Time and time again, I find myself baking at night.  I have always loved to bake in a quiet and dark kitchen. Especially when I visit home. 

When all my family is out of the kitchen…and all the meals are done…and all the dishes are clean. 

That’s the time I finally have it all to myself.   

Soooo it’s late. I don’t want to wait around as dozens of cookies bake and cool. I don’t want a lot of mess to clean up.

So a no-bake bar is the perfect choice.  

You press this mixture into a pan and once they are cooled, you cut them into bars.  

If you are like me, just put the pan in the refrigerator and cut them into bars the next day.

These are sweet…and very addicting.  Chocolate and peanut butter lovers will looove them. 

You really cannot go wrong!

No-Bake Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Bars

(recipe adapted from Browneyedbaker.com)

• 3 cups old-fashioned oats  (quick-cooking oats will work if you don’t have old-fashioned oats, if so, use about 3 ½ cups)
• 1 ½ cups semisweet chocolate chips
• ½ cup mini chocolate chips, for sprinkling the top of the bars
• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 cups white granulated sugar (you can decrease the sugar amount if you want)
• ½ cup skim milk
• ½ cup unsalted butter
• ½ teaspoon salt

Directions:

-  Line a 9x13 inch inch baking dish with parchment paper and set aside. If you want thicker bars you can use a square 8 or 9-inch baking dish.

- In a large mixing bowl, stir together the oatmeal, chocolate chips (not the mini chips), peanut butter and vanilla extract. Stir until it is all combined, it is okay to use your hands to make sure the peanut butter is incorporated throughout. set aside.

-  In a saucepan, combine the sugar, milk, butter and salt over medium heat. Bring to a full boil, until there are bubbles covering the surface.  Once it has the bubbles on the surface, boil this for 2 minutes. Remove from heat.

- Pour the hot mixture over the oatmeal mixture and quickly stir to combine. Stir until the oatmeal mixture has been moistened. It’s okay if the chocolate chips melt.

- Turn the mixture into the parchment-lined pan and use the back of a spoon to press it evenly into the pan.

- Sprinkle the mini chocolate chips over the top of the bars and press them down with your hands into the dough.

- Let the bars sit for at least 30 minutes at room temperature or in the refrigerator.  This allows them to set and the chocolate chips to harden on top.  Use the edges of the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan and cut into desired squares.

- Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week. I like to store them in the fridge.

I package these bars up in clear bags tied with burlap ribbon and give them to others as a sweet gift.  

Yum.