Julie Clark
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Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
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You’ve never had a cookie bar like this! Soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip bars (AKA… Michigan Tech Wives Brownies) are packed with brown sugar, oats and chocolate chips in every bite.
These cookie bars are one of the earliest recipes I made when I started baking around age 10. We call them Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars, although originally they were called Michigan Tech Wives Brownies. They are delicious mix of chocolate chip oatmeal cookies and traditional cookie bars.
So why did they have that different name? Here’s the deal. My dad went to Michigan Technological University in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. A cookbook was passed around that had this chocolate chip oatmeal bars recipe in it. I always made them.
And now I’m sharing them with my kids. The Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars are gooey when warm and have a chewy texture when they set. The oatmeal cookie bars are loaded with chocolate in every bite and are irresistible when served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.
Tips for Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
- Butter should be at room temperature and not melted at all. This will give the best texture to the cookie bars.
- If you only have rolled oats, run them through the food processor to break them up slightly before adding with the other dry ingredients.
- For the most precise results, use a kitchen scale to measure ingredients. Switch the toggle below to metric measurements for the ingredient weights.
- Try cleaning out your pantry and add in anything from toffee bits to butterscotch chips or white chocolate chips. Even craisins would be delicious in these bars! They would be similar to our cranberry cookie bars.
- Love brown sugar flavor? Try dark brown sugar. We use it in our chocolate chip butterscotch cookie bars and it would be excellent in these as well.
- They are plenty sweet on their own, but you could add frosting if you’d like! Try the frosting on our chocolate chip sugar cookie bars.
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
You've never had a cookie bar like this! Soft and chewy oatmeal chocolate chip bars (AKA… Michigan Tech Wives Brownies) are packed with brown sugar, oats and chocolate chips in every bite.
Servings 18
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup salted butter room temperature
- 2 1/3 cups light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 1/2 cups quick cook oats
- 2 cups mini chocolate chips
- ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips for topping
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350º F. Spray a 9×13-inch baking dish with cooking spray. Line with parchment paper if desired.
- In a large mixing bowl, use an electric mixer to cream the butter and sugar together for 2-3 minutes. Add in the eggs and vanilla. Mix for another 2 minutes. 1 cup salted butter, 2 ⅓ cups light brown sugar, 2 large eggs, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Add the flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder and quick oats. Mix until combined. The batter will be very thick. Fold in the chocolate chips. 2 ½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 1 ½ cups quick cook oats, 2 cups mini chocolate chips
- Spread the cookie dough in the prepared pan. Press extra chocolate chips into the top of the bars. ¼ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- Bake for 30 minutes or until the edges are golden brown and the bars look slightly puffed all over. The bars will be very gooey right when they come out of the oven. Allow them to cool slightly before you slice them.
Notes
- Replacements: If you only have rolled oats, run them through the food processor to break them up slightly before adding with the other dry ingredients. Try dark brown sugar in place of light brown sugar.
- These work with King Arthur gluten-free all-purpose flour.
- Other add-ins: Add 1 cup of any of these: chopped walnuts, chopped pecans, butterscotch chips. Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon.
- Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. The bars also freeze well for up to 8 weeks.
- Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
Nutrition
Calories: 411kcal | Carbohydrates: 61g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 17g | Saturated Fat: 10g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 302mg | Potassium: 128mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 41g | Vitamin A: 391IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 70mg | Iron: 2mg
