Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars!

Hey my Beeeaaa-uuuuuuu-ti-ful Peanut Butter Cups.

Thanks for your comments on my last post. I had never realized the true impact smoking can have on a person’s health before I read the infograph. I knew it wasn’t good for you (and that I NEVER wanted to do it), but reading about what it does really reaffirmed my resolve to not do it and to focus on nourishing my body in a way that it can run its best.

My parents like to volunteer me to make treats. Fundraiser Bake Sales (like those for Girl’s Camp), or Parties, or Church Activities, or Game Nights, or Get-togethers, etc. Whatever it is, they’ll volunteer me for it.

I’m never mad at them. If they do it, I of course just like to know about it soon enough before the event so I can plan for it. I actually really enjoy when my family members “volunteer” me for things like this. It gives me an excuse to bake.

Whenever they “volunteer” me to make something, I make these.

My family calls them Deadly.

And they never last long.

What are they exactly?

My Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars! (Yep, they have a long name.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (200 degrees C). Pour the cake mix into a large mixing bowl.

Using a whisk, break up any clumps in the cake mix. (This helps with mixing later on.)

Add the cinnamon and sugar (if desired) and whisk them in.

Add the peanut butter, tofu, smart balance, and water.

And stir them all in. (Start with ¼ cup water, and then add more as needed, mixing just until combined.)

Now add the chocolate chips (my favorite part).

And fold them in. (I don’t know about you, but I love the look of cookie dough when it gets to this stage. )

Separate the dough into a few lightly-sprayed glass pans. (I use 2 9″x9″ pans and a 4″x6″ pans when I make these. A 9″x13″ pan alongside an 8″x8″ pan also works.)

And spread it out with the back of a spoon until the dough in evenly distributed.

Bake them for 20-25 minutes, or until the centers are set and they’re golden brown around the edges.

Let them cool for 20-30 minutes (this helps them set, but I always love these when the chocolate is all melty and gooey ), and then cut into bars. (Makes about 32 bars, depending on the size of the pans you use to bake them in and how large you decide to cut the bars into.)

SERVE!

Easy Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bars!

Ingredients

• 1 (18.25 oz) box of yellow cake mix
  
• 1 ¼ cup all-natural crunchy peanut butter
  
• ½ cup silken/soft tofu
  
• ¼ cup smart balance butter spread, softened (or more tofu for a lower-fat option)
  
• ¼-½ cup water
  
• ¼ cup sugar (can be omitted if desired)
  
• Dash of cinnamon
  
• 1 (12-oz) bag semi-sweet chocolate chips
  

See notes for ingredient information.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (200 degrees C). Pour the cake mix into a large mixing bowl. Using a whisk, break up the big clumps in the cake mix. (This helps with mixing later on.) Add the cinnamon and sugar (if desired) and whisk them in. Add the peanut butter, tofu, smart balance, and water and mix them in. (Start with ¼ cup water, and then add more as needed, mixing just until combined.) Fold in the chocolate chips.

Separate the dough into a few lightly-sprayed glass pans and spread it out with the back of a spoon until the dough even (I use 2 9″x9″ pans and a 4″x6″ pans when I make these). Bake them for 20-25 minutes (until the centers are set and they are golden brown around the edges). Let them cool in the pan for 20-30 minutes (this helps them set), cut them into bars, and SERVE! Makes 32 bars.

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*Notes: I’ve found that the Duncan Heine’s yellow cake mix does not contain any milk products. I know that Betty Crocker has a Gluten Free Cake Mix – I have never used it, but it might work in this in place of the regular cake mix. The regular smart balance buttery spread does contain milk, so I would recommend using the lite version (which does not contain milk) in a ½ cup portion, cutting out a ¼ cup of the water. I used Ghirardelli semi-sweet chocolate chips in this recipe, as they don’t contain milk (which I was SUPER excited about!).

I love taking these to parties and sharing the love. <3

(This is what my platter will look like when I take them to activities – lots and lots of PBCC loveliness.)

I also love being a little sneaky chef and putting tofu in treats like this. No one ever knows. (Hehe. )

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Do you like being a sneaky chef?? I love sneaking healthful goodies into treats, like beans into brownies/cookies, tofu into pies (like my pumpkin pie) and other baked goods, greens into smoothies, etc. It makes me all giggly inside when I do it.

What is one of your favorite games (like board games, card games, etc.)? My absolute favorites are Bananagrams, Rummikub, Imaginiff, Apples to Apples, and Phase 10.

Do prefer baking or cooking? I can cook, but I prefer baking. I like the chemistry involved when baking. I cook by following a recipe. I can bake from memory.

xoxox,

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