Peanut Butter Oat Bars

I love simple recipes. Things that you can knock up in a hurry when you get bitten by the baking bug but haven't got the time for a full blown spree. I felt like that last night. It was getting late and I really wanted to make something as I've been away from the kitchen for several days.

I found this recipe on the Alpro Soya website, most of their recipes aren't vegan but this one was and looked really simple. The recipe specifies cookies but I thought they would work well in bar form, a bit like a flapjack. The peanut butter lends a creamy texture to the finished bars and, as I used crunchy, it also adds a bit of a bite.

The finished bars were very sweet so I'd definitely reduce the sugar content in order to preserve some teeth! The texture was a bit like a cross between Scottish Tablet (that kind of chalky, crumbly fudge) and a flapjack. The oats lend a chewy bite while the caramel that is made with the other ingredients turns to a slightly grainy glue to hold it all together. I think you could easily add in all sorts of things to this recipe to change it slightly. Some raisins, dark chocolate chips, cranberries or even chopped nuts would be lovely.

As usual, this recipe is converted metric and this is how I made it but with reduced sugar.

Ingredients
125g Dairy Free Margarine
60ml Soya (or other dairy free) Milk
225g Sugar
120g Peanut Butter (I used crunchy)
1 tbsp Vanilla
300g Oats

Method
Line a 9x9" pan with parchment or foil.
In a saucepan, mix the margarine, milk and sugar and heat gently.
Bring to the boil, stirring and let cook for 1 minute
Add the peanut butter, vanilla and oats and mix well.
Spread the mixture into the pan (alternatively drop by spoonfuls onto parchment lined baking sheets) and leave to set overnight.
Cut into small servings (these are a little too big) and enjoy.