I love these oatmeal butterscotch bars because they are:
a) simple.
b) deliciously different from any other bar in my recipe repertoire.
c) amazingly tasty with the magic of butterscotch combined with the wonderful browned butter flavor and light oatmeal texture.
d) utterly irresistible.
Really. These bars were devoured faster than you can say “buttery butterscotch bars” five times fast. They are so light and chewy and yummy that I seriously dare you to eat just one. And if your chocolate-loving heart is screaming “NO!” to the lack of chocolate…don’t fret. These would be out of this world with an additional light drizzle of chocolate on top to make friends with the butterscotch glaze.
Oatmeal Butterscotch Bars
Printable Version with Picture
Printable Version
*Makes 18-24 bars
INGREDIENTS:
Bars:
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 cups quick-cooking oatmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butterscotch chips
16 tablespoons (2 sticks) butter
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
Glaze:
1/4 cup butterscotch chips
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon water
1/8 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and adjust an oven rack to the middle position. Line a 9X13-inch baking pan with aluminum foil, letting the foil hang over the each short edge by one or two inches. Lightly grease the foil with cooking spray.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt. Place the 3/4 cup butterscotch chips in a large bowl. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and let the butter cook until golden brown in color, about 10 minutes, taking care not to burn. Pour the hot butter over the butterscotch chips and whisk together until melted and smooth. Whisk in the brown sugar until combined. Whisk in the egg and vanilla. STir in the lfour mixture, just until incorporated.
Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top, spreading the batter evenly to the edges. Bake the bars until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs, about 16-18 minutes.
While the bars bake, place the 1/4 cup butterscotch chips, brown sugar, water and salt in a small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave the mixture until melted and smooth, about 2 minutes on 50% power. Whisk to combine well.
Drizzle the glaze over the warm bars. Let the bars cool completely in the pan. Remove the bars from the pan using the foil overhang and cut into squares. Serve.
Recipe Source: adapted slightly from The Cook’s Country Cookbook
{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Melanie- how did you know I have been craving butterscotch? Seriously, I was at the grocery store yesterday and was standing in the candy aisle trying to find butterscotch hard candy! These bars look like the perfect recipe to satisfy my craving. YUM! Thanks so much!
These make me want to forgo breakfast and skip straight to dessert! Yum…beautiful photos
These look wonderful! What a great combo of oatmeal & butterscotch–yum! Definitely making these—thanks so much for this!!
My husband will be thrilled with these. He loves all things butterscotch. Thanks!
I love oatmeal desserts! Something about them makes me feel less guilty about eating 2 (ok 4 or 5) of whatever it is.
These look wonderful! I recently made oatmeal butterscotch cookies and I’m still craving them, these may satisfy that craving.
I think my hubby would love these! His favorite cookies are oatmeal butterscotch (so are my son’s). I’m definitely going to bake this for them soon!
Thanks for sharing!
Confession: I have a love affair with all things butterscotch. Its flirting with the line of being a problem… But just flirting. These will be made today for sure. And I don’t know of I’ll share
I think I gain weight just from LOOKING at all of the delicious things on your blog!! I just want to eat the pictures they look so fantastic!
Oh. Yum, Yum. I love cookies. My favorite dessert. I am the Cookie Monster’s grandmother. These combine two of my favorites-butterscotch and oatmeal. I have a stash of butterscotch chips in my refrigerator. Too bad I don’t have time to make these before I have to go to work. For sure, on the to-do l for tomorrow.
Yum! These look fantastic and it’s so nice to be able to say there is OATMEAL in them, makes eating two a little less indulgent!
Ummm, these sound amazing! Buttery Butterscotch are right up my alley!
I am so excited to make these! Do you think the recipe will work with regular (not quick cook) oats? That’s all I have on hand. Yikes!
Annie – yes, these will work with regular oats. The bars will be a bit chewier and less dense but they will probably still work out fine. Let me know if you try them!
what they need to reach candy bar status is a coating of chocolate between the oaty bit and the tasty glaze. i’d buy it.
these are THAT great eh? ill take your word for it even though it doesnt have any chocolate
I made them last night! They bottoms were very sugary…maybe the rolled oats don’t “soak up” the sugar as quickly. What do I know though…they were SUPER yummy! I sent most of them to work with my hubby but kept a stash for myself. Next time I’ll try them with the quick oats and drizzle some dark chocolate on top as well. Great recipe!! Thanks Mel!
Oh yum. I love butterscotch anything!!! Will definitely be making these and soon!!
This might be a stupid question but will this work with margarine?
Bonny – I don’t know because I never use margarine. I’m sure it would substitute fine although I can’t vouch for the difference in flavor or texture. Let me know if you try it!
Annie – yes, the rolled oats might not absorb as much liquid as the quick-cooking oats. Glad you liked them anyway!
I made these today with Old Fashioned Oats (is that regular??) – anyway, the oats are quite large. They turned out great. I think maybe a bit more ‘delicate’ than they’d be with regular, as they tend to crumble a bit – not as compact looking as yours. They were so delicious! And buttery! Thanks for another great recipe!! (I’ve made 2 of yours this week alone – and both were fabulous!)
Oh, my, these are so WONDERFULLY AMAZING!! I am have become a believer in your Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies and now these bars–even without chocolate. They are delicious. Scrumptious. I have eaten way too many ( I always share my baking w/neighbors, but not these. No way!)…and I’m going to go eat one more!
I’m not a fan of butterscotch chips in cookies. It seems to fake tasting and strong. I do love oatmeal though and decided to make these for my kids. Wow, so good and the butterscotch does not have an artificial taste when melted into the other ingredients. Thanks for a great recipe. They are so moist I think they will mail well to my son @ college. We can’t stop eating these!
These were fabulous! I really enjoyed them.
I used some whole wheat flour as a substitute for some of the white flour and then cut back a little bit on the oatmeal b/c I only had old-fashioned, not quick cooking oats.
Do you think coconut would be good in these? Maybe 1/4 cup or so in place of some of the oats?
Great recipe! Thank you for posting it!
Elisabeth – yes, I think coconut would be awesome in these bars! I’d probably do what you suggested but sub in 1/2 cup coconut but only decrease the oats by 1/4 cup so you still have substance to soak up the liquid.
These look like wonderful bars!! Can I feature them on Friday Favs this week?
These are divine. Pretty much eating the whole pan myself.
I loooooooove that these don’t have any chocolate! They sound perfect and have placed themselves at the top of my must make list.
These were a huge hit with my entire family this past weekend. Almost everyone that tried them requested the recipe. Thank you for a great new family favorite!
These are to die for. Seriously. I didn’t realize until after I made them that they are an oatmeal scotchie cookie baked into a bar that is so good we ate half the pan while it was still hot . . .out of the pan. With a fork . . .no stopping
I told my husband he had to make dinner because everytime I walk into the kitchen, I eat more of these things! Thank you for the recipe 
I made these when we were having some friends over and loved them! Thanks for the recipe!
These are great!!! No. These are INCREDIBLE. Even when I got distracted by children halfway through the prep process and forgot the egg. Ya, that is how I roll. Had to drizzle chocolate…because nothing leaves my kitchen without it. Thanks Mel…you genius!
Well, I got sidetracked and didn’t get these made back in May, but I did make them this week. Can I say wonderful, decadent. marvelous. All those things. I am posting a link to these in my Cooking from the Blogs post today. Thanks so much for a great recipe.
How do you think these would work with light brown sugar? I’m out of town for the holidays and my parents don’t have any dark….
Shannon – I’d say go for it. If your parents have any molasses, add a tablespoon with the light brown sugar to make up for the lack of dark brown.
Made these today. I’m in love.
Also made your cookie dough truffles today. My husband is in love.
These were soooo good. I *forgot* my bf does not like butterscotch so I ended up having to eat the ENTIRE pan myself, lol. I don’t like when people change recipes but I threw a handful of sweetened shredded coconut into mine – OMG good. I don’t know how much it added to the deliciousness since I didn’t taste them without coconut – but if anyone wants to add it it does not detract from the recipe at all
Oh also, to the comment above asking about light brown sugar – I read the recipe wrong and used light brown – it was still really tasty. Next time I’ll try with all dark though.
I just made these over the weekend and they were spectacular! (Notice I said ‘were’, they didn’t last very long.)
Thanks for sharing the recipe!
{ 1 trackback }