Oh Henry Bars
A chewy baked oat base under a chocolate peanut butter top, cut into 24 squares from one nine-by-thirteen pan. No eggs, no flour, and no mixer. Fifteen minutes of cooking, fifteen in the oven, then an hour in the fridge to set.
Ingredients
Oat Base
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup light corn syrup or honey for a softer bar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 4 cups quick-cooking oats not steel-cut
- 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt omit if using salted butter
Chocolate Peanut Butter Topping
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter shelf-stable, not natural
- 1/2 cup salted peanuts chopped, optional, for scattering on top
Equipment
- 9x13-inch Baking Pan
- Saucepan
- Microwave-safe bowl
- Spatula
- Offset spatula or butter knife
- Parchment paper (optional)
Instructions
Make the Oat Base
- Heat the oven: Preheat to 350°F (175°C). Grease a nine-by-thirteen pan or line it with parchment, leaving an overhang so the slab can be lifted out later.
- Cook the caramel: Melt the butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the brown sugar, corn syrup, vanilla, and salt, and heat until the mixture is thick and just bubbling at the edges. Take it off the burner.
- Stir in the oats: Add the oats and stir until every flake is coated. The mixture will be thick and sticky, which is correct. If it pours easily it has not cooked long enough.
Press and Bake
- Press it in firmly: Scrape the mixture into the prepared pan and compact it with the back of a flat measuring cup, corner to corner, until the surface is even and dense.
- Bake: Bake for 15 minutes. The base barely changes color, so watch the edges instead: they should bubble gently and pull in slightly from the sides of the pan.
Melt and Spread the Topping
- Melt the topping: Combine the chocolate chips and peanut butter in a microwave-safe bowl. Heat in 30 second bursts, stirring between each, until smooth and glossy. A saucepan over low heat works just as well.
- Spread it over the warm base: Pour the topping over the hot bars and spread it to the corners with an offset spatula. Scatter the chopped peanuts over it now, while the surface is still soft.
Chill and Cut
- Set the topping: Cool the pan on the counter for about 40 minutes, until the chocolate loses its shine, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour.
- Cut cold: Slice into 24 squares with a large knife warmed under hot water and wiped dry between cuts. Cutting them cold is what gives clean edges instead of dragged chocolate.
Notes
Press the base in hard with a flat measuring cup. Loosely packed bars crumble when they are cut, and that is the single most common problem with this recipe.
Oats: quick-cooking oats give the tighter, chewier bar. Old-fashioned rolled oats work too and give a looser, more rustic result.
Peanut butter: use the shelf-stable creamy kind. Natural peanut butter separates and the topping sets oily.
Storage: 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or a week in the fridge, layered with parchment. Freeze up to 2 months.
Make-ahead: better made a day early and left uncut in the pan.
Gluten-free: use certified gluten-free oats and chocolate chips. Nutrition values are an estimate.
Oats: quick-cooking oats give the tighter, chewier bar. Old-fashioned rolled oats work too and give a looser, more rustic result.
Peanut butter: use the shelf-stable creamy kind. Natural peanut butter separates and the topping sets oily.
Storage: 4 days in an airtight container at room temperature, or a week in the fridge, layered with parchment. Freeze up to 2 months.
Make-ahead: better made a day early and left uncut in the pan.
Gluten-free: use certified gluten-free oats and chocolate chips. Nutrition values are an estimate.
Nutrition
Calories: 290kcal | Carbohydrates: 35g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 15g | Saturated Fat: 6g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 76mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 22g | Vitamin A: 250IU | Calcium: 20mg | Iron: 1.1mg