½cup(113g)salted butter, softened to room temperature
1cup(255g)creamy peanut butter
⅔cup(141g)light brown sugar
⅔cup(141g) granulated sugar
1teaspoonbaking soda
¼teaspoonsalt
2large eggs
1teaspoonvanilla extract
1 ¼cups(125g)quick oats (see note)
1 ¼cups(125g)old-fashioned oats (see note)
1cup(170g)chocolate chips
1cup(170g)butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips or more chocolate chips (see note)
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch pan or line with foil and lightly grease the foil (for easier cleanup). I use a metal pan; if using glass, you may want to decrease the oven temp to 325 degrees.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt together until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.
Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined. Add the quick oats, old-fashioned oats, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and mix until evenly combined.
Spread the dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are lightly golden - don't overbake or the bars might be dry and crumbly. Cool the bars in the pan before cutting into squares. These bars freeze great!
Notes
Oats: I like the combo of the two different kinds of oats, but you can use either all quick oats or all old-fashioned oats (slightly different texture in the bars if doing so).Peanut Butter: I have not tried these bars with natural peanut butter or a different kind of nut butter like cashew or almond.Gluten-Free: these bars are easily gluten-free since there isn't flour in the recipe, but to be truly gluten-free, double check all your ingredients (particularly the oats and the butterscotch or other chips) to ensure the package clearly states they are gluten-free. The Nestle brand of butterscotch chips are NOT gluten-free but the Guittard and Hershey brands are gluten-free.