Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Puff Squares with Peanut Butter Fudge Icing

Those of you who attended classes on Sunday got to be my guinea pigs. I experimented with a few batches of rice puff bars, and I think I got the ratios right! These bars are quick to prepare, and I hope you enjoy them.

While not exactly a “health food”, they do have some merit. For starters, they are made with raw cacao (Giddy Yoyo) which is different than regular cocoa. Regular cocoa is heated at a high temperatures, which unfortunately robs it of many nutrients. Raw cacao is one of the world’s richest sources of magnesium, which is an extremely important mineral. Second, most bars for an 8 x 8 pan call for at least a cup of sugar. These bars come in at a modest 1/4 cup of honey. Honey, too, has many health benefits (antioxidants, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, etc). These contain peanut butter (you can substitute any nut/seed butter), which adds healthy fats and protein. Despite some (sketchy) research, I am still a fan of coconut oil. Both the bars and icing are made with coconut oil.

While these are nice when enjoyed at room temperature, it’s best to store them in either the fridge or freezer.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Rice Puff Bars with Peanut Butter Fudge Icing

3 cups rice puff cereal – unsweetened (I used Nature’s Path)
1/2 cup natural peanut butter – unsweetened (I used Nuts to You organic)
1/4 cup raw honey (I used Bee Kind, of course)
1/4 cup raw cacao (I used Giddy Yoyo)
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/8 teaspoon salt (I used Redmond)

1/2 cup natural peanut butter – unsweetened
2 tablespoons coconut oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
scant 1/8 teaspoon (or less) salt

Line 8 x 8 pan with parchment paper. Warm coconut oil to liquid. Add peanut butter and mix well. Remove from heat and add honey, raw cacao and salt. Once well blended, add rice puff cereal. Transfer mixture to pan. Set pan in freezer while making icing.

To make icing, warm coconut oil to liquid. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Remove pan from freezer. Pour icing over cereal mixture. Return to freezer to set. Cut into bars and store in fridge or freezer. Enjoy at room temperature.