Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars

Name: Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 35 min
Yield: 4 dozen.
Ingredients: 1/2 cup butter, softened; 1/2 cup sugar; 1/2 cup packed brown sugar; 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter; 1 large egg; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract; 1 cup all-purpose flour; 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats; 1 teaspoon baking soda; 1/4 teaspoon salt; 1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips; ICING:; 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar; 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter; 2 tablespoons milk

My family loves this peanut butter cookie bars recipe—oatmeal, brownie bars, peanuts—it's made from all our favorite things! Oatmeal, peanut butter and chocolate chips make these bars a big hit with kids of all ages. Since I always have these basic ingredients on hand, I can whip up a batch anytime. —Patricia Staudt, Marble Rock, Iowa

Ingredients

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup (6 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
ICING:
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
2 tablespoons milk

Directions

In a large bowl, cream the butter, sugars and peanut butter until light and fluffy. Beat in egg and vanilla. Combine the flour, oats, baking soda and salt; gradually beat into creamed mixture and mix well. Spread into a greased 13x9-in. baking pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips.
Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.
Combine icing ingredients; drizzle over the top. Cool completely. Cut into bars.

Test Kitchen Tips

Unless otherwise specified, Taste of Home recipes are tested with lightly salted butter. Unsalted, or sweet, butter is sometimes used to achieve a buttery flavor, such as in shortbread cookies or buttercream frosting. In these recipes, added salt would detract from the buttery taste desired.

Dark brown sugar contains more molasses than light or golden brown sugar. The types are generally interchangeable in recipes. But if you prefer a bolder flavor, choose dark brown sugar.

Try 45 more of our favorite chocolate and peanut butter desserts.

Nutrition Facts

1 bar: 90 calories, 5g fat (2g saturated fat), 9mg cholesterol, 71mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate (8g sugars, 1g fiber), 1g protein.

Every product is independently selected by our editors. If you buy something through our links, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Originally published as Peanut Butter Bars in Taste of Home February/March 1996

Reviews

Click stars to rate

Average Rating:

amsm

Aug 7, 2019

My family loved these bars, and they disappeared quickly. I thought they had great flavor with the chocolate and peanut butter. They are easy to make. I might adjust the baking time next time I make these. I thought they were a tad dry.
Jo

Apr 11, 2019

I’ve made these a few times and they always come out perfectly and get lots of compliments. The only thing I do differently is bake a couple of minutes left. They’ve never turned out dry or crumbly, always chewy, soft, and very flavorful. Perfect easy dessert to take somewhere. Definitely in my “keep” file!
Shanti

Jan 26, 2019

These are the worst bars I’ve ever made. Came out dry, flavorless and I ended up just throwing them away. They should bake for half the time, and even though I stirred in the chocolate chips instead of putting them on top, they weren’t tasty at all. I’m not sure what kind of bars or desserts the five star reviewers are used to but these were utter crap. Won’t be trusting recipes with five stars on this site.
ellimaye1

Dec 27, 2018

These were plenty moist on the crumbly side. They were just so-so and the icing was nothing special.
Fatima

Oct 23, 2018

I tried this recipe after I read some of the reviews. A lot of the people who didn't like it noted it was dry. They came out pretty good with some tweaks. I increased both the peanut butter and rolled oats to 3/4 cup because there simply wasn't enough cookie dough to fill out a 13 x 9" pan. I also used only brown sugar and reduced the baking time to 15 minutes to keep them moist. It is a very thin cookie and baking for 20 minutes is asking for trouble. Some people might like a crunch in their cookie, but I prefer mine soft and chewy with teeny bit of snap to the crust.
akitabogart

Jan 21, 2018

Delicious, easy recipe, I prefer to add the chocolate chips into the batter instead of sprinkling on top. Yummy.
JoycemRhodes

Sep 1, 2017

Its Sept. 1, 2017 and I made these this morning and they are wonderful. and I will make them again.
2124arizona

Jul 22, 2017

We love these bars. They're so easy to fix!!
2124arizona

Jul 22, 2017

These bars arecso good and easy to prepare!
MonnaL

Jul 21, 2017

I always make these exactly as the recipe states, but sometimes use chunky peanut and sometimes use creamy. Also, I sometimes use old fashioned oats. Always delicious and get rave reviews. This is my go to recipe when I want a quick, impressive cookie to share. Thank you for this recipe that makes me look like an awesome baker!