Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Bars
Published 7/19/2019 โข Updated 7/18/2023
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These Oatmeal Peanut Butter Cookie Bars are about to change your life. They’re gooey on the inside, made with wholesome ingredients, and kid-friendly! This oatmeal cookie bars recipe uses all-natural sugar (hey, maple syrup!), white whole wheat flour, rolled oats, and all-natural peanut butter to keep these peanut butter oatmeal bars healthy and better-for-you! It’s Friday and you deserve a COOKIE BAR. But, these aren’t you average peanut butter cookie bars… They’re Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars. You guys died over this sneak peek on Instagram stories, so we rejiggered our content calendar to get these up ASAP. We also made them two more times to make sure they’re perfect…and, well, they are! These peanut butter oatmeal bars are a spin-off of our Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars, but we added in some rolled oats and white whole wheat flour for more of a traditional cookie bar texture. This recipe is gooey, satisfying, and just the best. They’re not too sweet and you don’t have to worry about refined sugars because these peanut butter cookie bars are made with maple syrup and you can use vegan chocolate chips to keep things 100% dairy free. Here’s what else you need:
Peanut Butter Cookie Bars Ingredients
- Rolled Oats
- White Whole Wheat Flour
- Cinnamon
- Mini Chocolate Chips
- All Natural Peanut Butter
- Eggs
- Maple Syrup
- Vanilla Extract
Best All-Natural Peanut Butter Brands
- Smuckers (ALL-TIME FAV)
- Whole Foods
- Fresh Thyme
- Costco
- Trader Joe’s
Peanut Butter Cookie Bar Swaps
- White whole wheat flour –> I recommend swapping with either all-purpose, whole wheat flour, or a gluten-free flour blend. Swap recommendation is 1:1. Note: Do not swap 1:1 for a nut-based flour such as almond flour, coconut flour, etc.
- Peanut butter –> Good news! Any kind of nut butter works for this recipe! My favorite other than peanut butter is cashew butter! Swap recommendation is 1:1.
- Maple syrup –> If you’re hoping to swap the maple syrup for another kind of sugar, make sure you use a liquid sweetener such as honey or agave. Swap recommendation is 1:1.
Storage
Store these delicious peanut butter oatmeal bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Freezer instructions: to freeze, place cooled bars on a cookie sheet. Then, freeze for 1 hour. Transfer bars from cookie sheet to a freezer-safe gallon-size bag. Remove as much air as possible and freeze for up to 3 months.More Healthy Dessert Recipes
Looking for more healthy dessert recipes just like this? Check out some of our favorites below!- Pumpkin Almond Butter Freezer Fudge
- Vegan Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
- Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies
- Fresh Cherry Crisp
- Grain-Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup rolled oats
- 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- pinch of salt
- 1/3 cup mini chocolate chips
Wet Ingredients
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup creamy peanut butter
- 1/2 cup maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and spray an 8×8 baking pan with non-stick cooking spray or line with parchment paper.
- Next, add all of your dry ingredients to a bowl and mix well. Set aside.
- In a separate bowl, whisk your eggs. Then add the rest of your wet ingredients to the eggs. Mix well.
- Slowly add your dry ingredients to wet ingredients. When ingredients are well combined, pour dough into your baking pan. Spread evenly.
- Bake at 350ºF for 15-18 minutes (depending on your oven) and how gooey you want your bars).
Tips & Notes
- Option to sub any other drippy nut butter such as cashew or almond for the peanut butter.
- Option to sub the white whole wheat flour for a gluten-free flour blend. We do not recommend subbing for coconut flour.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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This is my all time favorite sweet treat to make! Super easy to throw together with ingredients I always keep in my pantry, and sooo delicious!
I love these tooooo! SO GOOD.
Light and fluffie! Used 1/3 c agave since I wanted it let sweet and didnโt have maple syrup. Thanks for the recipe.
So glad you loved these!
My 4 year old said, “yum! Good job mom” when I made these๐
LOL!!! I love this so much.
These came out perfect! I cooked them for 17 minutes at 350 and did not have any issues with goopiness or dryness. They are super chocolatey and peanutbuttery! Will definitely make again soon ๐
YAY! Glad you loved them!
I had the same issue with the soppy middle after baking for the suggested time! I did end up baking an extra 10 minutes and they solidified for the most part!! If anyone has that issue, I would continue baking (maybe do a foil tent) until set. ๐
I don’t get what went wrong since it seems other people followed the recipe and got a solid product. Mine turned out not gooey, but goupy. There’s no cutting it into bars, it’s just like batter. It was starting to get too brown around the edges, and it rose, but when I pulled it out it was jiggly and it sank in the middle after ten minutes or so. I wonder if there’s supposed to be more than a cup oats, or more than 1/4 cup of flour? The wet ingredients outweigh the dry.
I’ve made this recipe 10+ times and have never had an issue! Did you make any flour swaps? Or maple swaps?
I was excited for these bars. Sadly I found them to be quite a let down. Way too much cinnamon. Overpowers all the peanut and chocolate and vanilla flavors. Came out very fluffy as well. Definitely not gooey.
I had the same results. I did substitute Whole Wheat flour for white, but I don’t know if that was the issue. Maybe I should have pulled them from the oven earlier. If I make again, I will bake for less time and use less cinnamon.
Fit Foodie recipes never disappoint, these were awesome! My husband is a sucker for anything PB & Chocolate (well, so am I) and it’s great to have a healthier option. I subbed honey for the maple syrup and we gobbled these gooey bars right up.
Love!!! I swapped out chocolate chips for a mix of white chocolate and peanut butter chips. Tastes like a warm peanut butter and fluff blonde. SO GOOD!!!
Ugh so good, right?!
Mine turned out dry and I followed instructions through. Any suggestions?