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OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP PEANUT BUTTER BARS
These oatmeal chocolate chip peanut butter bars just happen to be my very favorite recipes on this blog. It was one of the first recipes I ever posted and it’s still made at least monthly at my house.
Soft cookie bars loaded with all the good stuff in life! Peanut butter, chocolate chips, oats, peanut butter chips. They’re literally perfect.
INGREDIENTS NEEDED TO MAKE COOKIE BARS
To make these oatmeal chocolate chip cookie bars you will need the usual ingredients like butter, vanilla extract, flour, baking soda, salt, sugar, brown sugar, peanut butter chips, and chocolate chips.
Old-Fashioned Oats – This recipe specifically calls for the regular, old-fashioned oats. Meaning, NOT the instant or quick oats that cook in 1 minute. Sure you could try substituting, but this recipe has been tested and retested with the old-fashioned oats.
Peanut Butter – Please do not use all-natural peanut butter for this recipe. You want the oil and all the goodness from the regular creamy peanut butter. The all natural stuff is too dry which will result in a very dry and crumbly cookie bar.
Egg + Egg Yolk – Yes it seems odd but just do it. Save the extra egg white for something else or throw it away. The extra egg yolk adds moisture and fat and just makes these bars totally scrumptious.
MY TIPS FOR THESE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIE BARS
- The #1 tip for this recipe is to NOT OVERBAKE. I know it seems like a no brainer, but trust me, the bars will still be pale and you will think that they’re not done. But they are! Pull them out, let them cool in the pan and I promise they will set up and come together nicely but still be so super soft.
- I get asked all the time if the peanut butter can be substituted. No it can’t. They are peanut butter cookie bars after all, so if you can’t eat peanut butter then I would go with a different recipe like these chocolate chip blondie bars. Same idea but no peanut butter.
- I have never, in my hundreds of times making these, baked them for longer than 15 minutes. Set your timer for 14-15 minutes and go from there. You want the edges to be pulled away from the pan and very lightly golden and the middle of the bars should still look pale. That’s a good thing. You don’t want any golden brown color on the bars.
TRY THESE OTHER OATMEAL CHOCOLATE CHIP RECIPES
Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup whole-grain old fashioned oats (not quick oats)
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 cup peanut butter chips
- 1 cup chocolate chips semi-sweet, milk chocolate, or miniature
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan and set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt and oats.
- In a large bowl, or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, and sugar until fluffy looking and light in color, 2-3 minutes.
- Add in the vanilla, egg and egg yolk. Mix together well.
- Add the dry ingredients into the wet and mix just until combined.
- Add chocolate chips and peanut butter chips and combine together.
- Press the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for 15-18 minutes or until lightly browned on the edges. The bars will still look pale and slightly underdone in the middle. That's ok. Don't over bake or the bars will be dry!
- Let the bars cool in the baking pan for 20-30 minutes. Cut into squares and enjoy!
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Did You Make This Recipe?
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I want to be one of those people that can eat an entire pie and not gain an ounce. Where do I sign up for that?! I feel you on the airport story. I would look like a mess too, I am sure. That is a long time to keep little ones occupied! These bars look great. They have all of my favorite ingredients! Pinning to make soon!
haha, thanks Carlee! I really want that sign up sheet too 🙂 Thanks fo pinning! Hope you and your family have a great weekend.
They look great!
Thanks Natasha 🙂
Great recipe. Thank you and have another wonderful weekend as they come and go so fast.
Thanks Liz. I hope you have a great weekend too. I feel like the week goes so slow and then the weekend gets here, and it’s gone in a flash!
This sounds SOOOOO good!!! What happens if you use quick oats? Could I add extra to give it the thickness the whole ones would give it? Thanks!!!
I would not add extra. Quick oats tend to dry things out, in my opinion at least. You could try quick oats. I’ve had others use all quick or all old-fashioned in my other recipes (like the no flour monster cookie bars) and they have been fine. I’m probably just really picky about the oats and texture…. 🙂 I’ve never made these bars with all quick oats so I can’t promise anything.
I made these 2 days ago with all quick oats and we loved them! Maybe they are drier than yours, however. I just have a ton of quick oats and it works. This is a delicious, easy recipe! Thank you again!
Hi Anne, so happy to hear that all quick oats worked out just fine! Growing up baking with my mom, I was taught that the quick oats and regular oats are very interchangeable, so I am glad to hear that it worked in these bars 🙂 Thanks for coming back and leaving your comment.
As a peanut butter and chocolate fan, I HAD to pin this! ? I’m glad I checked in before making this because I caught your update about the all natural peanut butter. Good to know since I was about to use an all natural one! Do you have a favorite peanut butter brand for this recipe? Thanks!
I love Peter Pan brand of peanut butter. I think it may be an East Coast thing (or so I’ve heard??) You would be good with any peanut butter as long as it’s not natural. I normally don’t buy it but it was on a crazy good sale so I did. That’s the reason I used it to make these bars. I’ll never do it again 🙂 🙂
Do you think there’s any reason I couldn’t make these as cookies, as opposed to bars? Thanks in advance!
I would say no, but then again I’ve never tried it. You could always experiment and see. If not, search on Pinterest for ‘oatmeal chocolate chip peanut butter cookies’ and I’m sure something will pop up. Good luck 🙂
They were delicious! It reminded me of a Pizookie, so I served it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It was a hit with my family and my bible study group!!!
I want to be in your bible study 🙂 I agree with the pizookie, these do have that same texture. Now I must try it with ice cream. Yummy! So glad you loved them and thanks for coming back to leave your comment!
I checked my cupboard and had everything but creamy peanut butter. Can I substitute crunchy peanut butter?
Hi Shirley. You probably could. The bars may not be as soft, but then again I have never tried it so it may work great 🙂 The only thing I would say to definitely not use is ‘all natural’ peanut butter’. I did try that one time and it was just bad. Let me know if you try use the crunchy peanut butter, I’d love to know how it goes.
AMAZING!!!! I ate the whole pan in a week by myself because I was home alone opps! Totally recommend, I didn’t have pb chips so I omitted them and still was awesome!
So glad you loved them! And trust me, I have eaten more than my fair share at times of these bars too. I usually have to get to the pan first before my son. They’re his favorite. Thanks so much for coming back to leave your comment.
Made these tonight. Scrumptious!! I regularly made a similar recipe for my three sons when they were living at home. This one is better. Love the addition of pb chips. Thank you for sharing.
You’re welcome! I’m so glad you loved these. I make them regularly for my 4 kids. They can’t ever seem to get enough of them. Thanks so much for coming back to let me know!
Hi! I want to make these soooooooo bad cause I love chocolate chips and oatmeal and peanut butter together. It’s like one of my favorite things. The only problem is I don’t have any peanut butter chips and have no way of getting to the store. Can I sub in Reese peanut butter cups for the peanut butter chips if I chop them up and if so how many cups would I use?Thanks in advance for a reply!
Hi Renee! These are our favorite. I hope you love them! Using peanut butter cups instead of peanut butter chips would be just fine. It sounds amazing actually ? Just use an equal amount (I think it’s 1 cup) of the chopped up pb cups.
Thank you so much for the reply. I will be sure to try these today for sure!
just came across this recipe and my husband is making them now as I read off the recipe.( I am recovering from shoulder surgery ) had all but the peanut butter chips soo chocolate only…. I am sure it will be yummy. Will post later?
We love these bars! I hope you guys do too. Good luck in your recovery from surgery 🙂
These were ok. I used mini Reece’s peanut butter cups and semi sweet chocolate chips. I baked them for 15 min and they were too dry.
Darn! Yes, if you cook these for too long they will be dry. It took me a few tries with my oven to get the perfect cook time. You want to pull these bars out while they look underdone still. Once they cool they will come together nicely. Sorry they were dry. That’s no fun!
I only have quick cook oatmeal…..will that work okay?
It should work just fine. I have never used quick oats in this recipe but I am sure it would turn out just fine.
I found this recipe sometime last summer, I think. And, oh my goodness these bars are so amazing!
And the recipe could not be easier! On occasion I will use butterscotch in place of the peanut butter chips, just for variety. I have also used white chocolate chips in place of the semi-sweet before and that is also very good! Thank you so much for sharing this little slice of heaven with those of us on Pinterest!
Thank you so much Judy! We love these bars too and I am so glad you do as well. I love your additions. The butterscotch chips sound heavenly and I need to try that when I make these again. Which is often 🙂 Thanks for your sweet comment.
For the oatmeal choc chip peanut butter bars, do you use salted or unsalted butter? I’m going to guess unsalted since the recipe already has salt in it . When a receipe don’t specify, do you use unsalted ? Thanks ?
Do you use salted or unsalted butter if it’s not specified
I always use salted butter. My opinion is that if a recipe does not specify salted or unsalted then you use salted. I’ve tried using unsalted in baked goods and it just does not taste very good. Not as rich of flavorful with unsalted butter. Hope that helps 🙂
I would love to make these bars, but I don’t have a 9×13 pan. Do you have a recipe for an 8×8 or 9×9 pan? Thank you so much…
I don’t, so sorry. You could always use 2 8-inch pans instead of the larger one. Divide the dough between the 2 smaller ones.
Wow. Thanks for the reply. I would definitely try that.
Have you baked these and then frozen them?? I’m very much about preparing stuff ahead of time and freezing just about everything. Just wanted to know how you think it’d turn out. Thanks!
I have never tried freezing these. Honestly, they don’t last long enough at my house to freeze them 🙂 I tend to not like freezing cookies or bars with flour in them…. maybe that’s just my personal preference. I am sure they would be fine frozen. Let sit out on the counter for a bit or even microwave them for a warm treat. Yum! I freeze these bars all the time if you want to try them https://togetherasfamily.com/2017/01/no-flour-monster-cookie-bars-2/
Did you freeze these and how was it\thawing etc?
Sooo yummy ….?…. waiting to try those awesome mouth watering bars….?
🙂 Waiting is always the hardest part!
Have you ever made a double batch of these? Would the recipe be altered at all or just simply double everything?
I have never made a double batch but it can easily be done. Just double all ingredients and either used a cookie sheet (13×18 roughly) or use 2 9×13 baking pans. I’ve never doubled it but when I do double a 9×13 recipe it usually works just fine in a cookie sheet. You’ll just have to watch the cooking time. Unless of course you cook one 9×13 at a time 🙂
These were AMAZING!! I did see why you suggested letting them cool before eating. I couldn’t wait and had to taste while still hot from the oven. I was disappointed! However, after these cooled completely, they were absolutely delicious! Thank you for a wonderful recipe!!
Yes, it’s amazing how much better they get while cooling. You’re very welcome and I am so happy they turned out well for you 🙂
I made these twice this week for my family! I live at 5,000 ft altitude so I had to use about 2 tbs less sugar and I had to add 1/2 of water. I also added chia seeds for the second batch- to add in some extra antioxidants! So good!!!!
1/2 Cup of water that is!
I would like to subscribe to your newsletter!
Hi Dawn. I actually don’t have a newsletter right now, they are quite a bit of work to send out every week. It is something I’m planning on getting very soon. I’ve had lots of requests for one. Thank you for being here ☺️
These bars are FABULOUS! And, you are spot on when advising us to not over bake. I forgot put sprinkle some chips on top, so I drizzled with warmed peanut butter. Definitely a keeper!
Oh my, drizzled with pb!!! I think I am going to have to try that. So glad you loved these bars, they get made all the time at my house 🙂 Thanks for coming back to leave your comment and rating.
I need these in my pie hole right now! But I only have natural PB, if by that you mean the kind with no added sugar and that needs to be in the fridge. Any suggestions on making it work?
I have hear from readers who have made these using the natural pb (no added sugar stuff) makes them dry. I don’t know how to compensate for that in the recipe if that’s what you choose to use. I made them one time, mistakenly, with natural pb (although it was not the refrigerated kind) and I thought the texture was different and the bars were drier. You could always experiment and see what you think about it. Maybe I am just picky, and the bars will actually be delicious to you 🙂
Why do you use one egg yolk instead of just 2 whole eggs? I don’t like to waste and I don’t like fussing with separating. Would it work ok with 2 whole eggs?
The point of the egg yolk is to add richness and moisture to the bars. I personally love the addition of an egg yolk but yes you could try making these with just two eggs. Although, I don’t think they would turn well because the 2 eggs would make them more cake like. With the added egg yolk, they are soft and rich, and just really delicious. I make eggs almost very morning so when I only use an egg yolk, I will save the egg white and scramble it in with the eggs in the morning. Just a thought if you don’t want to waste the egg white part 🙂
these are going on the list to make for camping this weekend. They sound great and something everyone will like.
I do enjoy reading the comments. You are very patient with your answers to some!
I didn’t know separating an egg was a fussy job. It literally takes 2 seconds with an egg separator. 🙂
Take care~!
I love when people comment, good or bad comments, etc. It seriously makes my day. I want my blog to help people so I am ok with the “fussy comments” haha 🙂 I bet these bars won’t last long camping! I hope you all enjoy them as much as we do.
These bars are awesome! I love peanut butter chocolate chip cookies and I love oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. This combination and making as bars (so much easier) is awesome.
So good but so dangerous for those with a sweet tooth!
Hi Jessica,
I live in The Netherlands and I came across your recipe through Pinterest. Absolutely loving these bars!! Was a bit of an issue to find peanut butter drops here though, they are very expensive and are only sold through international supermarkets, so I decided to make some peanut butter brittle myself and this even enhances the taste! I do a lot of home cooking for other people, and these bars will definitely be on the menu, thanks a lot!
Oh wow! That peanut butter brittle sounds amazing. Netherlands is on my travel list! So glad you found me here 🙂
WONDERFUL recipe! So soft and peanut buttery, I love them so much. I made them for teacher appreciation week, one of our favorite teachers has already emailed to tell me how great they are! Thank you for such a great recipe!!
You’re very welcome! And so glad they were a hit with the teachers. Teachers definitely deserve a treat 🙂
This is my new favorite go-to dessert!! So delicious, I had 3 before they had even cooled down! I used caramel chips in place of peanut butter chips because that’s what I had on hand and oh my what a pleasant surprise it was!! The morning after I made them I had two for breakfast because they contain oatmeal and oatmeal = breakfast, right?
Yes totally, oatmeal = breakfast! 🙂 I love the idea of caramel chips. I may have to try that one. Thank you so much for taking the time to leave your comment.
These are great! I used white chocolate chips instead of chocolate. Yum!
I just made these during our social distancing here in PA due to COVID-19. Anyway, they are AMAZING! We did not have peanut butter chips, so I substituted white chocolate chips instead. I may make this 10 more times this weekend 🙂 Thank you!!
I’ve already made these once during our semi-quarantine over here too! I love the idea of white chocolate chips. Thanks for leaving your comment. Enjoy and stay healthy!
You’re right. Bake time is a game changer. There’s nothing worse than a dessert that’s browned. So excited to make these. I only have unsalted butter and am trying to avoid unnecessary trips to the store. How much salt should I add? Thanks!
If using unsalted butter I would maybe just add an additional 1/4 teaspoons salt to the recipe. It won’t need much more than that with the peanut butter in the recipe.
Finally got around to making these. Thanks for the recipe! They turned out perfectly and I’m no one’s idea of a baker. The specific instructions about not over cooking were much appreciated. My only complaint was how hard it was to spread the batter in my pan. I had to stop myself from switching to a smaller pan as I was struggling to cover the bottom. I also had to talk myself out of putting the pan into the oven briefly to melt the dough a bit. I was really struggling to spread it. My butter and eggs were at room temp, which was about 67° in my kitchen. Is this normal? I’d say it was worth it in the end, but any hints for making it less of a challenge?
The dough is a bit harder to spread as it’s a thicker dough. It should not be so difficult that it takes forever tho. It helps if you drop spoonful’s of the dough all over the baking dish and then spread it all out evenly. Maybe try that next time and hopefully that helps.
Following up to my earlier post about the dough bring hard to spread. I place a sheet of wax paper over the dollops of dough in the pan and press it into place. The wax paper lifts cleanly off, leaving an even layer. My 7th or 8th batch is in the oven as we speak. Thanks again for the great recipe! (I accidentally pulled out the lemon extract instead of the vanilla and few drops made it into the dough before I caught my mistake. I’ll let you know if anything interesting happens.)
You are so welcome! Thanks for leaving your comment with your tip on the wax paper. That is so helpful because trying to spread this dough is always work, but I bet that wax paper makes it easy. I will for sure try that next time. Thanks!
Thank you! These bars are fast, easy and delicious! I wanted to use up three almost-empty jars of nut butters, so here’s what I used: 1/3 C almond butter, 1/3 C natural peanut butter, and 1/3 C Skippy Extra Chunky, blended well together before adding anything else. So, I tripled the “peanut butter” … but I figured that would work because oats are so absorbent. Also, didn’t have PB chips so I used 1 1/2 C of chocolate chips. A+!
Ok, these are our new family favorite! I have literally made them every week since I found them. Exactly as posted=perfection! ❤️
Delicious. Loved by children and adults. Will be making these often.
Can I freeze these? Thank you
Yes that would work just fine 🙂 Let thaw at room temperature or microwave it.
I made these today and used quick oats. They are fabulous. I also chopped and added a cup of walnuts and semi sweet m&m’s. My husband is a huge peanut butter lover.
Thanks for sharing
grandchildren loved ! Put walnuts in the adults ! Thank U !
Also didn’t have pb chips but they were fine with extra cc’s !
THANK YOU ? for including the note about altitude!! I just moved from sea level to over 4500 ft and I’m going nuts trying to alter all my recipes so they work. It’s really tricky. It’s so helpful when folks take the time to mention it already. Can’t wait to try these!
These are really good
Do you think I could substitute apple sauce or something else for the egg? My son is allergic to eggs. Thank you!
I am not familiar with egg substitutions so I can’t say for sure especially since it’s an allergy and I don’t want to tell you the wrong thing. So sorry! I do know there are egg substitutes out there but you may have to google them or something because I just don’t know enough to properly tell someone.
What kind of 9×13 pan did you use? I have a Pyrex baking (casserole) glass dish but not a metal one. Will that work or did you mean a metal baking dish? I have a half sheet metal pan do you have suggestions on cooking time for half sheet ( 18 x 13). Thanks!
You need a 9×13 baking pan for this recipe. I use a metal one from the brand USA Bakeware. I get them on amazon and they’re my favorite. I don’t like baking with glass pans so I always use a dark nonstick pan or a metal pan.
I used a 9×13 glass Pyrex dish and just greased like your instructions stated. I did not have peanut butter morsels, so I used a cup of butterfinger baking pieces, I also used one egg and a 4 oz container of unsweetened applesauce (my secret ingredient for all my baking goods). I believe my oatmeal was either quick oats or old fashion (don’t remember since they are now in a container versus the original package), they are really good, although after 30 minutes they were still to warm to cut.
These are amazing! I’ve made them 3x this week and gave some to family who loved them! I press a little over half into a 8×8 pan so I can fit it in the toaster oven, then bake the rest in a smaller dish. They come out a little thicker and perfectly gooey & chewy! Be sure to not be tempted to over bake and you will have perfect bars every time 🙂
I made these today, I didn’t have anything but natural peanut butter, and I read what you said about them turning out dry, so I added about a tablespoon or so of oil to the recipe, and also added some chopped pecans. It came out perfect, and SO tasty. Thank you, I will be making these all the time! 🙂
What a clever fix when using natural peanut butter! So glad it worked out. Thanks for your comment, I appreciate it.
These are our absolute favorite! We make them WAY to often! lol
They go together quickly and easily, with ingredients that we always have. Even the 13 year olds love making them.
Love to hear it! Thank you for sharing!
Delicious! I made these just a few minutes ago and they are very good. I didn’t have peanut butter chips so I used butterscotch chips instead. This a keeper recipe! Thank you!!
So happy to hear you liked it! Great idea to use butterscotch chips!
Just okay.
these are some of the best I have ever had. so moist and yummy.
It’s delicious as is…I wouldn’t change a thing about the recipe.