Bake Sale Winning-est Gooey Oat Bars

  4.8 – 27 reviews  • Dessert
Level: Easy
Total: 55 min
Active: 25 min
Yield: 24 to 36 bars

Ingredients

  1. Non-stick cooking spray
  2. 1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
  3. 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt, or table salt
  4. 1/3 cup granulated sugar
  5. 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons cold unsalted butter
  6. 1/2 cup unsalted butter
  7. 1/2 cup granulated sugar
  8. 3/4 cup dark brown sugar
  9. 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt, or table salt
  10. 3 large eggs
  11. 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
  12. 1 1/3 cups rolled oats
  13. 1/2 cup finely shredded coconut, sweetened or unsweetened (optional)
  14. 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips, chopped white or dark chocolate, candy bars, dried fruit, or a mix thereof (with the dried fruit, a mix with chocolate is best or the sweetness of the fruit will be overwhelming)
  15. powdered sugar, to finish

Instructions

  1. Prepare your pan: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13-inch baking tray (a quarter sheet pan or cake pan is fine) with parchment paper (if using a cake pan, hang the parchment over the sides so the bars are easier to remove). Lightly coat the sides with nonstick spray.
  2. Make the crust: Combine the flour, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Cut the butter into chunks, and add it to the bowl, then run the machine until the mixture forms large clumps?that’s right, just keep running it; it might take another 30 seconds for it to come together, but it will. Transfer the dough clumps to the prepared baking pan and press them evenly across the bottom and 1/4 inch up the sides. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until very pale golden.
  3. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Melt your butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Continue to cook the butter, stirring frequently, until golden brown bits form at the bottom, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the sugars and salt. Let cool for 5 to 10 minutes, then whisk in the eggs, one at a time, and the vanilla, and stir in the oats, coconut, and chocolate, fruit, and/or candy.
  4. Pour over the parbaked crust, spreading evenly.
  5. Bake the bars: Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until the top is firm and golden and the bars are set or, at most, barely jiggle if shimmied. The bars are much easier to cut cleanly from the fridge, but they are gooiest when warm. Dust with powdered sugar before serving or selling for the prettiest finish.
  6. Do ahead: Store at room temperature for up to 2 days, or in the fridge for longer.

Nutrition Facts

Serving Size 1 of 30 servings
Calories 188
Total Fat 10 g
Saturated Fat 6 g
Carbohydrates 23 g
Dietary Fiber 1 g
Sugar 13 g
Protein 2 g
Cholesterol 41 mg
Sodium 69 mg

Reviews

Rodney Chang
I subbed Pamela’s GF flour and used white chocolate chips and it was delicious! Highly recommend and very easy to make.
Annette Sanchez
I use Milk and white chocolate chips, macadamia nuts and pecans. I get so many compliments every time I make these!
Tony Wells
I thought these were pretty easy! I found I undercooked the crust a little bit and I think it could use more of a salt factor. I like what some of the other users said about adding more nuts or some sea salt on top. What a good and yummy way to use up some chocolate candy that maybe you were tired of having around. 🙂
Nathan Casey
I watched the show on the Kitchen and decided to give them a try. These were ok, but Too much butter in my opinion that it overpowered the other ingredients.
Jonathan James
These were a bit more involved than I thought after watching on show, however totally worth the time, very delicious!
Karla Baker
Delicious and popular with the crowd! Use dark chocolate chunks, Heath bar bits, butterscotch chips, flaky sea salt on top and about 1/4 less sugar between the two types of sugars.
Ivan Davenport
One of the best bars I have ever made! I didn’t use the coconut because we didn’t have it but it was still really good.
Maria Fisher
Amazing
Patricia Adams
Oh my, these were amazing!
Amanda Tran
Very good bars. I made them a little less sweet. I only did 1/2 dark choc chips and  1 cup of chopped walnuts. I didn’t top with powdered sugar. They’re still dessert but not so sweet. The amount of coconut is perfect, my husband doesn’t like coconut and he couldn’t taste it.  Will make again!

 

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