Do you love oatmeal cookies and oatmeal bars? You’re going to go nuts for these oatmeal chocolate chip bars! They are soft and chewy and full of melty chocolate! You’ll love these easy dessert bars!
You know those old cookbooks that you find at garage sales and thrift shops? The ones that all the little old ladies at church contributed to? Yeah, those.
They’re the best.
Although, one time I found a recipe that called for sugar, vanilla, cool whip, aaaaaaand a brick of Velveeta cheese.
Look, you can do what you want. It’s your life. If you want to put velveeta and cool whip and sugar in one dish and call it good, then who am I to judge?
(I’m judging. I’m judging so hard.)
So, clearly, sometimes you have to skip a few of the recipes in the church fundraising cookbooks. But, mostly? Mostly you’re going to find tried and true family favorites. That’s why I love those books so much!
I found a recipe for the perfect oatmeal cookies in one such book and I’ve held on to it for years. And years and years.
I didn’t want to make oatmeal cookies today, though. I wanted to make oatmeal bars! And, so I did. I loaded them up with a whole bag full of chocolate chips, because the more the better! You could use raisins and add a little cinnamon to the batter, but then you’d be a bad person who prefers wrinkly fruit over melty chocolate and we couldn’t be friends anymore.
Sooooo, anyway. What I’m saying is, don’t miss out on these oatmeal chocolate chip bars! They’re thick, they’re soft, they’re chewy, they’re gooey, they’re melty, they’re basically all the good things you want in an oatmeal cookie.
But, aside from all that, they’re totally simple to prepare! No waiting for the butter to soften. No chilling the dough. No weirdo ingredients. Just easy, classic oatmeal cookies in bar form. Git ya some.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cups brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 2 large eggs
- 1 1/4 cups butter melted (and browned, if you like)
- 2 cups milk chocolate chips or any variety
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
- Add everything but the chocolate chips to the bowl of a stand mixer and beat until just combined.
- Stir in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the baking dish. Bake for 25 minutes or until a tester comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Bars should look slightly underdone.
- Let cool 1 hour before cutting into bars.
Dolly Bennett says
Absolutely delicious! Teaching my granddaughter to bake and they are so easy because everything goes in at once – no mixing, setting aside, etc. Very very good. Thank you!
Karly says
Glad you guys enjoyed them!
Ana says
These were so good and easy to make! Thank you for the recipe!
Heathee says
Instead of chocolate chips I added the cranberry orange relish I had left over. YUM!
Karly says
Sounds amazing!
Jenny P says
I was skeptical when I read the directions (mix everything together at once????), and even though it went against everything I’ve been taught about baking, I did it. I’m so glad I did. This took two minutes to put together and the bars are delicious. I also think they’d be heavenly with some butterscotch chips or a layer of caramel in there. Thank you for sharing!
Karly says
I know, I know…kinda scary to just toss it all together, but since the butter is melted, it really works. 🙂
Fareeha Mapara says
Hi, I had a question. Can I use quick oats for these? I don’t really get old fashioned oats where I live.
Karly says
Sure, it should work fine. I use quick oats quite a bit and don’t have a problem.
ChannonD says
These sound like exactly what I have been craving! Thanks!!
And, you may call me crazy, but a little cinnamon in with the chocolate is pretty fantastic too! (Forget those wrinkly raisins. bleh!)
Karly says
Cinnamon would be a great addition!
lluvia says
is it possible to do these bars with granola instead of oatmeal?
Karly says
I’ve never tried it. If you’ve made oatmeal cookies with granola instead of oatmeal, then this should turn out in a similar manner.
Ingrid says
Which flour do you use? Plain or self-raising?
Thank you.
Karly says
All purpose flour.
Lindsay says
These were delicious and so super easy to throw together! 🙂
Karly says
Glad you enjoyed them!
Joanne says
Somehow in the northeast, you don’t find too many of those old school cookbooks which is SUCH A BUMMER. I mean, I think I’d be freaked out by all the “cream of” soups though. But anything oatmeal cookie bar, and I am SO in.
Kayle (The Cooking Actress) says
mmmmmm so goooey! Love these oatmeal bars-I wouldn’t be able to get enough!
Michelle @ My California Kitchen says
Browned butter and lots of chocolate!! Perfect. Pinning these for consumption ASAP! 🙂
Katy says
Just popped a batch in the oven! Can’t wait to try them 🙂 My toddler kept eating the dough, I coudn’t get them in the oven faster haha! I think she got her sweet tooth from me.
Karly says
Ha! Sneaky little kiddos. 🙂
Erin @ Miss Scrambled Egg says
My cousin and her baby are coming over for dinner tonight. I’m definitely going to have to whip some of these bad boys up for dessert!
Karly says
Enjoy!
Kirsten says
Hi,
I made these tonight for my husband. I browned the butter beforehand and it ended up melting the chocolate chips. Made for a different sort of chocolatey bar, but still delicious. Guess it’s necessary to let the melted butter cool significantly before adding it to the mix!
Karly says
I didn’t let mine cool and some of the chips did melt and some didn’t. You can definitely let it cool a bit if you prefer the chips don’t melt. 🙂