Now this is what I call a Happy Friday.
Luckily for my little baking ‘habit’, there is always a reason to bake.
My friends have birthdays. Their significant others have birthdays. My family have birthdays. It’s December. It’s the 3rd Tuesday of the month. Eric’s coworkers hit the 3pm slump. It’s storming outside. There is an old lady down the road who doesn’t know who I am but enjoys my baked goods. Valentine’s Day. This blog. Eric. You.
This creates a sense of purpose in my life.
But don’t get me wrong, I will bake for no other reason other than just wanting to bake. And wanting to eat what I bake. Yes, I do enjoy that quite a bit come to think of it. Baking for sheer enjoyment is a good reason in itself, but it does make me happy when I have others I can bake for too.
And really, what could be better to drool over on a Friday morning when you are anxiously watching the clock, anticipating the fun weekend ahead, and planning all the delicious things that you are going to eat?
My friend Julie had a birthday get together last night and she is a huge chocolate and peanut butter fan. When she heard that I made Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter she made a double batch that very same day, as well as a Dark Chocolate Almond Butter batch for good measure. Her love for chocolate and peanut butter is quite intense. Obviously, I made the girl a chocolate peanut butter dessert and the end result was so fantastic, I wished it was my birthday. Only 3.5 months to go…
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No Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispies with PB Fudge
Yield
16 squares
Prep time
Cook time
0 minutes
Chill time
1 hour
Total time
Like a chocolate rice crispie square amped up and packed with crispy, chewy goodness. The chocolate peanut butter fudgy ‘frosting’ is the perfect compliment to this not too sweet dessert. Inspired by Joy of Baking. The Fudge is adapted from my Chocolate Peanut Butter.
Ingredients
For the squares
- 1/2 cup all natural peanut butter (chunky or smooth)
- 1/2 cup brown rice syrup
- 2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup sifted cocoa powder
- 1/4-1/2 tsp kosher salt, to taste
- 3 cups crisp rice cereal (I use GF Nature’s Path)
- 1/4 cup chopped unsalted peanuts (optional, but adds a nice texture)
- 1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips
For the Dark Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter ‘Fudge’
- 1 cup all-natural peanut butter
- 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
- 1 tsp coconut oil
- Kosher salt, to taste
- 1/3 cup unsweetened coconut + coconut for sprinkling (optional)
Directions
- Line an 8 inch square pan with 2 pieces of parchment paper going each way.
- In a medium sized saucepan, stir together the peanut butter, brown rice syrup, vanilla, and almond milk together over low-medium heat. Once combined, slowly add in the sifted cocoa power and the kosher salt. Stir over low heat being careful not to burn.
- Mix in the 3 cups of rice crispies and remove from heat. Now add I the 1/2 cup of chocolate chips and optional peanuts. stir well. Spread this mixture into the square pan lined with parchment paper. Press down firmly and evenly. Place in the freezer for at least 10 minutes to firm up.
- Meanwhile, make the Dark Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter by melting the 1/2 cup chocolate chips and coconut oil in a small bowl in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Be careful not to burn. Now stir in the 1 cup peanut butter, 1/3 cup coconut (optional), and kosher salt to taste. Mix until completely combined.
- Remove the pan from the freezer when firm to touch and spread on as much of the Dark Chocolate PB ‘fudge’ as you prefer. I think I used about 3/4-1 cup. Sprinkle with coconut if desired.
- Place in the freezer for 45-50 minutes until firm (yes it takes longer to firm up than you think!). Cut into squares and enjoy! Store in the freezer or fridge.
I’m obviously really into the no-bake (i.e. fast and easy) treats lately so I tried to come up with something that would fit the bill, but still make a show-stopping and drool-worthy dessert for any birthday girl.
The peanuts are optional in this recipe, but they provided a nice texture in the squares.
The first thing you do is mix together the vanilla, brown rice syrup, peanut butter, and almond milk over low-medium heat on the stovetop.
Now add in the kosher salt, sifted cocoa power, and peanuts. Stir well until smooth.
Add in the 3 cups rice crisp and the 1/2 cup chocolate chips. Oh yeaaaaa.
Scoop into your square pan and spread out.
Place in freezer for about 10 minutes to firm up.
Meanwhile, on the ranch…
Make the Dark Chocolate Peanut Butter! I had some leftover in the fridge so I just softened it in the microwave for about 25 seconds or so and then stirred.
However, if you are making it from scratch, it is very quick…
Melt chocolate. Stir in the remaining ingredients. EASY!
I also added in some shredded coconut for a fun texture in this fudgy frosting.
Once the square mixture is firm, pour on your desired amount of fudgy frosting. I think I used 3/4 cup or so.
Spread the goodness all around.
Now place in the freezer, uncovered, for 45-50 minutes to set.
Remove from pan and cut into squares.
Dear me.
Quality control.
I had no idea how these were going to turn out, but I was blown away. These are one of my favourite desserts to ever cross this kitchen. You can get creative with the ingredients too. It might be fun using Dark Chocolate Almond Butter and chopped almonds, or other mix ins like raisins, walnuts, or pecans too!
Or what about White Chocolate Dreams Peanut Butter? Mmm.
I ended up saving a square for Eric and after he tried it he said if we weren’t already married he would have proposed to me upon first bite. bahaha.
I think I know what dessert I’m making him for Valentine’s Day now!
These squares would go perfectly with my Choco Peanut Butter Hot Cocoa too…
Thanks for this recipe – made them over the weekend and they were so tasty! Pretty easy and fast, too. The omnis thought they were quite delicious, too :)
hey this looks incredible. I wanna make them for my boyfriend for valentine’s day !
but do you think agave can we substituted for brown rice syrup?
and regular vegetable oil for coconut oil? because they are all i’ve got on hand
In my experience agave doesn’t hold together as well as BRS…my advice would be to make sure you keep them chilled in the fridge so they do not fall apart. :) Veg oil could probably be used too…just note that the flavours will change and I’m not sure how this will impact the overall taste. Goodluck!
Thank you, thank you, thank you Angela!!!!!!!!!! I made these yummy treats last night and was overwhelmed by their richness yet healthiness….or at least that’s what I told myself :) My boyfriend is a huge PB and chocolate fan so these will be a winner!!!! Have a wonderful day :)
I went on a vegan fast for 3 weeks to kick the year off and I love your blog! I just made these today and they are soooo good and very rich! Thanks for all the recipes!
I made these tonight, and they were great! I used ingredients that I had on hand, and I’m not vegan, so I used Karo syrup and regular milk and omitted the coconut, but these were still amazing! Thanks for sharing the recipe.
I made these last night, in addition to the no-bake peanut butter cups. They were both AMAZING! One thing I noticed – that the PB “fudge” on these chocolate crispies – there seemed to be more on mine than how it looks in the picture. Nonetheless, they were delicious and were devoured. I loved how light they were due to the rice cereal, and they weren’t a heavy dessert, but still packed a lot of flavor!
What a fun recipe! I like the simplicity – and LOVE the chocolate and peanut butter involved.
Hey Angela,
I just wanted to let you know that I brought a container of these to my Entrepreneurs’ Organization forum meeting yesterday (6 carnivorous guys + me), and they were a huge hit! The guys know I’m vegan, but were blown away by how good these were. I think I’ll start bringing treats to our monthly meetings and look forwrd to surprising them with more of your awesome recipes :)
Just mixed up a batch of these… I didn’t have chocolate chips, so I used chocolate peanut butter… And I’m skipping the frosting this time cuz it’s late and I want to eat them before bed. :) (yeah, I’m not 39 weeks pregnant or anything.) They look fab, I’m just waiting for them to cool enough to cut!
My husband’s last day at his current job is tomorrow and I’m making these for a cookout they’re having. Neither of us are vegans, but there are a handful of vegans at his workplace, so I wanted to make something everybody can enjoy. I can’t wait! And I will definitely be on the quality control team before these leave our house tomorrow morning! :-)
When should I add the peanuts? I think sentence 3 is missing a word, following: Now add…………
You add it in just after the chocolate. Thanks for catching that! I fixed it.
hi
i really like those square u made, but i was wondering if i can completely omit 1/2 cup non-dairy chocolate chips while make those square or do i have to substitute with some other ingredient?
for making Dark Chocolate Coconut Peanut Butter ‘Fudge’: can i not use 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips instead i can use milk or semi sweet chocolate chip or whatever you think best, my son does not like dark chocolate nor he like tooooo chocolaty stuff… many of your recipes have chocolate chips… well one by one i am going to try all of your recipe with tons of question :) sorry to bother you in advance
thanks for doing such a great job
will honey work instead of brown rice syrup?
Made these last night with part honey and part maple syrup…delicious! Two of my non-vegan friends even emailed for the recipe this morning! Thank you!
Made these today! I used cashew butter instead of peanut butter for both the base and the fudge by accident (it took me that long to realise I had the wrong nut butter jar), but they still turned out beautifully. (The downsides of storing homemade nut butters in almost-identical jars…) These bars are delicious! Perfect summer treats thanks to the “no-bake” aspect. Thank you, Angela! :)
Out of everything of yours that I have made, these will always be my favorite. Well done! I love your recipes!
these look great! is there anything i can substitute the brown rice syrup for? would coconut oil work or wrong texture?
Hey Katie! I haven’t tried anything else in this recipe, but keep in mind the brown rice syrup is the binder here. If you eat honey, that could work too since it’s so sticky. goodluck!
These are fantastic! :) I made them without the ganache first and thought they were great but when I made a bit of ganache to put on one tonight I realized they were over the top! Thanks for another great recipe!
Love the recipr but is there any way you can post the recipe and instructions so I can print them without the pictures?
Hi. I made these today and they taste absolutely amazing but my crisp rice are soft not crispy. Any idea why this happened??????
Hi Terri, The rice crispies do soften a bit but I dont think I would call mine soft. I wonder if it was a bad batch? Did you modify the recipe at all?