Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

These oatmeal cookie bars are buttery and soft and so delicious and the fact that they are in cookie bar form is even better. I love cookie bars! They are easy to make and you don’t need to roll out dough or scoop out individual cookies. Press the dough into a baking pan, bake, and cut it into bar.

They are also perfect for portion control because you can cut them into equal-sized pieces after baking. Try these Snickerdoodle cookie bars or M&M brown butter cookie bars next time!

Ingredients

Find the amounts of the ingredients for this oatmeal chocolate chip bar recipe in the printable full recipe card at the bottom of this post. Here are the main ingredients you will need.

• Butter. Butter gives a rich buttery flavor. You can use salted butter or unsalted butter.
• Soft brown sugar or dark brown sugar – The molasses notes of brown sugar pair perfectly with oatmeal cookies. Brown sugar brings a bit of moisture and keeps these bars chewy.
• Granulated sugar – A little granulated white sugar helps give the bars a slightly crispy outside.
• Vanilla extract or paste
• Large egg
• Baking soda
• Baking powder
• Salt
• Rolled oats – Rolled oats or old-fashioned oats bring the best texture to these chocolate chip oatmeal cookie bars. If you only have quick oats you could use those too but the texture won’t be as good.
• All-purpose flour
• Chocolate – Use lots of chocolate chips or chop up a bar of chocolate into chunks. Milk chocolate chips or chunks are best, but you can substitute them with semi-sweet chocolate or white chocolate chips if you prefer.

Equipment

8×8 pan – You will need an 8-inch square pan

Electric mixer – These cookie bars are easiest to make using an electric or stand mixer because the butter and the sugar need beating.

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8×8 baking dish with parchment paper. Leave a paper overhang, so you can easily lift the baked cookie from the pan once baked.

Combine butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer.

Use a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat the butter sugar for about 2 minutes until lighter in color and creamy.

Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.

In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

If you are using a bar of chocolate, chop this up into small pieces.

Next, add in dry ingredients and stir until combined into a shaggy dough, but flour streaks remain.

Add in the chocolate chips. Stir until everything is combined.

Scoop the cookie dough into the prepared pan and use an offset spatula to press the dough out evenly. Top with extra chocolate chips if you like.

Bake the cookie bars for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown and the middle is set but still a bit soft.

Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 40 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool further. Once cooled, use a sharp knife to slice it into 16 pieces. Serve with a cold glass of milk and an optional sprinkle of flaky sea salt. They are a delicious after-school snack!

Storing

The oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars can be stored at room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container.

The dough for these cookie bars can be made ahead, covered, and refrigerated for up to 2 days.

Related recipes

Here are some more delicious cookie recipes to try!

Substitutions and additions

• Gluten-free. To make these bars gluten free, the flour and oats can be substituted for gluten-free all-purpose flour and gluten-free oats.
• Raisins. Swap the chocolate for raisins to make these oatmeal raisin cookie bars instead. Or, try these brown butter oatmeal raisin cookies instead!
• Add in shredded coconut or coconut flakes.
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon can be added for extra flavor.

Continue to Content

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

Yield: 16

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 25 minutes

Total Time: 35 minutes

These oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars are deliciously chewy! Full of oats and chocolate chunks.

Print

Ingredients

• 113g (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
• 100g (1/2 cup) soft brown sugar
• 50g (1/4 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 large egg
• 1 tsp vanilla paste or extract
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 125g (1 cup*) all-purpose flour
• 90g (1 cup) rolled oats or old-fashioned oats
• 170g (1 cup) semi-sweet or milk chocolate chunks

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper. Leave a paper overhang, so you can easily lift the baked cookie from the pan once baked.
2. Combine butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in a large bowl or the bowl of your stand mixer. Use a hand or stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment to beat the butter sugar for about 2 minutes until lighter in color and creamy. 
3. Add in the egg and vanilla and beat until combined.
4. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, oats, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. If you are using a bar of chocolate, chop this up into small pieces.
5. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and stir until combined into a shaggy dough, but flour streaks remain. Add in the chocolate chunks. Stir until everything is combined.
6. Scoop the cookie dough into the square baking pan and press the dough out evenly with an offset spatula. Top with extra chocolate pieces if you like.
7. Bake the cookie bars for approximately 25 minutes, until golden brown and the middle is set but still a bit soft.
8. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 40 minutes before removing and placing them on a wire rack to cool further. Chilling them in the fridge will make cutting easier.
9. Once cooled, slice into 16 pieces using a sharp knife.

Notes

*The cup sizes given are for US cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cup sizes. For best results, use grams.

Store room temperature for up to a week in an airtight container.

Recommended Products

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• 
  USA Pan Bakeware Square Cake Pan, 8 inch

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 196Total Fat: 10gSaturated Fat: 6gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 29mgSodium: 147mgCarbohydrates: 25gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 3g

This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist