Before Easter break ends, make them these peanut bars

So simple, and healthy too – these protein-rich treats will ward off sugar cravings and make everyone feel they’ve indulged.

Peanut Bars

Preparation approx 15 minutes
Chilling approx 4 hours
Per bar approx 295 kcal, 9g protein, 24g fat, 10g carbohydrate

Makes 8 bars

Ingredients
200g dark chocolate (minimum 70% cocoa content), finely chopped
4 tbsp peanut butter (unsweetened)
1 tbsp butter
120g salted peanuts, roughly chopped
birch sugar (xylitol, optional)

Method
Line a 20×16cm dish with greaseproof paper. Melt the chocolate in a little bowl over a bain-marie, stirring occasionally.

Combine the peanut butter with the chocolate, then stir in the butter until it has completely melted. Finally, fold in the peanuts until well mixed. Add some birch sugar, if desired.

Spoon into the dish, smooth the surface and chill in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

Use the greaseproof paper to lift the solid chocolate block out of the dish, transfer to a chopping board and slice into eight bars, measuring roughly 8×3cm. The bars will keep, chilled in an airtight container, for up to 4 weeks.

Better without sweeteners
If sweetened, these bars are so tempting – you can easily polish off too many and slip out of ketosis. So it’s best to not add any sweeteners, or only make a batch when you are certain you’ll be able to resist them.

Extracted from The Keto Cure by Professor Jurgen Vormann with Nico Stanitzok (Modern Books, approx €17.50).