I’m doing another dessert this week. I know it’s not the holidays any more, but my doing a dessert, I am being strategic. Since I am at home, I am not using as many of my frozen leftovers. Tony wants to stay on lentils and rice for a while to lower his calorie intake. So for the time being, I will be making a dinner every other week and a dessert every other week. I love dessert, but many times the calories are so high it’s not worth it. I want something I can eat every day if I want to and not ruin my daily calorie count. I’m sure there are lots of folks on crash diets, because that’s what we do. If you want to know what I think about New Year’s resolutions, I have already written an article about that. For those trying to crash diet their way into eating healthy after the holiday glut, STOP! It’s better to have healthier substitutes than try to give up stuff cold turkey. Who wants to live in a constant state of deprivation? I don’t and neither should you. Hence why I am working on a few desserts to work into your diet. This week’s recipe starts from Peanut Butter Bars from the Preppy Kitchen. These look great, but when breaking down the recipe, there are a ton of calories and sugar. I know these aren’t supposed to be healthy, but why make something you can only have once in a blue moon? I think I can make this into a treat you can have every day. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I swapped out the powdered sugar with powdered sugar substitute.
• I swapped the graham cracker crumbs for peanut butter powder and almond meal.
• I replaced the semisweet chocolate with a dark chocolate variety to lower the sugar.
• I lowered the amount of butter to reduce the calories.
• I increased the servings from 12 to 16 to lower the calories.

Here are the final stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Low Sugar Peanut Butter Bars

Serves 16

For the base:

• 3/4 cup unsalted butter melted and slightly cooled
• 120g almond meal
• 1 ¾ cups powdered sweetener
• 120g powdered peanut butter

For the topping:

• 1/2 cup lower sugar chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Line a 8×8 or 9×9 dish with parchment paper or foil.
2. Mix together the almond meal and peanut butter in a bowl.  Add in the melted butter and mix well.
3. Mix in powdered sugar. If it’s dry at this point, add in water, one tablespoon at a time until it looks more like a stiff dough.  Transfer to lined dish and smooth.
4. Melt chocolate, pour over the peanut butter base, smooth then chill for at least 90 minutes.
5. Cut into bars and enjoy.