Oatmeal Raisin Bar Cookies

Submitted by blucoat

"This is a thick, satisfying, tender, and chewy bar cookie/blondie. A perfect holiday recipe! Don't overcook, as you want these to be moist. I got this recipe from a great online blog, "Baking Bites"."

 

• Ready In: 37mins
• Ingredients: 12
• Yields: 20 bars

ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1⁄2 cup sugar
• 1⁄2 cup brown sugar
• 1⁄2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1⁄2 teaspoon salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1⁄4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 large egg
• 1⁄2 cup butter, melted and cooled
• 2 cups quick-cooking oats (not instant)
• 1 1⁄2 cups raisins

directions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper (optional, but aids in getting cookies out of pan).
2. Whisk together flour, sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, salt and spices in a large bowl.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and stir in vanilla, egg and melted butter until smooth. Stir in oats and raisins until they are evenly distributed.
4. Pour dough into prepared pan and spread into a even layer with a spatula or your fingers. Bake for 22-26 minutes, or until bars are set and the center no longer looks wet. Edges will be golden brown. Cool pan on a wire rack before slicing. Cut into rectangular bars to serve.

Reviews

[3 girls and a boy]

Made these cookies for a potluck at church and they were a huge hit!!! So tasty, soft and chewy. I would suggest making a double batch of these cookies, as they disappear quickly! Thanks for a great recipe that we will use again and again.

 

[Doods]

Delicious!!! Made as directed and they were wonderful. I baked for 26 minutes. I will have trouble staying out of these.

 

[One Happy Woman]

TEN STARS! Ive been looking for a raisin bar that doesn't just crumble and lose it's shape. This worked beautifully once I solved the oat problem. I didn't have the quick cooking oats, only the old fashioned oats. So I put them in the Vitamix and gave them just two or three quick pulses and between pulses, shook the container. I also melted and cooled the butter, added the sugar and the eggs and the spices (adding allspice to the cinnamon and freshly ground nutmeg) and the salt and baking soda because the brown sugar (despite my keeping a hunk of bread in the airtight container, still likes its little lumps, as does the baking soda. And I added the raisins then, too, to kind of break up the chunks, then finally added the flour and dumped it all into a greased 8x8" pan. These baked up just soft enough and cut up beautifully and held their shape which I needed them to do as I was priority mail sending them to my step-dad for his 100th birthday. Along with snickerdoodle bars, but that's another story. And what I think I can do with these is make a vegan version for one of my stepdaughters, using flaxseed meal and water as the egg substitute and a vegan margarine.

 

[Ruth Z.]

A few reviews said these were dry so I added an extra egg and made them as directed. They turned out fantastic and I will absolutely make these again but I will omit 1/2 a cup of the raisins and add 1/2 a cup of chopped nuts.

 

[Susan H.]

Made these just a little while ago and they are fantastic! I didn't have raisins so used Craisins instead but they are yummy! So moist, chewy and full of flavor I will definitely be making them again.