Tag Archive: Snack

Peanut Butter Snack Squares

Peanut Butter Snack Bars

Every afternoon around 3pm I run into the problem of something healthy to snack on. I’d usually just prefer a bag of M&Ms and some Reese’s peanut butter cups and call it a day, but apparently that’s not good for you(who knew?). I went ahead and tried to make a healthy snack since it’s a lot easier and cheaper than finding tasty ones in the grocery store. And wouldn’t you know you can still have your peanut butter and chocolate and eat well, too?

These definitely aren’t fudgy enough to be blondies or airy enough to be cake; that’s why I’d call them “squares” and say they’re the perfect afternoon pick-me-up when you’re not sure what to have. They’re filled with whole grains, peanut butter, and low-fat yogurt so they must be a better choice than anything from the vending machine.

Peanut Butter Snack Bars Healthy

If you want to make these really healthy, swap out the chocolate chips for raisins. Then again if you want to use both I won’t tell anyone.

Peanut Butter Snack Squares

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 25 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 9 squares):

  • 1 cup all-purpose gluten-free flour(or regular flour)
  • 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
  • 1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons sugar
  • 1/2 cup peanut butter
  • 1/2 cup plain low-fat yogurt
  • 1 egg
  • 2-4 Tablespoons water
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Peanut Butter Snack Bars Peanut Butter

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and grease an 8×8 baking pan.
  2. In a large bowl, mix together the flour, oats, and sugar.
  3. Add in the peanut butter, yogurt, and egg and beat well.
  4. Slowly add in water just until the batter is wet enough for you to stir with a whisk or spatula to mix it.
  5. Lastly fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Pour the batter into the greased baking tray. Bake for about 25 minutes until the edges start to brown.
  7. Let the pan cool before cutting it into 9 squares. Store sealed in the refrigerator until ready to eat. 

Peanut Butter Snack Bars Serving

After a few days these start to stiffen up. Just pop them in the microwave for 30 seconds on a low setting and it’ll be just like they came out of the oven again!

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

Candy corn seems to be one of those foods that divides families. People either love it or they hate it. Personally, I’m addicted to it. Sometimes it tastes good; other times it tastes like nail polish remover. But I will always eat it.

Still, candy corn on its own can be a bit much; I find it’s better with other things like Chex mix or Halloween crack corn that cut through the sweetness. White chocolate isn’t going to do much for that but peanuts and a little bit of dark chocolate definitely do. This bark is all around fun if you like candy corn and sweet treats.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark Broken

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16 pieces):

  • 8oz(1 cup) white chocolate chips
  • 1/4 cup candy corn
  • 1/4 cup roasted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chip

Method:

  1. Melt the white chocolate chips in a microwave or over a double boiler.
  2. Pour the melted chocolate onto a non-stick surface and spread it into a layer about 3/8-inch thick.
  3. Evenly drop the candy corn, peanuts, and chocolate chips onto the bark and press them in gently.
  4. Move the chocolate to the refrigerator or freezer to harden for 15-20 minutes.
  5. Cut the bark with a sharp knife into asymmetrical pieces. Store in the refrigerator when not eating.

White Chocolate Candy Corn Bark Finished

If you serve this at a Halloween party you can make up fun stories like how the white chocolate is ectoplasm and the chocolate chips are ghost droppings. I don’t know what the candy corn and peanuts would be; any ideas?

Pumpkin Pie Spice Almonds

Pumpkin Spice Almonds

The nice thing about Fall and cooler temperatures is that it gets me to use the oven more. During the Summer I’d much rather make ice cream than cupcakes but recently I’ve been using my oven more and more. The kitchen is quickly becoming my favorite room again.

Roasting nuts is something I make time to do every year. You can come up with the most fun flavors using different spices, and they always are a healthier treat, too. A lot of the time I think I like pumpkin pie spice more than pumpkin itself. These almonds have all the right flavors to make you think of Fall in a portable, no-mess snack.

Pumpkin Spice Almonds Serving

If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, there are plenty of recipes online to make your own. If you don’t feel like looking up a recipe, just toss together cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg to get a range of flavors.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Almonds

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cup raw almonds
  • 1/2 Tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
  • 1/4 tablespoon salt
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. In a small bowl, combine all of the ingredients until the almonds are coated well.
  3. Lay out the almonds on a non-stick baking tray.
  4. Bake for 15-20 minutes disturbing the almonds halfway through until they’ve roasted to a darker brown. They should still be slightly sticky when you take them out.
  5. Let the almonds cool, break any that are stuck together apart, and store them at room temperature.

Pumpkin Spice Almonds Yield

These are a great snack to leave out at a party. Clean out a mini-pumpkin and serve it in that for something festive.

Salty-Sweet Halloween Chex Mix

Salty-Sweet Halloween Chex Mix

Fall is really a much better season for foodies than Winter. You have your candy corn, your pumpkin spice, fresh apples—what more can you need? Besides, can you ever remember anyone making a recipe with fruitcake or ribbon candy that you just loved? Didn’t think so.

I’m not typically a big snacker but when I do feel like something to nibble on I have the hardest time deciding. Salty or sweet? Nutty or candy? Healthy or… not? There’s a lot to consider.

Salty-Sweet Halloween Chex Mix Bucket

Lately I’ve been digging this Chex mix since it hits all the marks. It has candy corn—my all-time favorite candy—, spicy Chex cereal, salty gluten-free pretzels and sweet almonds. It’s a little healthy with whole grains and nuts and a little not. It’s easy enough to make for yourself but also fun enough to bring to a party.

If you don’t feel like making your own almonds, you can buy honey roasted or cinnamon sugar almonds and use those instead.

Salty-Sweet Halloween Chex Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 5 cups)

  • 2 cups cinnamon Chex cereal
  • 1 cup salted-maple almonds(recipe below)
  • 1 1/4 cup pretzel sticks*
  • 3/4 cup candy corn

*I used Snyder’s of Hanover gluten-free pretzel sticks

Method:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients in a large bowl and enjoy.

Salted-Maple Almonds

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 cup):

  • 1 cup almonds
  • 2 Tablespoons maple syrup
  • 1 teaspoon coarse salt

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
  2. Mix all of the ingredients together in a small bowl.
  3. Pour the almonds on top of a non-stick baking try in a single layer.
  4. Roast for 20 minutes, disturbing the almonds about halfway through. Don’t worry if they still look sticky after 20 minutes; as they cool down they’ll become less wet.
  5. Break the almonds apart while they’re warm. Store in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.

Salty-Sweet Halloween Chex Mix Serving

A note about candy corn: Last year I found out through error that most name brand candy corns are not vegetarian because they have gelatin in them. However, CVS store brand is vegetarian so if that’s a concern you can still go ahead and enjoy this.

Copycat Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars

copycat chocolate hazelnut larabars

One of my most popular recipes is the raw/vegan chocolate cake I made last Summer, and every time someone new comments on the post or makes it for themselves and blogs their own mouth-watering photos(I’m looking at you, Texanerin) it makes me want it again.

Well, cake every week is a bit much, even if it’s raw and vegan. But as soon as I finished eating my chocolate chip peanut butter “Larabars” I was thinking of what flavor I could make next, and chocolate hazelnut seemed like the perfect answer.

copycat chocolate hazelnut larabars stack

These are definitely healthy enough to have every day but also can easily satisfy a candy craving. You can use raw or roasted hazelnuts, skin on or off. Roasted will definitely have a nuttier and stronger flavor. To make them truly raw, use cacao nibs in place of the chocolate chips. 

Copycat Chocolate Hazelnut Larabars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 7 bars):

  • 8oz(about 2 cups) pitted dates
  • 3/4 cup hazelnuts
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

copycat chocolate hazelnut larabars yield

Method:

  1. In a food processor, blend the dates until they clump together and form a sticky dough ball.
  2. Add the hazelnuts and salt into the food processor and pulse until the nuts are broken into a coarse flour.
  3. Transfer all the contents of the food processor into a large bowl with the chocolate chips and massage by hand until the hazelnut pieces and chocolate chips are completely mixed into the dates.
  4. Form the dough into equal-sized bars, squares, or balls. Store in the refrigerator until ready to eat.

copycat chocolate hazelnut larabars bars

OK, it’s no raw chocolate cake with avocado buttercream, but it will definitely satisfy a late-night sweet tooth.

Copycat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

Copycat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

When you’re a food blogger, you end up having some pretty weird “snacks”. Leftover cheesecake in the afternoon? Sure. Chocolate granola for lunch and dinner some times. Anything goes.

That’s all great and delicious but there are times when I wish I ate a little bit healthier. Of course, the answer’s simple; if you want to eat healthy you need to buy and make healthy meals and snacks. So to start I made one of my favorites: peanut butter chocolate chip larabars.

Copycat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars Serving

Most pre-portioned snacks at the grocery store are overpriced; they’re even pricier if you get them from kiosks or snack stands. By making your own, you control the costs and quality of the ingredients. Larabars have pretty clean and simple ingredients as is, but by buying dates and using other ingredients I already had I was able to bring the cost down.

You could make your own and use almonds instead of peanuts to adapt these for someone with a peanut allergy.

Copycat Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 6 bars):

  • 8oz pitted dates
  • 1/2 cup peanuts
  • 2 Tablespoons peanut butter
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup chocolate chips

Method:

  1. Combine the dates and peanuts in a food processor and blend on high until the ingredients start to form a paste.
  2. Add in the peanut butter and salt and continue blending until a dough begins to form.
  3. Lastly, add in the chocolate chips and pulse a few times.
  4. Line a loaf or baking pan with plastic wrap.
  5. Drop the dough on top of the plastic wrap and press the dough into a square or rectangle about 3/4-inch thick.
  6. Cut into bars or squares. Wrap individually and refrigerate until ready to eat.

Copycate Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Larabar Cut

I left mine in squares. You could make bars or balls or really any shape you could think of with these.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Glad to know I’m not the only one who thinks peanut butter and baked beans are a delicious combination. But I forgot to mention the best part! If you leave a comment on the recipe page on Peanut Butter & Co.’s All Star Recipe Blog you’ll be entered to win a jar of their deliciously sweet Smooth Operator peanut butter.

And speaking of peanut butter…

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars Sliced

As soon as I made chocolate almond granola bars I knew I wanted to make a version using peanut butter. What goes better together than peanut butter and chocolate? But when I finally got around to making it, I thought of improvising and using white chocolate; if anything beats peanut butter and chocolate, it’s peanut butter and white chocolate.

White chocolate’s one of those things I don’t like so much on its own but goes great with just about anything. It adds a rich, buttery flavor to these granola bars that make them taste like they’re so homemade you grew the oats yourself.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Want to take these to the next level? Try using PB&Co.’s white chocolate peanut butter.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 bars):

  • 1/2 cup white chocolate chips
  • 1/2 cup no-stir peanut butter
  • 3 Tablespoons honey
  • 1 cup oats*
  • 1 1/2 cups rice crisps cereal*
  • 1/2 cup roasted peanuts
  • 1/2 cup raisins
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

*To make these granola bars gluten-free, make sure these two ingredients are certified gluten-free.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars Collage

Method:

  1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the white chocolate.
  2. Stir in the peanut butter and honey until smooth.
  3. Add in the oats, cereal, peanuts, raisins, and salt and mix until everything is completely covered.
  4. Line an 8 x 8 baking tray with wax paper. Dump the batter into the pan and press down into an even layer.
  5. Refrigerate the bars until they’ve hardened—about 20-30 minutes.
  6. With a sharp knife, cut the bars in half horizontally and into quarters vertically into 8 2 x 4 bars.
  7. Store in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks.

White Chocolate Peanut Butter Granola Bars(2)

These were a little more crumbly than the other granola bars I made for whatever reason. Make sure when you cut into them they’re extra cold and you use a sharp knife.

Homemade Tamari Almonds

homemade-tamari-almonds

I like to say I don’t have a sweet tooth, I have a mouth of sweet teeth. I don’t eat savory foods nearly as much as I should, especially not savory snacks when it’s so easy to pick up something sugar-laden or covered in chocolate. It’s not my best habit and I’d like to think I’m working on it.

homemade-tamari-almonds-long

These almonds are delicious and you don’t have to feel bad enjoying them on the go. I’ve seen savory almonds on supermarket shelves but rarely are they ever gluten-free. Thankfully they aren’t hard to make yourself. All you need is a little time and patience.

Like whenever you’re roasting nuts, make sure to keep an eye on these to keep them from burning.

Homemade Tamari Almonds

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 2 cups raw almonds
  • 3 Tablespoons tamari(or soy sauce)
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

homemade-tamari-almonds-slant

Method:

  1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
  2. Mix the almonds, tamari, and salt thoroughly
  3. Lay the almonds out in a single layer on a baking tray.
  4. Roast for 20 minutes or until the moisture has boiled off, occasionally tossing the pan.
  5. Remove and let cool completely before snacking. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks.

homemade-tamari-almonds-chopsticks

The chopsticks are completely unnecessary. But if you can pick up an almond with them then you’re definitely improving your abilities.

White Chocolate Popcorn

white-chocolate-popcorn

I’m not a popcorn-at-the-movies kind of person. Buttery popcorn just doesn’t do it for me; I’d rather have the sour patch kids or peanut M&Ms. But when it’s chocolate on popcorn—that’s another story.

I’ve been obsessed with white chocolate lately and this is just another way to eat it up. It’s a crunchy, creamy, salty dessert that’s unexpectedly incredible. And it has whole grains so it’s not entirely unhealthy, right?

white-chocolate-popcorn-serving

If you’re worried about this being a messy treat, the chocolate doesn’t actually stick to your hand once it’s cooled down to room temperature. It’ll make your hands about as greasy as any buttered popcorn, though, so have a napkin nearby.

White Chocolate Popcorn

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 servings):

  • 8 cups plain popcorn
  • 6oz white chocolate
  • 1 1/2 Tablespoons butter
  • 3/4 teaspoons salt

white-chocolate-popcorn-hand

Method:

  1. In a microwave or over a double boiler, melt the white chocolate and butter together until smooth.
  2. Stir the salt into the white chocolate evenly.
  3. In a large bowl, poor the melted white chocolate over the popcorn. Fold the popcorn into the white chocolate until it’s all coated.
  4. Let the popcorn sit at room temperature and the chocolate solidify slightly. Scoop into bowls and serve.

white-chocolate-popcorn-long

This is definitely not as good as leftovers since it keeps so poorly, so I would suggest making it and eating it on the same day. I don’t think it’ll be too hard once you take a taste to finish the batch.

Monkey Trail Mix

monkey-trail-mix

If I remember anything from high school biology, it’s that monkeys are one of are closest relatives.

We like bananas; they like bananas. We like peanuts; they probably like peanuts. We like chocolate; they’d love chocolate if anyone were weird enough to give chocolate to a monkey.

Basically, monkeys have good taste in trail mix. And we do, too. This snack is packed with just things monkeys(and people!) would like.

monkey-trail-mix-ingredients

I could only find Reese’s peanut butter chips so those are what I used. If you’re looking for something more natural, Sunspire makes really good peanut butter chips which you can find at some Whole Foods and natural food stores.

Monkey Trail Mix

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup banana chips
  • 3/4 cup salted peanuts
  • 3/4 cup raw cashews
  • 1/4 cup peanut butter chips
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

monkey-trail-mix-2

Method:

  1. Combine all of the ingredients and mix together.

monkey-trail-mix-bowl

It doesn’t get much easier than that.