peanut-butter chocolate fudge oat bars

What are you supposed to do when you have nothing to say? Things have been alright; they haven’t been great, but they haven’t been bad either. They’ve just, been.

I find writing very therapeutic, which is why I share personal stories and experiences on my blog. But what happens when I have nothing to say? What should I write about? How do I keep sharing recipes when I don’t have the energy to share the stories that go with them?

When I used to paint and draw, I was always told to just push through the moments that I couldn’t produce anything. To draw, to paint, to create, despite every bone in your body saying you couldn’t. The end result did not matter.

Don’t worry, this recipe forpeanut-butter chocolate fudge oat bars was not created in a moment like that though! I’ve actually been sitting on this recipe for awhile; it was one of the first recipes I created for this blog.  I just do not know what words to share with the recipe.

The words I can share are: vegan and gluten-free delicious, chocolate-y goodness. But that is really all I’ve got.

This recipe was inspired by a peanut chocolate bar that I buy fairly often at a local bakery and the fudge oat bars that I drool over at Starbucks (but have never tasted). I hope that they satisfy all your chocolate and peanut butter fantasies.

vegan, gluten-free peanut-butter chocolate fudge oat bars

serves 12
active time: 15 minutes ~ total time: 60 minutes (not including soaking the cashews)

These decadent peanut-butter chocolate fudge oat bars are everything you have ever wanted in a bar. I promise. 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups gluten free rolled oats
• 1 cup icing sugar
• ½ cup peanut butter
• ½ cup earth balance, melted
• ¾ cup cashews, soaked for 4-6 hours
• ½ cup maple syrup
• ½ cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp vanilla

Directions:

1. Line an 8 x 8 inch pan with parchment paper.
2. Take 1 cup of the oats and blend it into a flour.
3. In a mixing bowl, combine the gluten free rolled oats, the oat flour, icing sugar, peanut butter, and earth balance and mix until well combined
4. Press this oat mixture into your prepared pan and place it in the freezer.
5. Rinse and drain the cashews and place into a blender.  Add the remaining ingredients and blend until completely smooth. Depending on your blender, this could take up to 5 minutes.
6. Pour the chocolate fudge on top of the oat mixture. With a spatula, smoother out the top.
7. Place the bars back into the freezer to set for at least 30-45 minutes. Remove and cut into bars with a large, sharp knife. These bars keep best in the freezer.