Oatmeal Raisin Bars with Browned Butter Cinnamon Glaze

Stack of oatmeal raisin cookie bars on counter.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars with Browned Butter Cinnamon Glaze

Chewy oatmeal raisin bars topped with a rich browned butter cinnamon glaze. One bowl, no mixer, and perfect for an afterschool snack or with that morning cup of coffee.

Course Dessert

Cuisine American

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 30

Additional Time 2

Total Time 2 40

Servings bars

Calories 332kcal

Author Karly Campbell

Ingredients

For the cookie bars:

2 ½ cups old fashioned oats
2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups butter melted
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups raisins

For the glaze:

4 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup powdered sugar
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

Instructions

To make the cookie bars:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
Add the oats, flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt to a mixing bowl and whisk to combine.
Add the melted butter, eggs, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and use a wooden spoon or rubber spatula to mix until combined. Stir in the raisins.
Spread the mixture into the prepared baking dish and bake for 25 minutes, until the top is just set and a tester comes out with a few moist crumbs. Don’t overbake.
Let the bars cool in the pan completely before adding the glaze.

To make the glaze:

Melt the butter in a small saucepan over low heat. Continue cooking, whisking often, until the butter gets very foamy. Keep cooking and whisking until the foam dies down, the liquid is golden, and there are browned bits at the bottom of the pan. Be careful not to burn the butter - it will go from golden to burnt fairly quickly once the foam dies down.
Remove from the heat. Whisk in the powdered sugar and cinnamon until you have a smooth glaze.
Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze over the cooled cookie bars. Let set for at least 1 hour for the glaze to firm up and slice into 20 squares.

Notes

Oats: I prefer old fashioned oats for this recipe due to the texture. You can swap in the same amount of quick oats, but the textue will be a bit more cake-like.

Raisins: Feel free to swap for whatever you like - dried cranberries, chocolate chips, nuts, etc.

Glaze: While you could make these without the glaze, I'm pretty confident that it's what takes these bars from good to great. It might seem a little intimidating the first time you brown butter, but it's a really simple process that makes a big difference.

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