. :D This looks incredible!! My hubby would love these, too, whether Man-PMSing or not (and let’s not even start talking about MAN-colds. . . ) ;)
hahaha I loved this post :P I can’t wait to try these! Pretty sure my man will help me polish ’em off, too :D
This looks so awesome… I added it to blogshouts.com to share the healthy love!
YUM-MMY! Those look ridiculously good! I totally agree with the IMS thing btw haahahaha! I’m going to make these for my Boyfriend when he visits next…..
Your phyllo roll post got me thinking……Have you ever made baklava?? I’m a HUGE fan but I’ve never tried making it before. Might be interesting?
Nope but it’s on my list!
PMSing. Maybe that was my snacking problem today. I think I need to try your bars. It might be the cure I need. :)
*drools*
Aww, hehe you and Eric are so cute. And these sound phenomenal! Love the addition of the toffee!
I have these in the oven right now and they smell AMAZING!!!!!!!! I hope I can wait for them to cool, it’s going to be sooooo hard.
This post was a funny one :) I swear my husband doesn’t get when I’m more cranky than usual (and maybe that’s a back-handed right out slap!) and doesn’t get why that happens. Oh boys! I think I might need to get some brown rice syrup tomorrow because these are looking mighty fine. PMS or no PMS…these need in my belly!
As always, they look delicious. I’ll have to wait until December to make them, though, because peanut butter is *so* expensive in Germany ($10 for a regular jar, and $20 for almond butter! AH! I think this means a nut-butter-less fall? Only Nutella? I don’t think I’ve ever done that before…)
Have you ever tried making your own peanut butter with roasted peanuts and a food processor? Peanuts in bulk are dirt cheap here and it works out to being so much cheaper than buying from a store.
Wow, somehow I *hadn’t* thought of that. Thanks a ton! Especially since we have a hazelnut bush and a walnut tree…and 200g of almonds are only 99 cents here!
All your posts make me want to move in so I can be taste tester. Yum!
Yummy, can’t wait to make some! I love your posts. My hubby suffers from IMS every once & a blue moon!! ;-)