Today's O' Henry bars were inspired by a candy bar introduced in the 1920s called Oh Henry! Made with peanuts, caramel and fudge, some say Oh Henry! was named for a boy who frequented the Williams Candy factory in Chicago, where the bar was invented. Nobody really knows, but claims that it was named after the author or the baseball player have been refuted.
O' Henry in Bar Cookie Form
It's been a long time since I tried an actual Oh Henry! bar. It was from a vending machine somewhere, and from what I recall it was harder. In these gluten-free bar cookies, the chewy texture of the oats and flavor of the peanut butter come together to mimic the flavors and texture of the bar, but it's not actually candy.
As always, if making these for someone who is gluten-free, double check all ingredient list and make sure every ingredients is listed as gluten-free.
Recipe
O' Henry Bars
Ingredients
- 6 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened (84 grams)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ¼ cup brown sugar (50 grams)
- ¼ cup granulated sugar (50 grams)
- ¼ cup dark corn syrup
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 2 cups quick cooking oats
- ½ cup semi-sweet or dark chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup good crunchy peanut butter (85-90 grams)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. Line inside of an 8-inch square metal baking pan with foil and grease foil. For thinner bars, you can try a 9-inch square pan.
- Cream the butter, salt and both sugars. Stir in the syrup, vanilla and the oats. Press mixture into the pan and bake for about 18 minutes (15 if using a 9-inch pan) or until edges are lightly browned.
- Let cool. It's best to let it cool completely, but I'll admit to putting the topping on while these were still warm.
- Topping: put the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small microwave-safe bowl. I like to use my 2 cup Pyrex measuring cup. Heat for 30 seconds. Stir until fully melted. Depending on the power of your microwave, you might need to heat for another 10-20 seconds to fully melt the chips.
- Pour the chocolate over the bars and forget about them until the chocolate sets. To speed things up, you can put them in the refrigerator. I thought these tasted better chilled. Lift from pan and cut into 16 squares.
Julianne says
Oh wow, I discovered O'Henry bars when I went to Canada and for 2 weeks I became seriously addicted. To come back to the UK and do cold turkey was terrible 😉 I'm definitely going to give your recipe a go - thanks for igniting some wonderful memories!
Jennifer says
I've never had an O'Henry bar, but these look delicious. Do you think they'd turn out using creamy peanut butter? My kids don't like crunchy, so I routinely just buy creamy.
natalie (the sweets life) says
I *think* these are similar to some bars our college dining hall used to make that i LOVED! can't wait to try!
Cookie Sleuth says
These look delicious, and the story of their origin is really interesting.
Yvonne says
YumMm!
This is one of the "family" recipes that made it into my "going away" cookbook that mom made for me when I went away to college many years ago. We make up a batch at least a couple time a year and mix things up by using milk chocolate chips and creamy peanut butter. We use Karo syrup in place of the corn syrup, too.
Thanks!
-=^..^=-
Mackenzie@The Caramel Cookie says
Never had an Oh Henry bar but these bars look very tasty :)!
Barbara says
Good heavens! I'd completely forgotten about Oh Henry bars! This recipe looks great, Anna!
Jenny (@ The Housewife Project) says
I feel like I've made or eaten these bars before, but I can't remember. Regardless, they sound delicious. I am bookmarking this recipe!
Lisa Ernst says
This looks great, and I see its also egg-free. With the peanut butter, oats and chocolate, this is another "must try" for me.
Gloria says
I like chocolate and peanut butter frosting-these look addicting. Never had an O'Henry bar. Plus PB and oats are healthy so I consider this bar a "health" bar.
Louise says
I'm not sure, but I think we can still buy O'Henry candy bars. But maybe I made that up. I'll have to look in the candy aisle.
Katrina says
I'm sure you've got a real murky past, Anna. 😉 I loved O'Henry bars growing up, but haven't had one, well, since my murky past. ha
Ronda says
My mother used to make these. I LOVE them.
Julia says
everything that has peanut butter inside tastes delicious, i'm totally addicted to peanut butter.
i noticed that they have also oats, i think i'll try to do them with those old fashioned, anyway, cause i love them more than quick cooking ones.
oooh, i became hungry. 😉
vanillasugarblog says
yes those do look really good. these are a keeper anna.
d.liff @ yelleBELLYboo says
Man o' man those look good! I haven't made bars in a long time - but I did make some cookies the other day! Have you ever tried malted chocolate chip cookies? They were SO delicious and the perfect ice cream sandwich cookie! http://yellebellyboo.blogspot.com/2011/06/fathers-day-pws-malted-chocolate-chip.html