Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Chewy brown-sugar oat bars packed with chocolate chips and finished with colourful chocolate candies. One square tin makes 16 snack-sized bars. Batch yield: 16 bars from one 20 cm (8-inch) square tin. One serving: 1 bar, approximately 50 g after baking and cooling. Allow 20 minutes before baking, 24 minutes in the oven, 90 minutes for the baked slab to cool, and 5 minutes to cut: approximately 2 hours 19 minutes overall. Prep_minutes is the 115 minutes of non-oven elapsed time, including complete cooling. Active preparation totals about 25 minutes. Cooling_minutes includes 5 minutes for the melted butter and 90 minutes for the bars; the butter cooling overlaps measuring and mixing dry ingredients during the initial preparation, so those 5 minutes are not added twice. Preheating also overlaps preparation. No chilling, frosting or additional tray batches are required. Appliances: Oven; Microwave. Equipment: 20 cm (8-inch) square metal baking tin, approximately 5 cm deep; Baking parchment; Digital kitchen scales; Measuring spoons; Large microwave-safe mixing bowl; Second mixing bowl; Hand whisk; Flexible spatula; Skewer; Wire cooling rack; Knife; Cutting board. Allergens: Contains wheat, gluten, milk and egg. Chocolate chips and chocolate candies may contain soy lecithin; soy is therefore listed as a possible product allergen. Check chocolate, candy and oat packaging for relevant cross-contact warnings. Choose explicitly vegetarian-suitable candies without gelatin, carmine or shellac. Nutrition is estimated per one-sixteenth of the batch; the rounded macros provide approximately 240 kcal per bar. Storage: Once completely cool, store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 4 days, or refrigerate for up to 7 days. Separate stacked bars with baking parchment. Freeze individually wrapped bars in a freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw wrapped at room temperature for 1–2 hours; refrigerated bars can stand at room temperature for about 20 minutes before eating.
115 min
Prep
24 min
Cook
16
Serves
240
Calories
Macros · per serving
3g protein
33g carbs
11g fat
Ingredients
For 16 servings
- 125 g Plain all-purpose flour
- 1 g Baking powder
- 0.5 g Ground cinnamon
- 1.5 g Fine salt
- 113 g Unsalted butter
- 200 g Light brown sugar
- 1 whole egg Large egg
- 5 ml Vanilla extract
- 90 g Rolled oats
- 170 g Semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 100 g Vegetarian-suitable coloured milk chocolate candies
Instructions
- 1
Preheat the oven to 175°C conventional (350°F), or 155°C fan (310°F). Line a 20 cm square, approximately 5 cm deep metal baking tin (8-inch square) with baking parchment, leaving an overhang on two opposite sides. No greasing is needed.
- 2
Put the butter in a large microwave-safe mixing bowl. Microwave in 20–30-second bursts, stirring between bursts, until just melted, about 60–90 seconds total. Leave for 5 minutes until warm rather than hot; measure and mix the dry ingredients during this pause. The butter does not need softening first.
- 3
In a second bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Set aside 40 g of the chocolate chips and 40 g of the coloured candies for the topping.
- 4
Whisk the brown sugar into the warm melted butter for about 1 minute, until evenly combined and glossy. Add the whole egg and vanilla, then whisk for another 30–45 seconds until smooth. There is no need to beat until fluffy.
- 5
Using a spatula, fold the flour mixture into the butter mixture until only a few flour streaks remain. Add the oats, the remaining 130 g chocolate chips and the remaining 60 g candies. Fold until evenly distributed with no dry flour pockets. The dough will be thick and sticky. Do not taste it: raw flour and raw egg must be cooked before eating.
- 6
Scrape all the dough into the lined tin and spread it into an even layer, reaching the corners. Scatter the reserved 40 g chocolate chips and 40 g candies evenly over the surface, then press them lightly into the dough so they remain visible after baking.
- 7
Bake on the middle shelf for approximately 24 minutes. The edges should be golden and set, and the centre should look set but still feel slightly soft rather than liquid. A skewer inserted away from melted chocolate should come out with moist crumbs, not wet batter. This recipe uses one tin and one oven batch.
- 8
Cool in the tin on a wire rack for 60 minutes. Lift out using the parchment overhang, supporting the slab underneath, and place it on the rack for another 30 minutes, or until completely cool. Do not frost or add any further toppings.
- 9
Allow about 5 minutes to cut the cooled slab into a 4-by-4 grid, making 16 bars. The finished slab should weigh approximately 790–815 g after baking and moisture loss, giving roughly 50 g per bar. Weigh the cooled slab and divide its weight by 16 to establish the actual average portion weight.
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