These sheet panChocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Barsare rich, soft, and full of flavor! Making these cookie bars is a breeze since they only use a handful of kitchen staples.

When it comes to easy-to-make desserts,cookie barsare a classic! My oatmeal cookie bars are no exception. These are great when you need to take adessert to a large gathering. Half the batch can stay at your house and half the batch can go with dinner.

The chocolate, oatmeal, and peanut butter come together perfectly to create the perfect balance of sweet and salty flavors. Next time you are looking foran easy-to-make dessert, give these oatmeal cookie bars a go! You will not be disappointed!

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

The peanut butter and chocolate provide the perfect balance of sweet and savory flavors.
You can easily double or triple the recipeif you’re serving a crowd.
These bars can be stored long term in the freezer.
You can modify these bars with some added ingredients to make deliciousmagic cookie bars

Recipe Ingredients

Oats—Old fashioned or rolled.
Milk—To soften the oats.
Butter—To help dissolve the sugars.
Peanut Butter—Creamy, not crunchy.
Vanilla—Amplifies the sweetness of the cookie bars.
Baking Soda—To give the cookie bars a little bit of rise.
Flour—All-purpose.
Chocolate Chips—Gives the cookie bars a sweet, decadent coating.

See the recipe card below for full information on ingredients and quantities

How to Make Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Preheat your oven. Whisk together the oats and milk in a medium sized mixing bowl.
Use a hand mixer or stand mixer to cream the butter and sugars together in a large mixing bowl.
Whisk in the peanut butter followed by the eggs and vanilla.
Gently whisk in the flour and baking soda until it is fully incorporated with the creamed sugar mixture.
Fold in the oat mixture and then pour the mixture into a large jelly roll pan.
Bake the cookie bars until golden brown.
Spread the chocolate chips over the cookie bars as they come out of the oven. Slice, serve, and enjoy!

Recipe FAQs

What kind of oatmeal is best for cookies?

In oatmeal cookies, old-fashioned oats will give you a chewier texture, and quick oats will be slightly less chewy, but the flavor is the same. It’s really personal preference which one you like better for baking. For this recipe, I like the chewier old-fashioned oats, but both kinds work great.

Should I use smooth or creamy peanut butter?

Smooth and creamy peanut butter works best in this recipe. Crunchy peanut butter can cause the bars to become a little bit dry and will be more difficult to incorporate into the batter.

Expert Tips

Love dark chocolate?Feel free to use semi-sweet chocolate chips. Really,you can use any chocolate chips you like or have on hand(peanut butter is also awesome!).
This recipeworks best with traditional creamy peanut butter. When I tried it with natural peanut butter,it was a bit dry.
You can use quick oatsin this recipe; it’ll work just great. The texture will be slightly less chewy than when you use old-fashioned oats.
If you don’t have any peanut butter or oats them you can still make theseclassicchocolate chip cookie bars
You can store these bars on the counter forup to 5 dayscovered with plastic wrap or stored in an airtight container.

How to Freeze Your Cookie Bars

In addition to storing your bars on the counter, you can also store them in the freezer. Once the cookie bars are baked, cut, and cooled, they freeze great. Just store them in a single layer (or with parchment or waxed paper between layers) in an air-tight container up to 2 months.