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Home » Bar Cookies

Crispy Oatmeal Bars

Modified: Jan 6, 2021 · Published: Mar 22, 2008 by Anna · This post may contain affiliate links · 10 Comments

This recipe reminds me of the oatmeal bars my babysitter used to make. She was actually kind of a mean babysitter, but she was a good baker and I liked her treats which included these buttery and crispy oatmeal bars which are unique in that they do not contain any flour. I never got the recipe from Colleen, but years later I found a similar one in a Maida Heatter cookbook. Maida called hers "Aspen Oatmeal Bars.

Crispy Oatmeal Bars

Using Maida’s recipe, I made the bars as written below. I don’t know why Maida called them “Aspen” unless it has something to do with being rich. They are very buttery.

Crispy Oatmeal Bars (adapted from Aspen Oatmeal Bars)

1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (makes sure it’s not lumpy)
2 cups old fashioned or quick cooking oatmeal – not instant

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8 inch square metal pan.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter over medium until it melts just enough to coat the pan-bottom. Add the brown sugar and melt together, stirring once or twice, until butter is fully melted and sugar is shiny. Remove from heat and stir in salt and baking powder – make sure the baking powder doesn’t lump (Maida sifts it in, I just stirred it well). Add the oats and stir to make a thick mixture, then dump the mixture into the buttered pan and spread it to the edges

Bake for exactly 25 minutes. You will probably smell burning, but this is the butter and sugar touching the sides of the pan. Remove from oven. It will look like a big, soft, gunky mess. Loosen the soft, gunky mess with a knife and let it cool on rack for about 30 minutes. It will firm up. When firm but still warm, pry out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Score into bars (trim edges if you want), but don’t peel apart because they are still delicate at this point. Let the bars cool. They will crisp as they cool. Makes about 12

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  1. Angie says

    March 24, 2008 at 12:22 pm

    Did anyone see the recipe showdown show on Sunday evening? I am going to make the winning recipe for the spice cookie today and make the fudge bars tomorrow...I'll let you know how it works out.

  2. Anna says

    March 24, 2008 at 6:29 am

    Jenny, thanks for the link. You blog is looking great, btw!

    KAnn, it's from Maida Heatter's Cookies. Here's a link.

    http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwcookie-20/detail/0836237331/102-1327064-9497754

  3. KAnn says

    March 23, 2008 at 10:50 pm

    Which book is this one from, Anna? I have several of Maida's books but I don't recall seeing this one...looks fabulous!

  4. jennywenny says

    March 23, 2008 at 9:54 pm

    Yup, very similar to my flapjacks:
    http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/2007/10/aaaah-nice-cup-of-tea-and.html

    Great with a bit of dark chocolate drizzled on them.

  5. Anna says

    March 23, 2008 at 9:24 pm

    Lindsey, I'll be interested to hear what you think.

    Meredith, thanks for the bit of trivia. I put "Scotch Tea Cookies" in Google and found this.

    http://www.geocities.com/sandy80461/scotch_tea_cookies.html

    It's interesting how most recipes, even ones we find in cookbooks, are just variations on old favorites. I'm always so happy when I run across something that's completely unique, but that is so rare.

    Alison, you are right. Flapjacks have golden syrup. I think the flapjacks I made a while back were better than this. The nuts leveled out the sweetness.

  6. Alison says

    March 23, 2008 at 4:31 am

    They look good, very like flapjacks without the golden syrup, but we would not put baking powder in flapjacks. Great for the school lunchboxes!

  7. meredith says

    March 22, 2008 at 7:30 pm

    My mom made these on a regular basis, but we called them "Scotch Teas". Our family LOVED them....I never could figure out the "Scotch" part, though I imagine, now, that it refers to "butterscotch".
    (her recipe called for baking at 300 for exactly 20 minutes..and lining the pan w/ waxed paper, not greasing!)

  8. Lindsey says

    March 22, 2008 at 6:36 pm

    Oh my goodness....those look dangerous! I may have to try these tomorrow.

  9. Anna says

    March 22, 2008 at 5:31 pm

    BB, these are really rich and buttery. If the devil made granola bars, they'd be like these.

  10. bakingblonde says

    March 22, 2008 at 5:27 pm

    Those look so great! I make something similar and top with melted chocolate chips/PB. Very good! Yours look so rich and buttery they are making me hungry!

Peanut Butter Fudge Jumbles recipe baked in a 9-inch square Pampered Chef stoneware pan.

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I'm Anna, and welcome to Cookie Madness. To learn more about me, check the About page.

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