Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Perfectly equal parts chewy, crusty, and soft, thesePeanut Butter Oatmeal CookieBarsare one of the best chocolate-peanut butter cookie desserts around. This simple dessert recipe, made with chocolate chips, is prepared in only 30 minutes!

If you’re a fan of oatmeal chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies,buckle up.These Peanut Butter Oat Jumbles are basically the bar version of both of those beloved cookies — COMBINED. I know, life really is that good. I love these for when I need to throw togethera quick dessert—who has time to scoop out a bunch of cookie dough into balls, anyway?

The bottom oatmeal andpeanut butter cookiecrust gets covered with irresistible melted chocolate, which makes the crust super soft and chewy after baking. The top “jumbles,” those little hunks of the cookie dough that get baked on top of the layer of chocolate goo, become perfectly crunchy, almost like a streusel, but cookie-fied. Yum.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Quick and Easy:there are only a couple steps and 12-15 minutes baking time between you and a whole pan of deliciousness.
• Versatile:You can easily change up the chocolate layer by using a different kind of chip (butterscotch, white chocolate, etc.) or using nuts in place of the oats
• Simple Ingredients: It uses basic pantry staples like peanut butter, oats, and chocolate chips, making it convenient to whip up anytime without needing to make a special trip to the store.

Ingredients

• Shortening
• Butter
• Brown Sugar
• White Sugar
• Peanut Butter
• Eggs
• All-Purpose Flour
• Baking Soda
• Salt
• Old-Fashioned or Rolled Oats
• Chocolate Chips
• Sweetened Condensed Milk

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

Popular Substitutions and Variations

• Subbutterscotch chips or white chocolate chipsfor the chocolate chips.
• Usechopped walnuts or pecansin place of oatmeal.
• Try almond, cashew, oat, or your favorite nut butterrather than peanut butter.
• If you don’t have or don’t want to use shortening,you can use butter, margarine, or coconut oil in it’s place. Just keep in mind that butter and margarine have a tiny bit of moisture in them so you may have to add a bit of flour to make up for it.

How to Make Peanut Butter Oatmeal Jumbles

Step #1.Preheat the oven them combine the shortening, sugars, and butter. Add the peanut butter and mix.

Step #3.In a small pan or double boiler, combine the chocolate, heating just until melted.

Step #2.Add eggs, one at a time. Add all the dry ingredients and mix well.

Step #4.Spread 2/3 of the cookie mixture over the bottom of a jelly roll pan. Top with the chocolate mixture. Break up and sprinkle the remaining cookie mixture over the top. Bake 12-15 minutes until the top pieces are golden. Let cool before serving.

Recipe FAQs

Expert Tips

• Watch the bars closely at the end of the bakingtime so that they don’t go beyond golden brown.
• Use creamy peanut butter.Crunchy is acceptable but it will change the texture a little.
• If you prefer a less sweet bar,use dark chocolate chips.

How to Store Peanut Butter Oatmeal Jumbles

• Store the cooled bars in an airtight container for up to one week.
• These bars freeze well!Cut into squares and store in a freezer bag or airtight container for up to two months.

This post was originally published in 2010 and has been updated and rephotographed in June 2019.