What, you may ask does PB Max stand for? I asked the same question when I was young and the answer is got was “Peanut Butter [to the] Max!”
So yes, if you love peanut butter and chocolate, I’m 110% sure you will love these bars.
This recipe comes by way of a friend bringing them to a church potluck. They became an instant family favorite, so when THM became my lifestyle just over 2 years ago I KNEW this was one recipe that I HAD to Trimmify.
Whenever I ask the question “what should I make?”, my dads instant response 99% of the time is “ you know what sounds good to me …some of those peanut butter chocolate bars.” He likes them so much it’s what he got for a birthday dessert in lieu of birthday cake or cheesecake last year.
PB Max Bars
Servings: 24 pieces
Ingredients
CRUST
- 1¼ cups THM Baking Blend
- ½ cup oat fiber
- ¼ cup pressed peanut flour
- ½ cup THM Gentle Sweet
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup butter, softened
FILLING
- ¼ cup coconut oil, melted
- ½ cup natural unsweetened peanut butter
- ¾ cup pressed peanut flour
- ⅓ cup THM Gentle Sweet
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon blackstrap molasses
Garnish (optional)
- chopped roasted & salted peanuts
- chopped sugar free peanut butter cups
- shaved or grated chocolate
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°.
- Line a 13 x 9 pan with parchment paper. (If you don't have parchment paper, just grease pan well with butter.)
Crust
- Whisk all dry ingredients together in a medium bowl.
- Add butter and mix with either a wooden spoon or mixer until dough is formed and no dry ingredients remain in bottom of bowl.
- Press evenly into bottom of prepared pan, using a tamper or bottom of a dry measuring cup to pack it down.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until just starting to brown. The crust may feel soft, but it will firm up once it's cooled.
- Set crust aside to cool.
Filling
- Mix all filling ingredients in medium bowl until completely combined.
- Spread filling mixture evenly over cooled crust.
Topping
- Melt chocolate and butter together over low heat, stirring until smooth. A double boiler or microwave works well for this step too.
- Spread evenly over peanut butter filing.
Garnish (if desired)
- If using chopped peanuts or peanut cups sprinkle over chocolate while its still warm so they'll set in place.If using chocolate shavings, wait until the topping is nearly set.
- Refrigerate until set. Cut into 24 pieces and serve. If using parchment paper, you can lift the bars out of the pan to cut. Keep leftovers refrigerated.
Notes
Any other on plan sweetener works well in this recipe. Find a sweetener conversion chart here.
You may use creamy or crunchy peanut butter, depending on desired texture.
If you don’t have stevia sweetened chocolate chips, using 7 oz of 85% or darker chocolate in place of them is acceptable. Just chop the bar up into rough pieces.
Coconut oil may be used in place of butter in the topping.
My favorite tool for spreading is a small offset spatula like this one.
Molasses is an on plan food to be used in small amounts. 3/4 teaspoon is fine for this recipe since it’s spread throughout an entire batch.
