Its November. So that means the pumpkin can move over a little and make room for cranberries. I absolutely love this deliciously tart fruit, and it goes so great in snacks and desserts, and everything in between. I plan on making a lot more cranberry creations this year as its so versatile, inexpensive and frankly, delicious!
White chocolate goes very well with dried cranberries, so that was the inspiration behind these White Chocolate Cranberry Protein Bars. Anything that tastes like a cranberry bliss bar (hello, Starbucks). I can get on board with. If you don’t remember, I came up with a healthier version of the Starbucks cranberry bliss bar here.
For these, I wanted them to be easy to make and no baking required. The most difficult part of the recipe is melting chocolate in a microwave. So really, it couldn’t be easier.
This recipe makes 16 bars from an 8×8 pan. If you need to feed a bigger crowd, I recommend doubling the batch, and placing in a 9 x 13 pan. You could even get 32 mini bars out of the original recipe. I’d cut the squares in half on the diagonal and then they’d look like mini cranberry bliss bars.
These can be easily stored in the fridge, but an even better idea is to freeze them right away. They still retain their chewy texture, even right out of the freezer. These are the perfect snack when you want a sweet treat, but also a balanced snack. Its the best of both worlds as each bar is only 157 calories and 4 g of sugar. To cut down on the sugar in this recipe, I used Reduced Sugar Craisins. I found these last season, and love them. They taste like regular Craisins, only with less sugar. For the whey protein, I used Jamie’s Lean Body For Her Whey Protein in vanilla. The white chocolate, I purchased from a bulk bin at my local grocery store (melting wafers), but any kind of white chocolate will do.
The drizzle of white chocolate on top makes them look extra fancy, but no one will know that you whipped up these bars in 15 minutes.
Store bought protein bars will become a thing of the past one you make these. My hubby loved them too, and so did the girls. For them I cut a bar in half, and it was perfect snack-size for them.
- ½ cup natural peanut butter (smooth)
- ½ cup sugar-free honey
- 2 cups whey protein, vanilla ( I used Jamie's Lean Body For Her Whey Protein)
- 1 cup oat flour
- 2 Tbsp milk (I used unsweetened almond milk)
- ⅓ cup Reduced Sugar Craisins
- ⅓ cup (50 grams) white chocolate, melted
- 1 Tbsp chopped Craisins
- In a large mixing bowl, mix together the peanut butter and honey until smooth. Add in the whey protein and oat flour and stir together until it starts to come together. Add in the milk and stir until it forms a dough.
- Add in the Craisins and mix (clean hands work best) until combined.
- Place dough in an 8x8 or 9x9 pan lightly misted with oil. Press the dough into the pan until even.
- Then melt the white chocolate. I melted in the microwave in 30 second increments. Using a fork, drizzle the white chocolate over the bars. Then place the additional chopped Craisins on top.
- Place bars in the fridge for 30 minutes until set. Remove from fridge and cut into bars. Wrap bars individually or place in a re-sealable container and store in the freezer (recommended) or fridge (will last about a week).