Peanut Butter-Pretzel Bars

Melt-in-your-mouth protein bars with wholesome oats, crunchy pretzels, chunky peanut butter, and chocolate chips. The beauty of this recipe is that the entire mixture comes together in one pan, in just minutes. The hardest part is waiting for the bars to cool in the refrigerator (we actually ate spoonfuls of warm batter...).

Oh, and they're vegan and no bake too!

Peanut Butter-Pretzel Bars with Chocolate 

1 cup chunky peanut butter
3/4 cup coconut oil
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups quick-cooking oats
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup broken pretzel pieces (I used broken pretzel sticks)
3/4 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips, divided

Line a 9x13-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
In a medium saucepan, combine the peanut butter, coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla. Set the pan over low heat and whisk until blended and smooth.
Remove the pan from the heat and fold in the oats, flour and pretzel pieces. Let cool for 10 minutes (this prevents the chocolate chips from melting - especially vegan chips).
Fold in 1/2 cup of the chips.
Pour the batter into the prepared pan and spread out in an even layer. Top with the remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chips.
Refrigerate until firm, about 1 hour.
Cut into bars and serve. Store leftovers in the refrigerator.

Makes 32 bars