Pin
These pan cookies combine three cups of oats with milk chocolate chips and a creamed-butter dough. Press the thick mixture evenly into a nine-by-thirteen-inch pan. Let it cool before slicing so the oat-rich center has time to hold together.
The formula allows quick oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats blend into a finer texture, while rolled oats remain more noticeable. Steel-cut oats and flavored instant oatmeal packets are not equivalent substitutions in this dough.
Ingredient amounts and preparation
- Set out: 1 1/2 cups regular flour
- Set out: 1 teaspoon baking soda
- Set out: 1/2 teaspoon salt
- Set out: 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- Set out: 3 cups quick or traditional oats
- Set out: 14 tablespoons unsalted butter
- Set out: 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- Set out: 1/2 cup white sugar
- Set out: 2 large eggs
- Set out: 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Set out: 1 cup milk chocolate chips
Cooking sequence and doneness
- Stage 1
- Heat the oven to 350°F and grease a 9-by-13-inch baking pan.
- Stage 2
- Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon together.
- Stage 3
- In a separate bowl beat softened butter with brown and white sugars until evenly creamy and lighter.
- Stage 4
- Beat in eggs one at a time, scraping the bowl. Mix in vanilla.
- Stage 5
- Fold in the dry mixture only until flour streaks disappear.
- Stage 6
- Stir in oats and chocolate chips until distributed.
- Stage 7
- Press the thick dough evenly into the pan.
- Stage 8
- Bake about thirty to forty-five minutes, checking from thirty for lightly browned edges and a set center without wet batter. Cool in the pan before cutting into bars.
No: soften the fourteen tablespoons until still solid but easy to press. Cream it with both sugars before adding eggs. Melted butter follows a different mixing method and can change the spread and texture of the bars.
How can the layer be made even?
This is a dough rather than a pourable batter. Press it into the corners with a spatula or a piece of parchment, checking that the middle is not much thicker than the edges. Uneven depth creates dry edges before the center sets. Begin checking at thirty minutes. The edges should be lightly browned and the center set without wet batter, although melted chocolate may mark a tester. Continue as needed rather than automatically baking to the forty-five-minute end of the estimate.
Why wait before cutting?
Warm oat bars can crumble when lifted. Cool in the pan, then cut with a sharp knife and lift individual portions carefully. If packing them, wait until no warmth remains before closing the container.
Storage and serving later
Let the baked pieces cool completely before closing a storage container, so trapped steam does not wet the surface. Keep any perishable filling or accompaniment under its own refrigerated-storage instructions.
For another complete recipe, see Gingerbread Crinkle Cookies with Molasses or Fantasy Fudge with Chocolate and Walnuts. Each has its own ingredient quantities and cooking sequence; keep those measurements separate when choosing a meal. King Arthur’s creaming guide explains how butter condition affects mixing. Use softened, still-solid butter for this dough and scrape the bowl so the mixture is even; the cited guide supports technique, not testing of this recipe.
Common Questions About This Recipe
- Which oats can be used?
The formula allows quick oats or old-fashioned rolled oats. Quick oats blend into a finer texture, while rolled oats remain more noticeable.
- Should the butter be melted?
No: soften the fourteen tablespoons until still solid but easy to press. Cream it with both sugars before adding eggs.
- How can the layer be made even?
This is a dough rather than a pourable batter. Press it into the corners with a spatula or a piece of parchment, checking that the middle is not much thicker than the edges.
- When should the bars leave the oven?
Begin checking at thirty minutes. The edges should be lightly browned and the center set without wet batter, although melted chocolate may mark a tester.
- Why wait before cutting?
Warm oat bars can crumble when lifted. Cool in the pan, then cut with a sharp knife and lift individual portions carefully.