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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars are thick, chewy and loaded with chocolate! All the flavor of chocolate chip cookies, but easier to make!
If you’re a chocolate lover, make these Mexican skillet brownies or for something healthier, chocolate peanut butter overnight oats.
This post and recipe have been updated since it was originally published on 9/8/2021
Why You’ll Love Cookie Bars
Easy to make – No mixer needed to make these oatmeal cookie bars! All you need are a couple mixing bowls, a whisk and a rubber spatula to make the cookie dough.
No spreading – Another bonus to making cookie bars over cookies is, they can’t spread all over the pan. The 8×8 square pan prevents all this from happening.
No chilling the dough – Another bonus to making cookie bars versus cookies is that you don’t have to chill the dough or scoop them out into individual balls. Just press the cookie dough into the pan and it’s ready to go into the oven.
Ingredients For Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- White whole wheat flour – White whole wheat flour has a milder flavor, but all the benefits of regular whole wheat.
- Old-fashioned rolled oats – These oats will give you the best chewy, oat texture.
- Cinnamon – A little cinnamon gives the bars an extra warm, sweet flavor.
- Baking powder, baking soda – The leavening agents that make the bars rise.
- Butter – Use unsalted butter to keep the bars from being too salty.
- Dark brown sugar, granulated sugar – Brown sugar adds moisture and gives the bars a chewy texture. Granulated sugar helps promote the crisp edges and top.
- Egg – The binder for the bars.
- Vanilla extract – Enhances the flavor of the chocolate.
- Dark chocolate – Chocolate chips or a chocolate bar can be use. Using a bar will allow the chocolate to be extra melty and gooey because there aren’t any stabilizers in it.
- Sea salt – Flakey sea salt on top balances the sweetness for the perfect sweet and salty bite!
How To Make Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Preheat your oven and spraying an 8×8 metal baking pan with cooking spray. You can also line the pan with parchment paper, but it isn’t necessary.
Combine the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
In a separate bowl combine the melted butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, egg, and vanilla. Whisk together until well combined and smooth.
Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and fold together with rubber spatula until a dough forms. Stir in the chocolate chunks or chips.
Dump the dough into the baking pan and press into an even layer. Sprinkle with flaky sea salt. Bake the bars on the middle rack of the oven for 18-21 minutes. Cool the bars for at least 30 minutes before cutting into them.
Tips For The Best Cookie Bars
- When measuring flour, scoop it into the measuring cup and level it off. This will help prevent using too much flour.
- If the cookie dough is sticking to your hands or spatula when you spread it out in the baking pan, dampen them with a little water or spray lightly with cooking spray.
- 18-19 minutes of baking will leave the cookie bars slightly under baked. The center of the bars will be soft and a touch gooey, but not raw by any means.
- Let the bars cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting them. Cutting them while they’re still hot will likely result in them falling apart.
Frequently Asked Questions
The bars will keep for 3 days in an airtight container on the countertop or in the refrigerator before they start getting dry.
Cool completely and cut them into bars. Place them on a parchment lined baking sheet and put them in the freezer until they are frozen, about 1-2 hours. Place the frozen bars in an airtight container and store them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
All purpose flour or regular whole wheat flour may be used. Be aware that regular whole wheat flour will have a nuttier taste and may produce a slightly drier texture. You can also use a combination of all purpose and whole wheat flour.
More Cookie Recipes
Did you make these oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars? I’d love if you’d leave a recipe rating and review below.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- 3/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 1/4 cup old fashioned rolled oats
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1/2 cup melted unsalted butter
- 1/2 cup dark brown sugar
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3 ounces chopped dark chocolate, or 1/2 cup chocolate chips
- Flaky sea salt for sprinkling on top of the bars
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Spray an 8×8 metal baking pan with cooking spray.
- In a bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, cinnamon, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl whisk together the melted butter, sugars, egg and vanilla until smooth and well combined.
- Pour the wet ingredients in with the dry and stir together with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in the chocolate. Dump the cookie dough into the prepared baking pan and use the rubber spatula or your hands to spread and press the dough evenly into the pan. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 18-20 minutes. Let cool for at least 30 minutes before cutting.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
