Peanut Butter Oat Bars have been a family favorite ever since we were introduced to them by our amazing “Auntie M”. She’s such a warm, compassionate and caring woman whose love extends and supports her family and friends. One day she made these and thus it became another tradition required to be made during the holidays or really anytime the mood strikes. My kiddles(grandchildren) thought these resembled granola bars because of the oatmeal. I had to giggle a bit on that one. They are simple to make and tend to disappear quickly, so I cut the pan into 64 pieces to better ration out the quantity each can eat. The original recipe came from a Taste of Home magazine from about 15 years ago.
Melt the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla. Blend until smooth then pour it into the oatmeal and stir until well combined.
Press into a pan lined with parchment paper, non-stick foil, or sprayed pan. I used a small roller to help spread out the base evenly in the pan. Bake for 12-14 minutes.
While the base is baking, melt the peanut butter, milk chocolate chips and butterscotch chips in the microwave for about a minute and stir. If chips are still visible, heat for another 15-20 seconds and stir until smooth in appearance.
Remove pan from oven and allow to cool a couple of minutes before spreading this on top of oatmeal base.
Place pan in the refrigerator to chill for about an hour or two. The chocolate will firm up so it’s easier to cut. Peel back the foil liner and cut into 8 strips vertically and horizontally.
Once cut and taste-tested, store in the refrigerator in a container or Ziploc bags. Give some these Peanut Butter Oat Bars away so you don’t eat it all yourself !
- ⅔ c. butter
- ¼ c. creamy peanut butter
- 1 c. light brown sugar
- ¼ c. light corn syrup
- ½ t. vanilla oil
- 4 c. quick cooking oats/old-fashioned oats
- Topping:
- 1 c. milk chocolate chips
- ½ c. butterscotch chips
- ⅓ c. creamy peanut butter
- In the microwave, melt butter with the peanut butter, brown sugar, corn syrup and vanilla for about a minute. Stir until smooth.
- Place oats in a large bowl and stir in melted mixture. Toss to evenly coat the oats.
- Pour oat mixture into a 13" x 9" x 2" pan lined with either parchment paper or non-stick foil.
- Press down evenly. If you have a small roller, this would work well to help pack it down evenly in the pan.
- Bake at 400 degrees for 12-14 minutes.
- Melt topping ingredients in a glass bowl in the microwave for about one minute and stir. If there are still lumps from the chips, microwave about 20 more seconds. Stir until smooth.
- Spread over warm baked oats. Place in the fridge for a couple of hour allowing the topping to harden.
- Slice into desired bar lengths.
- Store in a closed container or ziploc bag.
