Like all outdoorsmen (and women) who like to play with our food, we’ve fiddled around over the years with different recipes for snack or food bars to take along on various adventures.
When She Who Must Be Obeyed and I were more deeply immersed in the downhill ski culture of SLC years ago (several lustrum- or would it be lustri – ago) we made several very good and a few very bad batches of snack bars, our variant results due in part to divergent objectives.
I wanted something that was calorie dense, cheap, easy to make, could take a beating in a pack or pocket and still be edible even at subzero temps. Taste wasn’t the most critical factor.
She Who Must Be Obeyed wanted something that was ‘like a Snickers bar but healthier’. She didn’t care what else went into it, but chocolate had to be the main ingredient.
This kitchen sink amalgam of a recipe – the No Bake Coconut Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Toasted Oat Bar – came damn close to satisfying both of us, though admittedly it’s far closer to her ideal bar than mine.
The ‘no bake’ part of the story is nice, and truth be told you can throw just about anything in this recipe you want, particularly in terms of the nuts, nut butters and fruit. The chocolate chips are nice, add a nice boost on a cold day in the boat or on the trail, and believe it or not the marshmallows help hold things together.
Try a round with cashews and cashew butter too (my favorites); any dried fruit works though raisins and chopped dates seem to be on our list most often.
3 and 1/2 cups quick oats
2 tbsp. butter
7-8 ounces of marshmallows
1/4 cup honey
3 grinds of good salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup shredded coconut
1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or your favorite)
3-4 tbsp. creamy peanut butter
1/2 to 3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chipsOptional – raisins or other dried fruit
Line a 9 x 9 glass pan with foil, leaving some overlap hanging outside the pan. Lightly butter the inside of the pan.
Toss the oats over medium heat in a dry large skillet until they’re just beginning to toast up and smell good. Set aside.
Get gooey. In a large saucepan over medium heat melt the butter and marshmallows, stirring until smooth. Now stir in the honey, salt and vanilla. Finally, stir in the toasted oats and coconut; stir until evenly combined.
Now transfer the oat mixture to a sheet pan, spread it out, and cool until it’s just warm to the touch and not hot.
The final step. Now stir in the peanut butter and chocolate chips (raisins or other dried fruit here too) until evenly mixed then press (firmly) into the pan.
Let set for an hour or so, lift out and cut to size. They’ll keep a week or so, though ours have never seen the sunset on day two.
Enjoy.
