Old Fashioned Peanut Butter Bars With Oatmeal

Aren’t cookies in the form of bars the best? For more try my Caramel Cookie Bars, Sugar Cookies Bars, and Peppermint Crunch Sugar Cookie Bars. For more amazing, unexpected dessert bars that feature ah-mazing flavors, check out my recipes for Cake Batter Granola Bars, Samoa Bars, and Cinnamon Roll Cheesecake Bars. You all know what a fan I am of sweet flavor combos. Give me all the peanut butter and chocolate everything (am i right?). But add to the delicious texture and chewiness of an oatmeal cookie and what you’ve got is one delicious, snackable dessert bar. Serve them for dessert, an on-the-go snack, breakfast, heck even a quick dinner (cause why not?). Trust me, you’ll find plenty of opportunity to eat these addictive peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip bars!

Here’s How You Make It

All you need is 50 minutes and a few ingredients you probably already have in your pantry to get these peanut butter bars in your life.

Why This Recipe Works

Simple ingredients –You probably have all the ingredients for these oatmeal peanut butter bars in your pantry already. If not, they’re all very easy to find at any grocery store. Plus, if you have any remaining ingredients, there are plenty of other delicious desserts (such as Iced Oatmeal Cookies) you can make with the leftovers another time. Great flavor combination –I’m not sure who was the first person to put together peanut butter and chocolate, but I thank them profusely. (I like to imagine it was probably some stressed out mom, hiding in her pantry, looking for something sweet to eat who grabbed a chocolate bar and a jar of peanut butter and thought “why not”?). Moist and chewy – These bars are super moist and chewy (yet won’t fall apart when you pick them up), thanks to the oatmeal, coconut flakes, peanut butter, and soft (but not too soft) butter. Easy clean up – Line your baking pan with foil or parchment paper for easy clean up. You can lift the bars right out of the pan with the foil or parchment and cut the bars easily too.

Ideas for Customizing This Recipe

Another great thing about these peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars is that they are very customizable!

A few of my favorite add-ins include chopped nuts (pecans, peanuts, and walnuts are a favorite), white chocolate chips, M&Ms, Reese’s cups, and Reece’s Pieces. You can also swap out the semisweet chocolate chips for butterscotch chips or skip them all together. If you have a nut allergy, swap the peanut butter for Sun Butter or WOWBUTTER. Want more chocolate? Right after these bars come out of the oven, sprinkle with about two cups of chocolate chips and allow them to melt onto the top of the bars. Then spread the chocolate evenly across the bars, and immediately sprinkle with sea salt and allow to cool. Not a fan of coconut? Skip the coconut flakes, these will still taste amazing! You can also make these bars into cookies if you like. I use an ice cream scoop to scoop out the dough and place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Check for doneness around the 20-minute mark.

Expert Tips

These peanut butter oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature. Old fashioned rolled oats are key here. Don’t substitute steel cut oats as they take a long time to cook and will make the bars crumbly and have a rough texture. You can freeze these bars in an airtight container for up to 3 months. Take care not to overbake these bars. Take them out right when they are just cooked through. (Do the toothpick test in the middle of the pan if you are not sure.) They will still cook a bit more as they cool outside of the oven.