Chocolate & Peanut Butter Shortbread Cookie Bars

Hi friends! I know I just posted how I wouldn’t really be posting that much for the next few weeks but D and I came home from our four-day backpacking trip early due to my bum foot. I spent the last two days resting it and today I have some time to catch up on some work at my desk. Yeah! Gearing up for a crazy next two weeks so I thought I’d post these yummy bars I made yesterday on a whim.

I got the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Shortbread Cookie Mix awhile back and have been waiting for the right time to make something. Yesterday I got a major craving for some kind of bar and my only major dilemma was whether or not to make it something with chocolate or with berries. My chocolate craving won and I came up with a combination of chocolate, peanut butter and the shortbread cookie mix and they were by far one of the most delicious things I have baked in a long time. And, they are Gluten-Free and Vegan too!

A big thank you to my friends at Bob’s Red Mill for the Shortbread Cookie Mix! It is delicious!

These are very easy to make. Here are the ingredients:

1 pkg Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Shortbread Cookie Mix (all ingredients needed to make shortbread cookies are found on back)

1 c Peanut Butter (normally I’d use crunchy but all we have is creamy)

1/2 c Earth Balance (soy-free) spread

1/4 c agave or maple syrup

1 bag vegan (or regular) dark chocolate chips

1/2 c coconut cream

Shredded coconut

1. Begin by making your shortbread cookie mixture . Simply follow the directions on the back of the package.  Grease a baking dish of your choice of size. Once shortbread mixture is ready, spread it out evenly in the baking dish and make sure it is flattened and level. Bake per directions on back of package.

2. Once shortbread mixture is done, set aside to cool while you make the peanut butter mixture. In a saucepan, combine the peanut butter, Earth Balance and agave or maple syrup and heat until creamy. Pour over the shortbread cookie layer, smooth so layer is even and set aside to cool until hard. Once dish was cool, I placed it in the freezer to speed up the process. You want to make sure it is hard so when you pour the chocolate on top it doesn’t mix in with the other layers.

3. Using a double broiler, melt chocolate slowing adding WARM coconut cream to add a smoother, creamier consistency. Once combined, add-on top of the peanut butter layer and set aside to cool. I sprinkled shredded coconut on top but you could always use chopped nuts or whatever else suits your fancy. I placed the baking dish with all three layers back into the freezer to let is set up. Once completely hard, cut into small bars and serve.

Enjoy!

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