Awesomely buttery, not overly sweet, and highly addictive!
I invented these buttery bars in the 80’s when I was looking for a recipe that was a cross between oatmeal cookies and chocolate chip. The Toll House chocolate chip recipe made yummy, buttery really sweet cookies, but I also love oatmeal, but couldn’t find the perfect oatmeal cookie recipe, even the Quaker Oats one, though I would make that. So I came up with a hybrid of the two. The Toll House cookie recipe with the addition of 3 cups of oatmeal. I was also in a hurry in those days with a demanding job, so I wanted something simpler than making so many cookies. I came up with a simple solution of making bars, with a solid chocolate layer in the middle. I realize it is nothing new, but it worked really well. So these cookies are amazingly buttery, but dense and chewy with all of the oatmeal, and also less sweet. And they were requested often for potlucks and other gatherings, and disappeared quickly! OMG GOOD!
You could probably use dark chocolate – the filling is quite sweet in this recipe with the semi-sweet chips. I bet it would be great with dark chocolate bars melted. And for this entry I made only a half batch, and it seems to be plenty…they are disappearing fast, though!
Ingredients
Cookie Dough:
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, wheat or gluten-free
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
- 3/4 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Cups Rolled Oats
- 1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Chocolate filling:
- 1 can sweetened condensed milk
- 2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) semi-sweet chocolate chips, or dark chocolate
Instructions
PREHEAT oven to 350° F.
Cookie Dough:
Combine flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually beat in flour mixture. Stir in rolled oats, and nuts if used.
Chocolate Mixture:
In a saucepan, melt chocolate chips into sweetened condensed milk either in a double boiler or on low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. It can scorch quickly.
Grease a 9×12 pan. Spread half of cookie dough into pan. Working quickly, pour and spread all of hot chocolate mixture on top. Spoon the rest of the cookie dough on top in small dollops. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool in pan on wire rack. Makes 3-4 dozen bars
Margaret Ann's World 