Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars! This mouthwatering cookie recipe comes together in about 10 minutes & bakes in no time.  Soft, chewy, and full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor, these oatmeal bars are the best sweet treat!   

If you want a great recipe – look no further.  These chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars are so easy to make.  They only take about 10 to 15 minutes to put together and bake in about a little over 20 minutes!  The perfect oat mixture with the combination of sweet, tender oats and creamy melt chocolate and peanut butter.    

They taste a little like peanut butter cups and a little like cookies with a delicious chocolate layer.  Put those flavors together for a creamy peanut butter treat.   Once you bake chocolate peanut butter bars … you’ll know just what I mean.  It all melts together & makes a great combination.   

They are family favorites in this house, and I know they will be in yours too!

Just look at them!  They are impossible to resist.  Buttery sweet oatmeal cookie mixed with a combination of semi-sweet chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. 

Not a peanut butter fan?  No problem!  Feel free to swap them out for your favorite chip – double up on the semi-sweet chips.  Try adding in some milk chocolate chips or even some toffee chips!

No matter the combination, these oatmeal bars are the best!

I love the idea of cookie bars – you can cut them up into any serving size!  We usually cut them up into smaller squares.  This way they last longer and it’s the perfect bite of something sweet.   
Plus… one small square of these chocolate peanut butter oatmeal bars won’t be enough… at least you can grab another one the next time that you pass by the pan. 😉 

HOW TO MAKE CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL BARS

1. Beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until well mixed
2. Add in eggs one at a time then add the vanilla extract
3. Add salt, baking soda, baking powder, rolled oats, flour, and semi-sweet chocolate chips.
4. Mix until just combined
5. Spread 1/2 mixture into the prepared baking pan.
6. Pour peanut butter chips on top of the mixture (you could even melt them a bit, over low to medium heat & spread it on top)
7. Carefully press the remaining cookie mixture on top of the chocolate. 
   TIP – spray your hand or back of a page spoon with cooking spray and use to easily spread or press the second layer of cookie mixture.  Another idea is to put a sheet of parchment paper on top and press on the paper to keep your hands from getting sticky.  When the cookie mixture is pressed well, remove the parchment paper & place it into the oven. 
8.  Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare a 9×13 baking pan with cooking spray. 
9. Bake for 20-25 minutes.  

QUICK OATS VS. ROLLED OATS

I use Old-Fashioned rolled oats in my recipe, but you can certainly use quick oats.  I prefer the old-fashioned oats for their texture and flavor.  But if you have quick oats on hand, don’t hesitate to use them – you’ll never notice the difference!

BAKING TIPS FOR CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER OATMEAL BARS

Eggs. Make sure your eggs are at room temperature.  If you forget (like I often do), simply put the eggs in some warm (not hot) water for a few minutes.

Flour.  Give you flour a good stir before using to loosen up any compacted flour.  Then spoon the flour into your measuring cup and level off. This will ensure you don’t use too much flour in your recipe.

Butter. Your butter needs to be at room temperature as well.  A good test is to push your finger into the top of the butter.  If it leaves a slight dent, then you’re ready to go.
To speed up the process, cut the butter into pieces and lay them out on a plate on the counter. Butter contains a good amount of saturated fat, so I try not to use too much of it, but it makes this treat creamy & delicious. 

CAN YOU FREEZE THESE OATMEAL BARS?

Once you cut the bars, you can either eat them or freeze them.   I typically cut them into about 24 bars. 
Although, last night, I took these out of the oven and cut them into bars around 4:30, although by 4:42 pm, there were only 23 bars left.  hahaha!  Someone had a little snack before dinner. 😉 

These Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars freeze well.  Wrap them up tight in some plastic wrap and place them in a freezer bag.  They’ll keep for up to three months.

I like to wrap them individually so we can grab one when we want a treat. When you’re ready to eat one, just set it out on the counter for an hour or so.   

If you want another great recipe, try this apple cobbler recipe.  Wow! 

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4 from 5 votes

Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars

This mouthwatering cookie recipe is soft, chewy, and full of chocolate and peanut butter flavor!

Prep Time: 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 24 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 servings

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
• ▢ 1/3 cup granulated sugar
• ▢ 1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
• ▢ 2 eggs, room temperature
• ▢ 1 tsp. baking powder
• ▢ 1 tsp. baking powder
• ▢ 1/2 tsp. salt
• ▢ 2-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• ▢ 1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• ▢ 2 cups rolled oats *can substitute with quick oats (equal amount)
• ▢ 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
• ▢ 1 cup peanut butter chips

Instructions 

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Prepare 9x13 baking pan with cooking spray.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, baking soda, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer (hand-held mixer also works great), cream the butter, granulated sugar and brown sugar until well combined.
• Add eggs, one at a time, mixing for about 10 seconds between each addition.
• Add vanilla extract.
• With mixer at low speed, slowly add the flour/oat mixture until combined.
• Remove bowl from mixer stand and fold in semi-sweet chocolate chips by hand.
• Spread 1/2 of the cookie mixture into the prepared baking pan. If you find the dough too sticky - spray some cooking spray on a spatula to help spread evenly.
• Pour peanut butter chips on top of the cookie mixture. Carefully press/spread the remaining dough on top of the peanut butter chips.
• Bake in preheated oven for 20-24 minutes, until golden brown.
• Allow pan to cool for about 10 minutes before cutting into bars.

Additional Info

Course: Desserts

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