Sweet and full of chocolate chips, these oatmeal bars are like a giant chewy oat cookie baked in a pan. This recipe is one-bowl easy and great for those days when you don't feel like making individual cookies. They're ready in 45 minutes and can be frozen.
Making pan or bar cookies is way faster than baking individual cookies.
It takes the same time to make the dough, but you have it patted in the pan and ready to bake in a minute.
This is how this recipe came to be: I was too lazy to scoop and bake batches of cookies, so I patted the whole thing in a square pan, and waited half an hour while it baked.
What emerged were soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip bars, sweet and delicious, a recipe that only needed a few tweaks before sharing it with you.
It's a close relative to the chocolate chip walnut cookies, the carmelitas bars, and the chocolate chip oatmeal muffins.
Testing Notes
Key takeaways:
Old-fashioned rolled oats give the best texture, but quick oats work if preferred. Slightly underbake the bars for a gooey center that sets as it cools. For a sweeter bite, use milk or white chocolate chips, or mix in chunks for a richer texture. Chilling the dough for 12 to 24 hours improves flavor and chewiness, though it's optional.
- Type of oats you can use: I like traditional rolled oats, the ones labeled old-fashioned in the box we grew up with. They are medium-sized and add texture to the recipe. Instant or quick oats also work well, but are more processed, and I find they sometimes lack enough texture and make a more one-dimensional bar. You'll get great results with both; it's just a personal preference.
- Slightly underbake them if you want a gooey result. The center will be soft when you remove the bars. It will firm up as it cools, but will retain a soft and fudgy quality.
- Sweeter bars: I'm very partial to semisweet chocolate, as I feel the cookie batter is sweet enough as it is. But, for my readers with a very sweet tooth, using milk chocolate chips and white chips will up the sweetness. Or substitute half of the dark chocolate chips for any of them, or a mix of both. Chunks: Use larger pieces of chocolate instead of chips. You can buy chocolate chunks or cut them yourself from a block of chocolate with a kitchen knife.
- Chill the dough for 12 to 24 hours. I do this when I can, as the dough hydrates and the ingredients meld, developing a richer flavor (better if you ask me). You'll also have chewier bars. That said, you can bake them directly or with just a few hours of refrigeration, and they will turn out great.
Ingredients
Variations
- Flavorings: Use orange zest or a spice (like cinnamon) in the batter.
- Boozy: add a tablespoon of liqueur like amaretto (almond), Frangelico (hazelnut), Kahlua (coffee), or Cointreau or Grand Marnier (orange.
Process steps
Easy mixing
If the butter is at room temperature (softened), you'll have no issues using a whisk and a spatula to make the dough. There's no need to use an electric mixer for this step, but you can.
Final mix
It's a stiff dough after you add the dry ingredients, so be patient as you stir and distribute the chocolate chips with a spatula.
Pat the dough
Dump the cookie dough in the pan and pat it out evenly. The parchment paper will help remove the block of chocolate chip bars after they're baked and cooled.
At this point, you can wrap the pan and chill the dough for a day before baking.
Baking
The center should be slightly springy to the touch but not completely firm, or the bars will be on the dry side.
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
- ½ cup white granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 egg, at room temperature
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned oats
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
- Butter or spray an 8-inch square baking pan. You can line it with a piece of parchment paper, covering the pan's bottom and two long sides. The two short sides will remain unlined but greased. This will help you remove the bars from the pan.
- In a large mixing bowl beat ½ cup unsalted butter with ½ cup white granulated sugar and ½ cup light brown sugar for a minute.
- Add 1 egg and incorporate well until you have a creamy mixture. Add 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract and mix.
- Sift 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour, ½ teaspoon baking powder, ¼ teaspoon baking soda, and ¼ teaspoon salt. You can sift them before in a separate bowl or have the ingredients measured and sift them directly over the butter mixture when prompted (my choice).
- Add them to the butter mixture in 2 parts, mixing with a silicon spatula until combined.
- Add 1 ¼ cups old-fashioned oats and incorporate well. It might take a minute or two. Lastly, add 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips and stir to distribute well throughout the dough.
- Pat the cookie dough in the prepared pan, and even it out. At this point, you can wrap the pan and chill the dough for a day before baking.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, or until it’s slightly puffed, the top is dry and golden brown, but the center is still a little soft. Don’t let it firm up completely or the bars will be on the dry side.
- Let cool on a wire rack. Run a smooth-bladed knife around the edges to loosen up any bits that might be stuck, and lift the whole block with the help of the paper.
- Store leftovers covered in plastic wrap or airtight container.
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