Oatmeal Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips
I wanted to make a special treat for the kids today but I didn’t want to go to the store. I finally found this recipe on Andrea Meyers’s site that wasn’t filled with sugar and butter and used whole wheat flour and oatmeal to make these bars tasty and sweet while being a little bit healthier. They were fun and easy to make and they put a huge smile on both of my kids’ faces.
How to Make Oatmeal Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Bars with Chocolate Chips
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8×8 baking dish with cooking spray.
Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the egg, peanut butter, and vanilla and beat until creamy and well combined.
Combine the oatmeal, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Add the oatmeal mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. The filling will be sticky so wet your hands to pat the dough down into the pan.
Place into the oven to bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
While the cookie base is baking combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and milk together until well combined. Place the mixture into a small ziplock bag and seal.
Remove the cookie base from the oven and pour the chocolate chips on top while it’s still hot so the chocolate chips will melt and ooze all over the cookie base. Cut a small piece out of the corner of the bag filled with the glaze then drizzle the peanut butter glaze on top of the chocolate chips. Allow to cool before cutting into bars and serving. Enjoy.
Equipment
- 8x8-inch Baking Pan
Ingredients
- Cookie Base:
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter softened
- ¼ cup sugar
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 1 small egg slightly beaten
- 2 ½ tbsp smooth peanut butter
- ½ tsp of vanilla extract
- ½ cup quick oats
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ¼ tsp baking soda
- ⅛ tsp salt
- 6 oz semisweet mini chocolate chips
- GLAZE:
- ¼ cup powdered sugar sifted
- 2 tbsp smooth peanut butter
- 1-2 tbsp milk depending on how thick you want the glaze
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8x8 baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cream the butter, sugar, and brown sugar together with a mixer until creamy and smooth. Add the egg, peanut butter, and vanilla and beat until creamy and well combined.
- Combine the oatmeal, whole wheat flour, baking soda, and salt together in a bowl. Add the oatmeal mixture to the butter mixture and mix well. Spoon the mixture into the prepared baking dish. The filling will be sticky so wet your hands to pat the dough down into the pan.
- Place into the oven to bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden brown.
- While the cookie base is baking combine the peanut butter, powdered sugar, and milk together until well combined. Place the mixture into a small ziplock bag and seal.
- Remove the cookie base from the oven and pour the chocolate chips on top while it's still hot so the chocolate chips will melt and ooze all over the cookie base. Cut a small piece out of the corner of the bag filled with the glaze then drizzle the peanut butter glaze on top of the chocolate chips. Allow it to cool before cutting into bars and serving. Enjoy.
Those look like something my family would love too. Thanks for sharing the recipe Pam!!
Kris
This looks so yummy and easy!
yum, peanut butter and chocolate. one of our favorite combinations! love the healthier option too! 🙂
Those bars are looking so decadent and yet so good!
Yum…these bars put a smile on my face this morning, too! 🙂
Hi Pam,
Amazing recipe. My son will be so delighted as this is his kind of food dream!!
Cheers and thanks for sharing,
Lia.
This looks SO SO pretty! And also kind of like a giant chocolate chip granola bar… yum!
My two favourite things together, looks yum!
Woow, looks so good !!! Chocolate, I love it !!
These would be perfect to take to school for snacking!
well what do you know, i have all the ingredients for these too! my kids might come home to the same snacks!
The peanut butter glaze sounds delightful! I hope there were some left over for lunch boxes. Oh, that’s right, you only have 2 small children, not the thundering herd of big dudes that inhabit my little corner of the world. Hope you’re all feeling better not!
Wow that looks delicious, chewy, gooey, and good! Even though I don’t do dessert, I’d eat that for sure. I’m a sucker for the oatmeal base.
I just made these and they are wonderful! I am having a luncheon at my home tomorrow and am using one of your quiche recipes. But I bet that the highlight will be these bars!!! Thank you
I love recipes that use up what’s in my pantry!
Peanut butter and chocolate, my favorites. These look yummy!
Wow, these bars are absolutely sinful! I feel like each bite would be a party in my mouth!
I’m so glad you like the bars, they are one of our family favorites!
these sound really yummy–that peanut butter glaze is something i would use on just about anything!
ok this sounds good with healthy in there too
so that means I can eat more? or I can have as breakfast with my morning espresso? lol
If it’s whole wheat, then its healthy and I can have as much as I want, right?!?
Those look so delicious. I love baking and have the biggest sweet tooth. I love that you used oatmeal and whole wheat flour as a healthier alternative. I look forward to baking this.