Hi Everyone,
I thought I would start the new year off with a healthy, easy, yummy snack full of peanut butter goodness! You just had to know I couldn’t wait to long to share a peanut butter recipe. lol
This is my Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Quinoa Snack Cake. It’s light, fluffy, loaded with peanut butter taste and chock full of mini chocolate chips. It’s perfect for the afternoon snack when you need a little pick me up and a little peanut butter. Oh so good!!! I gave a bar to Little Jenny to try and she said it tasted amazing! I told her it was made with quinoa flour and she said really? Ha Ha I got another family member to eat quinoa without knowing it. I can’t wait for my Husband to try them!
I got this recipe from Eating Well Website. I saw it and had to try it. It’s the first time I ever used quinoa flour in a recipe and I was just dying to see how it would turn out. I’ll be honest, I was skeptical because quinoa flour doesn’t smell great. But once it was done baking, all I could smell was peanut butter. Eating Well called this a Blondie, but it’s more like cake to me and not a brownie texture. I did change-up their recipe a bit because there recipe made 24 servings and came in at 146 calories per bar. 24 slices in an 8×8 pan, way to small. So I changed it up and my recipe makes 16 large slices and comes in at 152 calories. Now I am curious to see how the rest of the stats stack up, let’s check it out!
Eating Well 24 slices – Calories: 146, Fat: 9, Cholesterol: 21, Sodium: 71, Potassium: 100, Carbs: 15, Fiber: 2, Sugar: 10, Protein: 2
PB&P 16 slices (same size pan as Eating Well) – Calories: 152, Fat: 9, Cholesterol: 0, Sodium: 103, Potassium: 12, Carbs: 14, Fiber: 2.6, Sugar: 4.8, Protein: 5.1
Now in my opinion my bars are healthier. Mine sugar is less, the protein is more, mine doesn’t contain cholesterol and you are getting a bigger bar for 6 calories more. I have to pat myself on the back for this one!
The bars are easy to make and the cooking time was only 20 minutes. The hardest part was waiting for the bars to cool. As for the quinoa flour, I used Bob Mills brand, which you can find in the health food section of the grocery store. You can also make your own quinoa flour by rinsing your quinoa in water, drying it off and placing it in a coffee grinder to make a powder. That kind of seems like a pain in the butt, but it works. I do think this recipe will also work with regular flour. I like the quinoa flour because it makes this snack gluten-free and contains more protein and fiber then regular flour.
- 4 Tbsp. butter, softened (I used Brummel & Brown)
- ¾ cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
- ½ cup egg substitute or 2 large eggs
- ⅓ cup Truvia Baking Blend
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ¾ cup quinoa flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ cup mini chocolate chips
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Line an 8-inch-square baking pan with parchment paper, be sure to over lap all of the sides. This will make it easier to pull the blondies out once they are cooled.
- In a small bowl, mix quinoa flour, baking powder and salt; set aside.
- In a large bowl, beat together the butter and peanut butter until creamy. Beat in eggs, sugar and vanilla. Whisk in the flour mixture until just combined.
- Stir in chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter evenly into the prepared pan.
- Place on the oven and bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs on it.
- Let cool in the pan for 45 minutes before cutting into 16 slices. Let cool completely before storing.
I enjoyed making this recipe and I had fun making a healthy recipe, even healthier. I think I may do this every so often. Just remember to check the serving size on a recipe. It may look low calorie, but if the serving size is small, it may not be worth it. I still can’t believe the recipe was for 24 slices in such a small pan. I could see if it was fudge or something, but not this recipe. Crazy to me!
Well my Friends that’s it!!! Have a fab weekend!
Toodles,
Jennifer
