There is this amazing bakery around the corner from where we live here in Chicago.  I love the place, but the only problem is they are only open Thursday through Saturday between noon to 5:00pm.  It seems that I always think of them on a day they are closed or before or after they are open.  But I love just about every dessert they offer and when I go in, I never leave empty handed.  In fact, the reason they are only open a few days a week is because they are busy the rest of the time making yummy treats for private clients along with Whole Foods and Nordstrom.

One of Rock’s favorites is something called a Wonder Bar.  It is everything that makes up delicious desserts: peanut butter, chocolate, oatmeal, graham crackers, and candy.  They are a bit of a mysterious concoction but something that I recently decided to do some detective work on and try to recreate them.

I came close to nailing it but there is definitely some room for improvement.  Twist my arm, I suppose I will have to keep making these over and over again.

While these don’t really (or at all) qualify for healthy treats, I still had to post this recipe because we all deserve treats from time to time and these are so different and easy to make, it would have been selfish of me to keep it to myself.  A major plus for these is that they can be made in less than 20 minutes and require minimal baking.  They don’t get much easier than this!

Ingredients:

2 cups graham cracker crumbs, plus 1/2 cup

1 stick of butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

1 cup chocolate chips

1 cup oat meal

1/2 cup M&M’s or any of your favorite candies

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350ºF and grease a square baking dish (I use coconut oil spray and love it).  Melt the stick of butter and combine with the 2 cups of graham cracker crumbs and cinnamon. Then press mixture into bottom of greased dish.  Bake for 7-10 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

In a double boiler melt the chocolate chips and the peanut butter.  Add in the oatmeal and remaining graham cracker crumbs as well as the candies.  Pour this mixture over the graham cracker crust and place in the fridge for at least one hour to set.

Notes:  I found the crust to be a tad bit more crumbly than I would prefer.  I would recommend just a bit more melted butter and maybe even a few tablespoons of peanut butter for a thicker consistency.  I also would double the chocolate/peanut butter mixture to make the top a bit thicker.

Enjoy!