Soft, chewy, and loaded with oats and chocolate, these Good Bars are a nostalgic, no-fuss dessert you’ll come back to again and again.
What is it about oatmeal and chocolate that pair so perfectly together?
These bars are chewy, soft, and just the right amount of sweet. I got the recipe from Amy Hogan down in Texas—handwritten on a recipe card that’s survived more than one kitchen purge (See pictures below). My memory might be fuzzy on a lot of things, but not these bars. They’re just plain good, y’all.
The recipe that lets me say yes to chocolate (for once).
They’ve fallen out of the rotation around here, and I’m blaming my bestie. She doesn’t like chocolate. I know, right?! I, on the other hand, adore it—as long as it’s Belgian (or at least European). Luckily, I can say no all day long to American chocolate. Too sweet. Too waxy. Not for me. Honestly, I’d pretty much always choose to have another roll or more potatoes than most chocolate desserts… but these bars? These Good Bars? They’re the exception.
I don’t bake many cookies, but I will keep baking these!
Recently, the Supreme Commander (aka my husband) informed me that the snickerdoodle blondies I thought were an all-around favorite were actually just “meh.” When I pushed a bit, he told me “they’re good, but I prefer other things. Like oatmeal scotchies. Chocolate chip. Oatmeal raisin. Ginger molasses.” Basically, all cookies.
But apparently, snickerdoodle blondies don’t count as cookies. (In my mind, a cookie and bar cookie are pretty much the same thing. Only bar cookies are way easier for me…you don’t have to scoop or roll any individual cookies. Just spread the dough into a pan, bake, then eat. Easy!) When I asked if he just prefers cookies in general, he replied, “If the bar is like a cookie, then it’s fine.”
Somewhere between a cookie and a brownie. But better.
Unclear what that even means. But it’s true that I don’t make cookies very often. Is it because I didn’t grow up eating them? Or because I prefer savory things? Or maybe I prefer savory things because I didn’t grow up with a lot of sugary treats?
Who knows.
Yes, they’re really just called Good Bars.
What I do know is that these bars are good. Really, really good. The name? Not so much. When I first heard the name, I was like, “Wait, really? They’re just called ‘Good Bars’?” But my friend shrugged and said, “They’re good. So that’s what we call them.”
And that, my friends, is the story. I’m sticking to it.
One more thing to love about this recipe. It makes a ton! You spread it out on a cookie sheet (aka a half sheet pan) and it gets your hands messy, but it is so very worth it. I promise!
Maybe someday I’ll rename them something trendier or more descriptive, but for now? They’re just good. Really good. The kind of bar that makes you believe in oatmeal and chocolate all over again. Real food. Real kitchens. Real love. And yes—really good bars.–The Food Civilian
Good Bars
Equipment
- 1 11×17 pan NOT 9×13!
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter softened
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 3 cups oats old-fashioned
- 2 ½ cups whole wheat flour can use all purpose flour or white whole wheat
- 2 eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 1 tsp baking soda
- ¼ tsp salt
- **chopped nuts optional**
Microwave on high, 2 minutes. Then stir until blended and pour over crust in pan:
- 12 oz chocolate chips
- 1 can Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk
- 2 TBS butter
Instructions
- Mix all ingredients together. I use my hands, it's messy, but very effective.
- Pat 2/3 mixture into 11×17 (NOT 9×13) pan. (Wet hands if it sticks too much).
- Stir microwaved chocolate mixture until blended and pour over crust in pan.
- Evenly distribute remaining 1/3 oat mixture over chocolate mixture and lightly press it all down.
- Bake at 350 °F for 20-25 minutes.
- Cool pan on wire rack.
- Use pizza cutter to cut into bars.