Ingredients and what they do
- 1 (17.5 oz) bag oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix
Provides flour, sugar, leavening, oats, and chocolate chips in one step, acting as the base dough just as seen in “semi-homemade” cookie bar recipes. - 1 cup rolled oats
Adds extra texture, chew, and heartiness, similar to how rolled oats are added to from-scratch peanut butter oatmeal bars. - 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Boosts chocolate throughout the bars; many recipes add extra chips even when using a mix for more pockets of chocolate. - 2 large eggs
Bind the mixture and help set the bars firmly enough to slice cleanly, matching egg use in most cookie bar formulas. - 1 cup peanut butter
Adds intense peanut flavor, moisture, and some fat, giving the bars a fudgy, almost blondie-like texture, as in other peanut butter oatmeal bar recipes. - 1/4 cup heavy cream
Loosens the thick dough slightly and adds richness so the baked bars stay soft; similar recipes use milk or cream to keep bars from drying out.
Step-by-step instructions
Prep the pan and oven
Preheat your oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9×9-inch baking dish with parchment paper or lightly spray with cooking spray. Most peanut butter oatmeal bar recipes use an 8×8 or 9×9 pan at 350°F for thick bars with chewy centers.
Mix the dry ingredients
In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the oatmeal chocolate chip cookie mix, rolled oats, and extra semi-sweet chocolate chips until evenly combined. Coating the chips and oats in the dry mix helps distribute them evenly, a common step in cookie bar recipes.
Add eggs, peanut butter, and cream
Using a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat in the eggs, peanut butter, and heavy cream until a thick, cohesive dough forms. The mixture will be dense but spreadable, similar to other peanut butter oatmeal cookie bar doughs.
Scrape down the bowl as needed to ensure everything is fully incorporated.
Press into the pan
Spread the dough into the prepared 9×9-inch pan. Use a spatula or your hands to press it into an even, thick layer, reaching all the corners. Pressing firmly into an even layer is standard advice in bar cookie recipes so they bake uniformly.
Bake
Bake for 25–35 minutes, or until the bars are cooked through and the edges are just starting to turn golden brown. Similar peanut butter oatmeal bar recipes indicate they’re done when the top is set, edges are lightly golden, and the center no longer looks wet.
If you prefer softer, gooier bars, lean toward the shorter baking time; for firmer, more cookie-like bars, leave them in closer to 35 minutes.
Cool and slice
Allow the bars to cool completely in the pan. Cooling in the pan (often 45–60 minutes) is recommended in oat bar recipes so they firm up and slice cleanly.
Once cool, lift the bars out using the parchment overhang (if lined), then cut into squares.
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