O’ Henry Bars

I had no idea that other people knew about this recipe. My mother had been making “O’Harry Bars” every Christmas all of my 50 year life. She got it from a newspaper recipe, see picture. It’s from 1972! She added roughly a cup of coconut and it is out of this world. And I detest coconut. As you can see from the picture, the “old school” recipe requires at least 25 minutes to bake. Tonight I did about 32 minutes, until the center bubbles. I also add half a cup of honey, and two sticks of softened butter. These make the house smell wonderful for at least an hour after baking. Chill in the fridge for two hours to set, and then they’re good on the counter for two days, but they won’t last that long! Enjoy the old recipe in the picture. It warms my heart to share it, since I lost my mother this year. I hope your family enjoys these for generations to come.

These came out mushy and were a total failure. The only thing I can think of is that the instructions say to bake the first layer for 10 – 15 min and that’s not long enough. When I check other similar recipes the baking time is at least 20 – 25 min. What a disappointment. Back to Taste of Home for tested recipes.

My granny used to make me this as a kid. I did have trouble with the amount of butter. But this one of those recipes that can me easily fixed or modify. It seemed to be too buttery so I just added more oats. I also double the chocolate and peanut butter mixture to have a thicker topping.

I used honey instead of corn syrup and I really liked that “extra” boost of flavor

O do not know what I did wrong. It esa delicious but I could not cut the squares. The texture of the oat was not crunchy

Made as written. Keeps well in refrigerator, after cutting into squares. I did cool off the chocolate topping first on my counter until the topping was room temp, then popped the pan straight into the freezer for about 30 minutes. Cut easily after that. A little square with coffee and fruit will do the trick!

Dont overcook!! My husband and boys beg for O’Henry bars all the time…. now we call them Daddy bars

Man .I remember my mom making these when I was a kid. Now I am making them for my kids. Insanely simple and utterly scrumptious. I do agree that it needs to be spread in a larger pan, or two pans, to get a nice crunchy, caramelized base. What more do you need to know?!?!

Family recipe for years!! Very similar. No corn syrup. Tips…. Larger glass pan is better.. Stick in fridge after baking. Peanut butter and chocolate is best melted slowly on the stove. Once fully set and cooled set the pan in hot water to ensure you can get the bars off the pan.. Delish

These turned out great! I only had half the amount of corn syrup called for, so I used half white sugar. Not too crunchy (like some of the other recipes I have tried) and not too gooey as other reviewers have stated. PERFECT!!!

Added 2t vanilla and used dark corn syrup. Tasted fine, nothing special.

This is the exact same recipe my family uses. However, we do the topping differently. We cool the oatmeal layer completely before spreading a whole jar of crunchy peanut butter on top and then we sprinkle a bag of chocolate chips on top of that. Then we return the pan to the oven and when the chocolate chips are starting to look melty we take the bars out and spread the chocolate like frosting. They cut best when cooled completely again.

My husband has always loved O’Henry bars and he’s been after me for years to find a recipe. This is DEFINITELY the one!

They tasted delicious, but they took quite a while to set. Fortunately, they do not take much time or effort to make.

Easy and scrumptious. I didn’t change a thing. Wait, I did refrigerate before cutting.

A hit every time!

I have made these bars for years and we love them. The key is to not over bake them. Remember they continue to bake in the pan after they are out of the oven. The idea is to simply melt the crust so it will stay in one piece when serving.I bake mine for 10 mins. I have always melted the peanut butter and choc. together and then spread on crust.Let cool. Then cut and serve. Enjoy!

Yummy and easy! I doubled the recipe, and left them in my freezer. By the end of the weekend they were all gone. Everyone kept sneaking to the freezer to get more!!!

Yummy!

This is a good base but if you add a few things it’s even better. I didn’t add much but they really enhanced the flavor/texture. I subbed the rolled oats for quick oats, only used 2/3 a cup of butter which is plenty! I added 1 TSP of vanilla extract and a 9×13 inch GREASED pan, I only baked the oatmeal layer for 12 minutes, at 350 and cooled them a but before adding the topping. I added extra PB and a couple TSP of sugar to the topping and melted it over very low heat stirring consistently since chocolate burns so easily.

I have made this exact recipe for 40 years, so I cannot figure out why it’s not working for many cooks; it never failed even when I was 12 years old. You MUST heavily grease or butter the pan prior to pressing the crust into it. Also, when I take the crust out of the oven, I use a greased (sprayed with Pam, buttered, whatever is handy) spatula to separate the crust from the sides of the pan: press the end of the spatula between the crust and the pan. This step makes the bars easier to remove from the pan. The topping can be spread on the crust when the crust has cooled enough to be just warm to the touch. The bars should be chilled before cutting and serving, and they should be stored in the fridge. In order to conserve room while storing, after they are cold,I cut them up and layered them in a plastic container (waxed paper between the layers). I was “famous” for these bars at work; everyone was very, very happy when I brought them in.