Bake sale winning-est gooey oat bars from Smitten Kitchen Every Day: Triumphant and Unfussy New Favorites (page 235) by Deb Perelman

Where’s the full recipe - why can I only see the ingredients?

Always check the publication for a full list of ingredients. An Eat Your Books index lists the main ingredients and does not include 'store-cupboard ingredients' (salt, pepper, oil, flour, etc.) - unless called for in significant quantity.

Notes about this recipe

  • JessElisabeth on February 27, 2026

    Delicious! Made with white chocolate and dried apricots, great combo

  • anniecc on October 31, 2024

    We thought these were amazing. I used dark chocolate chips and dried apricots.

  • Beth891 on August 16, 2024

    I made 2/3rd quantities so it would fit my 20cm square pan. I used a mix of chopped nuts (almond/peanut/walnut) cranberries, currants and dark chocolate chips and reduced the sugar a little (125g total for the topping and my 2/3rd amount) The base needed an extra 5mins to get golden and the topping needed 20 mins. Really tasty although the base is still a little soft- if I made them again I might try them with a short crust or shortbread base. Reducing the sugar a little worked great though as they are sweet but not overly. 2/3rd quantities made 18 nicely sized bars. Definitely one to make again with some little tweaks.

  • Pandan on May 09, 2024

    These were quite nice, I wasn’t totally crazy about them, but I got asked for the recipe after serving it. I used a mixture of bounty bars and dark chocolate. The bars were a perfect way to get rid of the bounty bars that no one on my household wanted to eat. Easy recipe to prepare in advance

  • mlbatt on May 24, 2022

    I began baking these for a last-minute party 2 hours in advance. My butter was still frozen. Not a problem because the crust used cold butter and the filling used melted butter. I preheated my toaster oven while I whizzed up the mostly frozen butter chunks with flour and sugar for the crust. The instructions said to keep it running until the mixture formed large clumps. Easy! Spread it into a prepared pan and into the toaster oven. While that baked, I made the brown butter, and mixed in the rest of the ingredients. Another 15 minutes or so in the oven and it was done. I felt like a contestant on the Great British Baking Show trying to get the pan to cool off enough to cut into bars. First I fanned it with a cookie sheet... then stuck it in the freezer to cool. The bottom was still quite warm, so I put it on top of a couple of freezer packs and finally was able to get the bars cut, sugared and onto a serving plate just in time for the party. Big big hit!

  • mlbatt on May 24, 2022

    always a favorite!

  • sofull on November 16, 2020

    Not my usual type of dessert and came together easier than I thought. Such a delicious treat. Great name. Great sweet treat!

  • westminstr on October 16, 2018

    Made these bars for a scouts potluck using semi-sweet chocolate chips (and no nuts or fruit). They were extremely good (though sweet!) and went fast. I loved them. I baked the crust for 20 minutes. It was fully baked but on the pale side - in retrospect I think I could have baked it a little more.

  • Lmocooks on February 25, 2018

    I made these with a mix of chocolate chips, white chips and toffee bits. The crust took longer in the food pro than written in the instructions but turned into a nice dough ball with some time. I took these to book club and they were a massive hit. “Oh my gosh, who made these? They’re amazing!” Said by several people. I’ll definitely make these again.

  • Rutabaga on February 20, 2018

    My boys loved these bars. The six-year-old even said they were the best bars he'd ever had. I did have some trouble with the baking process, however. After removing the finished bars from the oven and letting them cool, I discovered that the crust was completely underbaked. Even though it seemed quite pale after 20 minutes of pre-baking, I figured it was probably done enough and continued on. In retrospect, I should probably have baked it at least ten more minutes. I'm not sure if this is because I was using a Pyrex pan, or what the issue was, but I ended up putting the cooled cookie bars back in the oven for an additional 20 minutes. The crust was still pale and soft, but at least it held together, and the oats miraculously weren't overdone. Next time, however, I will make sure the crust is baked through before adding the topping. As a final note, I used a little less than 1 1/2 cups of chocolate chips, and they were extremely chocolatey (not that that's a bad thing).

  • Frogcake on December 15, 2017

    We loved these bars! I used equal amounts of dried cherries, butterscotch and chocolate chips. Also threw in about three tablespoons of brown flax seeds. These are a huge improvement in taste and nutrition over the magic bars I used to make.

  • Lepa on December 02, 2017

    These are pretty good. I especially like the shortbread- like crust. I made it with one cup of chocolate chips and half a cup of dried cherries. It's sweet but a nice mixture.

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