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Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars – This peanut butter cookie bars loaded with lots of oatmeal and topped with a peanut butter chocolate “frosting” that makes them over the top delicious!
If you have ever been to this site before you know that I love just about anything with peanut butter and chocolate. Reese’s Fudge is one of the most popular recipes of all time on this site, so I know that you guys love it too!
I have been trying to come up with the perfect peanut butter oatmeal bar for a long time. I have gone between a healthier version, a real cookie texture version with chocolate chips, but in the end this almost fudgy peanut butter cookie bar with the chocolate “frosting” was the winner hands down!
This Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie is probably my favorite cookie of all time. It is super peanut butter-y, and just might be the softest cookies you will ever make. So I wanted to turn that into bar form, with oats and more chocolate.
What You’ll Need
Be sure to scroll to the bottom of the post for the FULL PRINTABLE recipe card.
- Butter – I always use unsalted butter in baking
- Brown Sugar
- White Sugar
- Creamy Peanut Butter – Commercial brand (Skippy/Jif) are best
- Eggs
- Vanilla Extract
- All-Purpose Flour
- Old Fashioned Oats – see notes below for picking and subbing oats
- Baking Powder
- Salt
The frosting isn’t really a frosting. It is really just milk chocolate chips and peanut butter that are melted together. The peanut butter keeps the chocolate from re-solidifying after it cools. So it is perfectly creamy and delicious.
How To Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
- Using an electric mixer cream together the softened butter with both kinds of sugar and the peanut butter. You want it to come together and be light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla until they are fully incorporated.
- Add in the oats, flour, baking powder and salt and mix until it is just combined.
- Press into a 13×9 inch baking pan and bake for about 25 minutes, just until the edges are golden and the center is set.
- To prepare the topping place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 60 seconds. Remove and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Pour over the bars and spread into an even layer. The the chocolate set and then serve!
Old Fashioned Oats vs Quick Cooking Oats
This recipe calls for old fashioned oats, and that is because of the texture they give the bars. The bars are very fudge like in texture, so the old fashioned oats brings everything together and gives the bars and nice bite. If you use quick cooking oats, the bars will work, but they will not be the same texture. The oats will disappear more into the bars and you won’t get quite the same experience.
Can I Freeze Peanut Butter Bars
Yes, you absolutely can. Let the chocolate set completely and then slice into bars. Store them in an air tight container for up to 3 months in the freezer.
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- As you can see these bars are pretty thick. I like to bake them in a 13×9 inch pan, because we like them this thick. but if you want thinner bars, you can press the dough into a small jelly roll pan, and you will get thinner bars.
- The amount of peanut butter in the topping is what makes it stay cream and not solidify, so don’t skimp on it!
- Be careful not to over bake. Just like when you make brownies or cookies, when you take the pan out of the oven it is hot, and the bars will continue to cook. So it is ok if they are slightly under done when you take them out.
- These bars turn out best with commercial brand peanut butter. All natural or the 100% peanut brands will cause separation and change these bars quite a bit.
So the next time you are craving something sweet or that beloved chocolate and peanut butter combination, look no further! These bars are the ultimate treat of a thick, sweet, almost fudgy cookie bar topped with a creamy layer of chocolate. And they are so easy to make! No shaping balls of dough and baking 3 different trays of cookies. Just one pan in the oven and you are done!
More Delicious Dessert Recipes
- Peanut Butter Stuffed Brownies
- Easy No Bake Avalanche Cookies
- M&M Brownies
- No Bake Peanut Butter Bars
- Oreo Cheesecake Bites
- No Bake Peanut Butter Cheesecake
- Peanut Butter Cream Pie
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 2 whole large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Topping
- 12 oz milk chocolate chips
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350º F.
- Using an electric mixer cream together the softened butter with both kinds of sugar and the peanut butter. You want it to come together and be light and fluffy.
- Mix in the eggs and vanilla until they are fully incorporated.
- Add in the oats, flour, baking powder and salt and mix until it is just combined.
- Press into a 13×9 inch baking pan and bake for 20-25 minutes, just until the edges are golden and the center is set.
- Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
- To prepare the topping place the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave safe bowl and heat for 60 seconds. Remove and stir until the chocolate is completely melted.
- Pour over the bars and spread into an even layer.
- Let the chocolate set and then serve!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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These taste absolutely amazing!!! And they’re so easy to make as well!
I’d like it less sweet. How much sugar should I cut back on? Any suggestions ?
You can reduce the sugar in any amount you would like. It depends on how less sweet you would like if you start with 1/4 cup of 1/2 cup.
How can I measure this recipe in ozs rather than cups please
I don’t have those measurements, but you can usually google 1/2 cup = ounces, and it will tell you
These look absolutely delicious I am going to make them tomorrow
I made this exactly as written. In my opinion, the crust had no real taste, and crumbled when cut. The chocolate peanut butter frosting was bland. I won’t be making this again.
Sorry this didn’t work out for you. The base of the bars should not crumble, it sounds like they might have been over cooked if that was how they turned out.
Could I substitute the white sugar for maple syrup?
I have not tested it that way, so I am not sure if it would work. Give it a try with a smaller batch and see how it works
These look delicious! Can I use crunchy peanut butter for this?
You can, it will just change the texture some, and not be quite as creamy.
Can you sub quick cooking oats for old fashion oats?
Yes, read the section Old Fashioned Oats vs Quick Cooking Oats in the post to know the difference it makes
I made these before however they were made and all eaten on the day so not sure how long they will keep once made!! Can you help me with this as I’d like to make some for a coffee morning but can’t do everything the night before!
Question – how long can these be kept for once made please?
You can keep them for 3-4 days before they start to dry out.
This makes 24 BIG bars not small wimpy bars! Lol These are great and I didn’t even make the icing! They are like pb brownies imo! Fabulous! I didn’t have butter and used margarine instead…I bet they’re even better with butter! Saving recipe now!