Description
Easy oatmeal chocolate chip bars recipe with chewy texture, perfect for crowds. Made with simple ingredients in one pan – no cookie scooping required!
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients:
- 1½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Wet Ingredients:
- 14 tablespoons unsalted butter (¾ cup + 2 tablespoons), softened
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Mix-Ins:
- 3 cups quick-cook oats (or old-fashioned oats)
- 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Instructions
Heat oven to 350°F and spray your 9×13 pan. I always forget to turn the oven on first and then have to wait around with my dough ready to go.
Dump flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a bowl and whisk it up. Seems pointless but I skipped this once and got weird baking soda clumps in some bars.
Beat the soft butter with both sugars for maybe 4 minutes until it looks fluffy and lighter colored. Set a timer because I always think it’s done before it actually is. This step matters more than you think.
Beat in one egg until mixed, then the other egg, then vanilla. Should smell good and look smooth.
Add the flour stuff to the butter stuff and mix on low just until combined. Don’t overmix or you get tough bars instead of tender ones. Learned this the hard way.
Switch to a spoon and stir in oats first, then chocolate chips. Dough will be thick and sticky. Try to get the chocolate chips spread around evenly.
Dump everything into the greased pan and press it down with your hands. It’s messy but works better than trying to use a spoon or spatula. Press it down good but don’t smash it flat.
Usually takes 25 minutes but start checking at 20. Edges should be golden and middle should look done but not hard. They keep cooking after you take them out.
Hardest part. They smell incredible but if you cut them while hot they fall apart. I’ve ruined so many batches being impatient. Just wait.
Notes
Don’t overbake. They should still look slightly soft in middle when you take them out. I’ve made this mistake too many times and dry bars are depressing.
Use a measuring cup to press the dough if your hands get too sticky. The flat bottom works good for smoothing it out.
Roll chocolate chips in flour before adding them so they don’t all sink to the bottom. I forget to do this half the time but when I remember it works.
When in doubt take them out. Better slightly underdone than overdone because they firm up as they cool.
- Prep Time: 15 minutes
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American