Did you know today was National Butterscotch Day?
It’s not. I just made that up, but if it were, these Butterscotch Oat Bars would be a good cookie to make. These bars (or squares, it’s up to you) are probably the best cookies I’ve made all week. Okay, so it’s only Tuesday and I didn’t bake cookies yesterday, but really – these are terrific.
Butterscotch Oat Bars
Crust:
10 tablespoons unsalted butter, slightly softened
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup old fashioned oats
2/3 cup butterscotch morsels (more if you want)
Filling:
1/2 cup chopped, toasted pecans
1/2 cup caramel ice cream topping
1 1/2 tablespoons all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8 inch pan with parchment paper or Release foil. Alternatively, you may just spray the pan directly.
Cream the butter and brown sugar. Beat in the baking soda and salt, scraping sides of bowl. Add flour and stir until incorporated. Stir in oats. Do not add butterscotch morsels quite yet. Press half of oat mixture into bottom of pan and bake for 10 minutes. Let cool for 2-3 minutes.
Sprinkle toasted pecans across crust. Stir together caramel topping and flour, then drizzle over pecans.
Crumble remaining oatmeal mixture with butterscotch chips. Sprinkle mixture over caramel and nuts. Bake for 18 minutes. Let cool on a wire rack for about 2 hours then chill for about an hour. Grasp foil and lift from pan, then cut into 16 squares.
Makes 16
Note: to toast a small amount of pecans, I recommend laying them on a piece of paper towel and toasting them in the microwave on high for about 2 ½ minutes. Cool completely before chopping. I use whole pecan halves and then chop them myself.
Lauren says
January 7, 2008 at 1:59 pmThis is a great recipe! I low-carbed it with erythritol, stevia, almond flour, steel cut oats, flax meal, and sf butterscotch pudding and it was quite a treat. Definitely one of my all-time favorite recipes. Thanks!
Anna says
September 11, 2007 at 6:47 pmCarrie, glad the recipe worked for you. I like it a lot too. If my Top 10 were a Top 20, that recipe would be in it.
Carrie says
September 11, 2007 at 5:57 pmI want to thank you for posting this recipe, as it’s now become one of my most requested. On the last batch I ran out of butterscotch chips and did half of the topping with chocolate chips and coconut instead, and they were a huge hit as well. This is such a crowd pleaser.
Thanks again!
Anna says
July 13, 2007 at 2:20 pmARGH! I made a huge typo. Lindsay, it should have been 1 1/2 tablespoons. I am going to go bang my head against the wall now….I feel so bad.
Lindsay says
July 13, 2007 at 2:12 pmDarn. I must have done something wrong. Made these yesterday and even waited a day to see if they would get better…but for me they turned out really, really dry and crumbly. I started to get nervous when I read “Stir together caramel topping and flour, then drizzle over pecans”. To me “drizzle” implies that it will be somewhat liquidy, but with 1 1/2 cups flour and only 1/2 cup caramel topping it was a dry, crumblike filling. Combined with the crumbly oatmeal filling my bars don’t even stay together when cut. I did cool and refrigerate which helped slightly, but not much 🙁
Anna says
July 12, 2007 at 4:51 pmHi Janet,
I think it would work very well.
Janet says
July 12, 2007 at 2:45 pmAnna, do you think KA white whole wheat flour would work as well in this recipe? I am trying to get more fiber in our food. Thanks for the recipe!
Janet says
July 12, 2007 at 2:36 pmHi Anna: Do you think the KA White Whole Wheat Flour would work with these? They look really good! Thanks, janet
Lindsay says
July 11, 2007 at 4:42 pmI’ve been thinking about these for two days now…seriously, I can’t stop! I’ll make them tomorrow and report back!
Anna says
July 11, 2007 at 1:01 pmHi! Yes, it would definitely work in a 13×9 inch pan. These bars are so good that the recipe is worth doubling.
wl says
July 11, 2007 at 12:55 pmHi Anna, these looks so good. If I wanted to double the recipe to take to work would it work in a 9×13 pan?
Thank you.
carole says
July 10, 2007 at 5:00 pmI did find it Anna.
If anyone wants to leave a tribute to a departed pet the url is http://www.petloss.com
Anna says
July 10, 2007 at 3:47 pmDon’t forget to report back if you try this.
Carole, I am so sorry about your pup. I hope you’ve found the Rainbow Bridge you were looking for.
Jill - GlossyVeneer says
July 10, 2007 at 3:44 pmWhat a yummy looking treat. I think my hubby would love those, and he just got some good news at work. Perfect celebration surprise!
carole says
July 10, 2007 at 3:14 pmThanks, Anna. I need to make something for Sadie’s vet as our way of saying thank you.
These along with some chocolate chip cookies will be perfect.
Laurie L says
July 10, 2007 at 2:39 pmThese look fabulous! Will try to make them soon. And I think National Butterscotch Day SHOULD be a holiday! Laurie