Homemade Peanut Butter Bars (or cups)

Line a 9x9 pan with parchment paper.

CRUST

• 1 1/2 cup Bob's Red Mill Almond Flour
• 4 Tbsp cacao Powder
• 3 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• pinch of salt

Mix until mixture is moist.  Press mixture into lined pan.  Place in freezer to harden while working on the filling.

FILLING

• 1 cup organic creamy peanut butter
• 5 Tbsp pure maple syrup
• 2 Tbsp melted coconut oil
• salt to taste, some prefer more, some prefer less.

Mix ingredients well.  Remove crust and spread filling evenly on top of crust.  Place back in freezer while preparing the topping.

TOPPING

• 1/2 cup cacao powder
• 1/2 cup melted coconut oil
• 6 Tbsp pure maple syrup

Mix ingredients well until a smooth, creamy chocolate sauce.  Remove pan from freezer and spread evenly again over the top.  Keep in freezer for about 2 hours to harden.  Pull parchment paper out and entire bars will come out easily.  Cut with a good knife into squares.  Store in the fridge or freezer.

WE LOVE THESE!  Seriously!  Our next attempt will be to put them in mini muffin size cups to prevent from cutting these treats too big, because you'll want to!

Health benefits of cacao powder: first of all not the same at all as cocoa powder! Cacao offers nearly four times the antioxidant power of your average dark chocolate, more than twenty times that of blueberries.  Some benefits of phytochemicals (plant chemicals) that occur naturally in cacao powder can include lowered LDL cholesterol, improved heart function, and reduced cancer risk.