I’m a very brand-loyal person, whether it be the shoes on my feet or the food on my plate. One brand I absolutely love is Attune Foods. I met their representative Annelies at the Chicago Healthy Living Summit; her passion for Attune’s healthy line of cereals and chocolate was immediately apparent and impressed me and I’ve been a fan ever since. 

Their Erewhon line of cereals make terrific certified gluten-free alternatives to mainstream rice and corn-based cereals and have been doing so for decades. While I’m not a fan of cereal for breakfast, I do like baking with it, especially for no-bake desserts like this one. These bars have the same flavors as my other date bar recipe but are so much simpler to make. The bottom layer is only slightly sweet with a nutty and spicy rice flavor to it, while the topping adds a good punch of flavor and texture difference. It’s a quick and easy crowd-pleaser.

No-Bake Gluten-Free Date Bars

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 15 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 16 squares):

• 1 box Erewhon Rice Twice cereal
• 1/2 cup butter, melted
• 1/2 cup almond butter
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2-3 Tablespoons water
• 1 cup dates, diced
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup crushed walnuts
• 1/2 teaspoon course sea salt(optional)

Method:

1. In a food processor, blend the cereal until it makes a fine flour.
2. Add the melted butter, powdered sugar, almond butter, and cinnamon and continue blending until mixed.
3. Slowly add the water until the cereal mix starts sticking to itself. Shut off the processor and move it into an 8 by 8 baking pan and press into an even layer. Refrigerate for the time being.
4. In a small pot, bring the dates, brown sugar, and water to a boil. Continue boiling until the dates are soft and mushy and the water has evaporated. Remove from the heat and mash together into a somewhat smooth puree.
5. Spread the date mixture over the crust in an even layer. Top with walnuts and sea salt if using. Chill for at least one hour before cutting into squares.

The Attune Foods October recipe challenge is open until October 20th. They will also be holding a November and December recipe challenge so don’t worry if you can’t think of anything to submit for this contest period. In fact, just don’t enter so that I have a better chance of winning. Kidding. Sort of.

This is by far one of my favorite dessert recipes; it’s one I come back to again and again, the kind I don’t need to look at the recipe anymore to know how to make.

Chocolate and peanut butter is already an established pair, so you don’t really need to do much to doctor or dress these up to make them a crowd favorite. Just a smooth layer of sweet peanut butter covered by a soft chocolate ganache is plenty impressive enough.   

The best part about this recipe is that it doesn’t need anything more than 4 ingredients that should always be in your pantry. If you want to elevate the flavor without much work, try using a special peanut butter like roasted honey or even almond butter. 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars(adapted from Oh Baby Bars)

Prep time: 15 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 24 servings):

• 3/4 cup peanut butter, runny or no-stir
• 7 Tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 10oz semi-sweet chocolate chips

Method:

1. In a large bowl, melt 6 tablespoons of butter along with the peanut butter until completely liquid.
2. Add the powdered sugar into the peanut butter and butter mixture and beat until completely incorporated. Press the peanut butter mixture into a loaf pan or a 9 x 9 pan for smaller portions.
3. Melt the chocolate chips and remaining tablespoon of butter together and mix. Pour this over the peanut butter layer.
4. Refrigerate until the chocolate has set. Cut at room temperature into 1 x 1 square servings.

Totally worth the effort.