[Recipe] Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars with Chocolate Chips | Simple Baking for Complicated Times

“The measuring and mixing always smoothed out her thinking processes—nothing was as calming as creaming butter—and when the kitchen was warm from the oven overheating and the smell of baking chocolate, she took final stock of where she’d been and where she was going. Everything was fine.”
― Jennifer Crusie

When life gets complicated and I can’t make sense of the world, I bake.

When I’m feeling overwhelmed, when I’m a little (or a lot) anxious, when I’m not sure what to do, or even when I know what I need to do but don’t want to do it (i.e., procrastibaking), I bake.

Needless to say, there’s been plenty of baking here over the past several months.

Since I last wrote in this space, it appears that the world has turned even more upside down. As the whole planet seemingly spins out of control, my mind does too. My thoughts whirl and wrestle around in my brain, constantly vying for my attention—the pandemic, the economy, the upcoming election, social injustice, racial violence, political warfare, school-reopening debates…. So much uncertainty, so much anxiety, inside my head, all around me, whirling and swirling and spinning.

My mind is tired. I suspect your mind is tired too, in need of some comfort, some peace, some certainty amid an epidemic of uncertainty. This is why I, and so many others, head to the kitchen and bake.

Over the past few months, I’ve come to rely on the familiar rhythms and rituals of baking to provide some much-needed comfort, more than ever before. As I move about my kitchen, flipping through well-worn cookbooks, poring over cherished recipes, measuring and mixing and stirring, my overactive brain is able to find some rest. Immersed in making a favorite recipe, whether alone or with my boys, I’ve discovered there’s comfort in logic, in familiarity, in a predictable outcome. Baking promises that if you follow the rules, rules dictated by science, you are all but guaranteed a delicious result. When nothing else makes sense, baking is there for me, with its precise ratios and methodical instructions, all of which I find deeply soothing.

Baking is my favorite form of therapy, a balm for difficult days and trying times. Mixing becomes meditation. Clear instructions give a calming sense of order. And that first sweet bite rewards your efforts. It’s no wonder that so many of us have turned to baking over the past several months. In the early weeks of the pandemic, I, along with the rest of the Internet, channeled all of my stress and anxiety into baking bread and cinnamon rolls and countless other labor- and time-intensive baked goods. But as the pandemic wore on and months passed and my anxieties multiplied, my desire for complicated baking projects has waned. The world around me and inside my head is complicated enough; an elaborate, multi-day baking project is decidedly NOT the sort of baking therapy I need in the second half of 2020. I just don’t have the patience or mental bandwidth to tackle (and potentially fail at) making sourdough bread or croissants right now. I’m sure I’ll attempt these ambitious projects again someday when my brain craves more of a challenge, but for now, I’ve been relying on a handful of simple, wholesome, tried-and-true recipes. When my stress is high and my desire—nay, need!—to bake is strong, I want easy, uncomplicated baking “projects” that demand little of my time and mental energy, like these Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars.

I first made these bars sometime last year to use up a few sad, neglected bananas that had overstayed their welcome on the kitchen counter. Overripe bananas usually meet their fate as banana bread or banana muffins around here, but when I didn’t have all the ingredients on hand to make my boys’ favorite banana bread or their favorite muffins, and I had been immersed in (unsuccessfully) testing and retesting recipes in search of the ultimate granola bar (a quest that has become my culinary white whale, but that’s a blog post for another day), I experimented with these bars instead, and an unexpected favorite was born. (I say “unexpected favorite” specifically in reference to my 10-year-old son, who claims to dislike peanut butter AND bananas—I know!—but quickly devours these bars each time I make them.)

Although I’ve made these bars several times since then (tweaking the recipe each time, as I’m apt to do), they really became the breakout star of our pandemic baking this spring. Their ease and simplicity (and the fact that they didn’t require flour, a difficult-to-find ingredient in the early days of our stay-at-home orders) earned them a permanent spot in my baking repertoire, now on near-weekly rotation. Many baked goods require patience and concentration, and there’s a time and a place for those; this is not that time. Thankfully these bars require neither patience (they go from bowl to oven in less than 10 minutes) nor close concentration (they’re really hard to mess up), and that’s exactly what I need right now. Measure, dump, stir, bake. I can do this simple work with just my hands, leaving my mind free to exhale, (temporarily) release its worries, and just rest.

Of course, the biggest selling point of these bars is that they’re undeniably delicious, enjoyed by kids and adults alike. We now regularly add bananas to our grocery list for the sole purpose of making these bars. (I just have to remind my 15-year-old son, who loves bananas, to refrain from eating them all. And also make sure he hasn’t already consumed the entire jar of peanut butter.) The texture of these bars is somewhere between a soft-baked granola bar and baked oatmeal, a quality that makes them an appealing option for breakfast, or a perfect anytime snack. Studded with chocolate chips, they’re just sweet enough to make you feel like you’re getting away with a decadent treat, but they’re surprisingly healthful too, with fiber-rich oats and protein-packed peanut butter. Still warm from the oven, the chocolate chips a little gooey and melty, these bars are at their best; we barely let them cool before slicing into them. (See? No patience required!)

If you’re looking for a way to use up overripe bananas that isn’t banana bread, or you need a wholesome snack or quick breakfast option for your kids, or you’re just a fan of any baked good that combines peanut butter and bananas (with a healthy dose of chocolate), I think you’ll love these bars. And even if you don’t consider yourself a “baker,” I promise you can make this. All you need are a few basic ingredients, which you probably already have in your pantry and fridge. No fancy techniques or equipment. You don’t even need a stand mixer, just a bowl, a whisk, a spoon/spatula, a pan, and an oven. Low stress, high reward, minimal cleanup—perfect for novice bakers, lazy bakers, stressed and tired bakers… and whoever is on dish duty.

This recipe is easy enough that even my kids can make it themselves, but, truth be told, I selfishly hoard some baking projects just for me, sneaking into the kitchen to whip up a quick batch of these bars when my boys are playing outside and the house is momentarily quiet and they’re greeted by the comforting aroma of a freshly baked treat when they come back inside. (“What smells so good?! Did you bake something?! Can we eat it right now?!”) Or sometimes it’s late at night at the end of a long day when my mind won’t settle and everyone is asleep and I bake in blissful silence by the glow of the moon through the kitchen window. I go to bed looking forward to that first bite with my morning coffee, and everyone seems a little more cheerful the next morning when they awake to this wholesomely sweet breakfast treat, the faint scent of peanut butter and chocolate still lingering in the air.

If your brain is swirling and spinning too, your heart and mind heavy trying to make sense of the world, maybe you, too, can find some solace through baking a simple, nourishing treat. Of course, I can’t promise that these Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars will solve all of your worries, but I’m confident they won’t add more stress to your life, just a bit of comfort and joy in a sweet little package. Measure. Stir. Bake. Unwind. Enjoy. Perhaps you’ll discover that baking isn’t just the means to a sweet reward, but it can also be a form of therapy, a simple, comforting antidote to stressful, complicated times, just as it is for me.

Peanut Butter Banana Oat Bars with Chocolate Chips

 

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These simple bars are just the thing to bake when you want a slightly sweet yet wholesome treat but don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen. A cross between a soft-baked granola bar and baked oatmeal, they’re an appealing option for breakfast, or a perfect anytime snack. Studded with chocolate chips, they’re just sweet enough to make you feel like you’re getting away with a decadent treat, but they’re surprisingly healthful too, with fiber-rich oats and protein-packed peanut butter. They come together quickly in one bowl, and they’re a great way to use up overripe bananas when you’re tired of banana bread.

There’s an ongoing debate in my household about whether these bars are best warm and fresh from the oven or cold from the fridge. The boys and I prefer them warm, when the chocolate chips are melty and gooey; my husband prefers them cold, straight from the refrigerator. Either way, we can all agree they’re delicious!

VEGETARIAN, GLUTEN-FREE, DAIRY-FREE

Yield: Approximately 24 bars.

Author: Wholesome Family Kitchen

Ingredients

• • Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for coating baking pan
• • 1 cup creamy peanut butter *
• • ¼ cup olive oil **
• • 1 cup mashed bananas (from 2 to 3 very ripe bananas)
• • ⅓ cup maple syrup
• • 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• • 1 teaspoon baking powder
• • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• • 3½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
• • ¾ cup bittersweet chocolate chips ***

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper, or coat with olive oil or nonstick cooking spray. (If using parchment paper, I like to leave enough overhang on the sides to help remove the bars from the pan more easily.)
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the peanut butter and olive oil until smooth and well combined.
3. Add the mashed bananas, maple syrup, beaten egg, baking powder, cinnamon, and vanilla, and whisk well to combine.
4. With a rubber spatula, stir in the oats until evenly moistened and combined with the banana mixture, then stir in the chocolate chips.
5. Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and spread in an even layer. Bake on the middle rack of the preheated oven until golden brown and set, about 25 minutes. (Rotate the pan halfway through the baking time to help ensure even baking.)
6. Remove the pan from the oven, and let cool on a wire rack. Ideally, allow to come to room temperature before cutting into bars. If not completely cool, the bars might crumble a bit as you slice them, but no one here ever seems to mind. You can also chill the whole pan in the fridge for at least an hour before cutting into bars if you want neater slices. (If you lined your pan with parchment paper, use the overhanging paper as “handles” to carefully lift the entire bar out of the pan and onto a cutting board, then slice into smaller bars. I usually cut them into 24 square-ish bars, but you can cut them into larger or smaller bars if you prefer.)
7. Store any leftover bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator, where they’ll keep for about a week. Enjoy cold from the fridge, or warmed briefly in the microwave.

Notes

* I’ve used several different brands and types of peanut butter in these bars—natural, conventional, sweetened, unsweetened—and they always turn out well. My only caveat is that if you’re using an unsalted peanut butter, you might want to add a pinch of salt to the batter to help balance out the flavors in the bars. And although I haven’t tried it, I’d imagine other nut butters (e.g., almond butter, cashew butter) would work fine too.

** I use olive oil in a lot of my baked goods because I really like the depth of flavor it brings, and it’s good for you too! (My favorite olive oil to use for baking is California Olive Ranch Mild Blend Extra-Virgin Olive Oil, as it’s relatively mild-tasting with a subtle buttery flavor.) You can certainly use canola oil or another neutral-flavored oil instead of olive oil in this recipe, if you prefer.

*** When it comes to chocolate, I personally believe that the darker the chocolate, the better the flavor (and the better for you too: darker, more bittersweet varieties of chocolate have less sugar and more antioxidants than semi-sweet and milk chocolate varieties). For these bars, I prefer bittersweet chocolate chips with 60 to 70% cacao, but feel free to use your favorite chocolate chips (or your favorite bar of chocolate, chopped into chip-sized pieces) in this recipe. You can also substitute chopped nuts (e.g., walnuts or pecans) for some or all of the chocolate chips, for added texture and nutrition.


Recipe adapted from Flavor the Moments.

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