I first made these oatmeal peanut butter bars about six years ago, and they were an instant hit at home and at parties and picnics. The rich flavor belies their simplicity—an oatmeal peanut butter cookie crust with chocolate chips sprinkled on top then drizzled with peanut butter glaze—and they always garner "ohs" and "ahs" when served to peanut butter and chocolate lovers. Because I'm trying to switch over to whole grains in all our baking, I've swapped out the all-purpose flour for whole wheat pastry flour, but you can use unbleached all-purpose flour if you cannot find whole wheat pastry flour in your area.
The dough is pretty sticky and will even cling to silicone spatulas, so I just wet my hands and press the dough into the pan with my fingers, and it doesn't stick to me.
[Updated October 2019.]
Whole Wheat Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips
Equipment
- 13x9x2" baking pan, greased
- stand mixer with paddle attachment, or hand mixer and large bowl
- medium mixing bowl
- small mixing bowl
Ingredients
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter (softened)
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed brown sugar
- ⅓ cup smooth peanut butter
- 1 large egg (slightly beaten)
- 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour (or unbleached all-purpose flour)
- 1 cup quick oats
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
GLAZE
- ½ cup confectioners sugar (sifted)
- ¼ cup smooth peanut butter
- 2-4 tablespoons milk (depending on how thick you want the glaze)
Preparation
- Preheat oven to 350° F/175° C.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar. Add the peanut butter and egg and mix until the peanut butter is thoroughly distributed.
- In the medium bowl, stir together the whole wheat pastry flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Add to the butter mixture and mix until fully combined.
- Press the dough into the prepared baking pan with wet fingers. Bake in the preheated oven until golden, about 15 to 20 minutes.
- GLAZE: While the dough bakes, mix together the powdered sugar, peanut butter, and milk in the small mixing bowl. Use enough milk to make a glaze with a drizzle consistency.
- Remove pan from oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top while the cookie base is still hot. The chocolate chips will start to melt and ooze all over the cookie. Drizzle the glaze all over the chocolate layer. Allow to cool before cutting into squares/bars.
These look great! My daughter is allergic to peanut butter so I make her almond butter as a sub. Do you think it would work in the glaze, or is this one of those situations where you absolutely must use non-natural nut butter? It's not being baked into the bar, so I'm thinking it would be alright, but I wanted to get your opinion.
Dang Andrea I don't think this is fair. Those look just incredible! Ooooo . . . can I resist . . .
Andrea, these LOOK so good but I have to confess that I don't like peanut butter + chocolate together.
Therefore, I'll be making these now for EVERY party or celebration I bake for since it will keep me away from the dessert table! ;o)
Oooooo, these look so inticing and delicious! I love chocolate and peanut butter together. Sounds good with the whole wheat flour and oatmeal.
Oh! Those look good. I think I will have to try a batch this weekend.
these look DELICIOUS! it's a super rainy day here and i'm not sure that i can make it out again (we got soaked this morning!). we might just raid the pantry to see if we can make these as our afternoon activity. Thanks!
Stacie
ChowMama.com
You're right. I'm oohing and ahhing right now.
Wholly yum! These look and sound soooo good!
Love this! I'm so up for making all of my baked good w/ WW Flour these days. Looks gooood!
Step 6 made me drool! I LOVED the idea and the pics of semi-molten choc chips...beautiful recipe Andrea 🙂
These look so good Andrea! Love Whole Wheat Pastry flour. Try to use it as often as possible!
This looks SO GOOD!! I have been looking for some desserts to make, and this one is very appealing, mainly because of the whole wheat flour and oats. Makes me feel like they're somewhat healthier!
i was looking for a fairly easy cookie recipe that absolutely had to include peanut butter and chocolate and i certainly found it. i like the fact that whole wheat flour and oats are used and not the same old recipe with graham crackers. i used natural peanut butter also with no problem. i love that i didn't have to do anything with the chocolate except dump it on and watch it melt. yum. i'm taking these to my sister in arkansas who definitely could use a chocolate fix. thanks for sharing the recipe.
Why did I not find this sooner? This is going to be a super bowl dessert!
These are so good! I made them on Monday and I'm about to head to the store to get ingredients so I can take some to a pot luck on Sunday. Thank you so much for the recipe.