Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
The warm smell of butter browning and oats toasting always takes me back to Saturday mornings when my children hovered by the kitchen counter, waiting for the first corner piece. I began packing…
Ingredients
- 1 cup unsalted butter
- 1 cup packed light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Place a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 350°F. Line a 9-by-13-inch metal baking pan with parchment paper, leaving a few inches overhanging on two opposite sides for lifting. Lightly grease the exposed sides with butter; the parchment keeps the bars from sticking and makes clean packing for lunches much easier.
- Measure the flour, rolled oats, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl. Whisk for about 30 seconds so the soda and salt are evenly distributed; this prevents a bitter pocket or uneven rise later. Set the bowl beside the mixer or mixing bowl so the dry ingredients are ready when needed.
- Put the 1 cup of butter in a light-colored, medium saucepan over medium heat. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring and scraping the bottom often with a heatproof spatula. The butter will foam, the milk solids will turn amber, and it will smell nutty; remove it from the heat as soon as the bubbling quiets and the solids are golden brown, because they can burn quickly.
- Pour the browned butter, including the toasted specks, into a large heatproof mixing bowl and let it cool for 10 minutes, stirring once or twice. It should feel warm rather than hot when touched from the outside of the bowl. Cooling prevents the eggs from scrambling and keeps the finished bars pleasantly chewy.
- Add the brown sugar and granulated sugar to the warm browned butter. Whisk firmly for 1 minute, until the mixture looks glossy and the darker sugar is mostly blended. Add the eggs one at a time, whisking for about 20 seconds after each, then whisk in the vanilla; the mixture should be smooth, thick, and slightly lighter in color.
- Add the dry mixture to the butter mixture in two additions. Fold with a sturdy spatula just until no dry streaks remain, scraping along the bottom and corners of the bowl. Do not beat the dough after the flour disappears, because overmixing makes the bars firm instead of tender.
- Fold in the 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, reserving a small handful if you want a few chips visible on top. Scrape the thick dough into the prepared pan and press it into an even layer with lightly buttered fingertips or the flat side of the spatula. Check the corners carefully; an even thickness ensures the edges do not overbake before the center is set.
- Bake on the center rack for 22 to 28 minutes, rotating the pan once at the halfway point. The top should be golden brown, the edges should look set and slightly pulled from the parchment, and the center should still have a gentle, soft wobble when the pan is nudged. A toothpick inserted in the center should come out with moist crumbs and perhaps a smear of chocolate, not wet batter; avoid baking until it comes out completely clean.
- Set the pan on a wire rack and let the bars cool completely, about 1 hour, before lifting them out by the parchment. Cooling allows the butter and chocolate to firm and gives the oat structure time to set, so the bars will not crumble in a lunch container. Cut into 24 rectangles with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts for neat edges, then wrap each bar in parchment or place them in a sealed container with parchment between layers.
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