O’Henry Bars are a sweet and chewy oat base covered in melted chocolate and peanut butter. These make a great after-school snack, potluck dessert or will be a delicious addition to your holiday cookie trays!
Lovers of chocolate and peanut butter are going to go nuts for this easy O’Henry Bars recipe!
No, not puppies or kittens.
Been there done that.
And that ” cute little itty bitty kitten” turned into a mean ungrateful son of a monkey’s uncle.
As in rescuing… My three children.
Not that any of them are in any immediate danger, but just from general day to day activities and mental or physical anguish.
Something that I’ve always done been good at, something I pride myself on. Yeah. That was sarcastic.
SAVE THESE O’HENRY BARS TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
Um, I believe it would be called enabling, actually.
Do other people feel this way or is it because I’m an only child and learned how to do it early in life?
Similar to this O’Henry Bar dessert recipe, here are some more bar recipes from my blogger friends…
Caramel Pretzel Magic Bars from Chef in Training
Brownie Marshmallow Crunch Bars from Valerie’s Kitchen
Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars from Inside BruCrew Life
Toffee Chocolate Chip Bars from Tastes Better from Scratch
Deep Dish Fudgy Oatmeal Bars from High Heels and Grills
After discussing it tonight with Mr. 365, I realized that it’s a definite control issue and my fear of my baby boy growing up.
He’s started his freshman year of high school and I guess I’ve freaked out about it.
Outwardly, no one would know, but Mr. 365 is onto me and sometimes I find myself becoming so anxious that I feel like I’m going to blow.
My real fear: that these next four years are going to fly, he goes away to school, then WHAT?
From Day 1, (marriage day 1, not blog day 1) my passion has been my husband and then our children.
It is ALL, and the only thing I ever really wanted in life as far back as I can remember.
I know deep in my heart my job will never truly be finished even when they leave our nest and soar onto exciting new things, but their physical presence will be greatly missed.
And yes, when one door closes, another door opens.
A new beginning, a new passion, and a new identity.
And maybe eventually a new name…
Grandma. Eeeks!
Did I just say that??!!
I just made myself feel really old! 😉
My grandmother made these bars a lot when I was young and my mother would make them during the holidays.
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O’Henry Bars
Equipment
- 8 X 8-inch baking pan
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups uncooked oats rolled or quick-cook
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Lightly grease a 8 X 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cream butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Add corn syrup and vanilla, combining thoroughly.
- Add oatmeal and completely mix.
- Press evenly into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- While bars are baking, melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a small bowl over a small saucepan containing an inch of simmering water.
- Remove bars from oven and place into the refrigerator to cool for 10 minutes.
- When cooled, pour the melted chocolate mix over top and spread to edges.
- Store in refrigerator.
Nutrition
Cream the butter and sugar.
Add the oatmeal and press into the prepared baking dish.
While bars are baking, melt peanut butter and chocolate chips in a microwavable-safe bowl for increments of 30 seconds.
Or you can melt them until smooth in a bowl over a small saucepan of simmering water.
Remove bars from oven and place into the fridge to cool for 10 minutes.
When cooled, pour the chocolate/peanut butter mixture over top and spread to edges.
Store them in the refrigerator.
I rate everything I bake on a scale of 1-4 with 4 being the best and these O’Henry Bars earned 3 rolling pins.
They brought back a lot of good memories but just didn’t taste the same as when Grandma made them.
Everything always tasted better when Grandma made it anyway.
These are easy to make and the combination of oats, peanut butter, and chocolate taste really good together. They’d make a great bar to bring to a potluck or cookout where there are going to be plenty of children.
Thank you all for reading. I am grateful that you took the time to read. Happy baking!
If you like these O’Henry Bars you’ll enjoy…
Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars
Snickerdoodle Bars
Chocolate Crumble Cheesecake Bars
Comments & Reviews
Lately, I have been feeling the same way about worrying about my future empty nest. I also am a rescuer at heart. I want so much to protect them from the disappointments, unfairness and mean people. It’s hard to realize that I can’t and probably shouldn’t do that. I also empathize with not knowing who I am aside from “World’s Most Devoted Mom”. 😉 I am sure you have the title as well. For the record,I don’t think it is held by one individual.
Enabling is just way too easy to be sucked into sometimes. The next turn around a corner will bring wonderful things along with the bittersweet. I enoyed the story along with these bars. I love my grandmother’s recipes.
Thank you again for the giveaway. I sent my information in an email. You are so right, being a mom is a never ending blessing. We got to cherish the moments, and take things one day at a time.
Adding some coconut & flour (1 cup each). & reducing the oats to 2 cups – adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda will also produce wonderful results. I also add some choc chips & nuts to the mixture or sprinkle roasted nuts over the melted choc/peanut butter mixture.
Ah, great ideas, Angie. I’ll have to try those next time. Thank you for the comment!
The pats are already at 2 cups though
I’m making these tonight using MY grandmother’s recipe, and so I was looking for an online version of the same one so that I could easily share it to Facebook. A lot of the other ones I’ve found use white sugar or more butter or something….but not only is yours the EXACT same recipe as my grandmother, but the typewriter recipe paper you showed also looks eerily similar as well. Don’t alter the recipe….the original is just fine as is! The only “update I do is melting the PB and choc chips in the microwave with 30 second bursts (stirring every time).
can you sub maple syrup for the corn syrup here? or will that alter the taste/texture?
Adam, I think the maple syrup may be too thin as the corn syrup is thicker and adds the right amount of sweetness, but you could definitely give it a go. If you do, let me know how it goes!
Don’t overbake them and is easier cutting if you do it before chilling them
Beautiful post. I wish you luck with your next chapter.
Thank you so much, Mary. I appreciate that!
I loved your post. It’s nice to know I have company. I think we are a dying breed. I am now a Grandma and loving it! ?
Looks nice, I’ll give it a try. Always looking for simple treats for my customers.
The serving size you have written down as 1 gram? That doesn’t seem correct. Do you have the proper serving size amount?
Cathy, sorry about that. I have edited the nutritional info, so it now reflects the nutritional count for one of the 16 bars.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter for the O’Henry Bars?
Virginia, I’ve made the O’Henry Bars with both unsalted and salted butter, and I haven’t really noticed a difference, so I would say that either is fine.
Need recipe to make
Hi Helen,
If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see the recipe. You can also click the phrase “jump to recipe” to see it quickly.
So yummy! Love the mix of the crunchy oat base and the creamy chocolate-peanut butter topping!
Dylan, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m thrilled that you loved them and I know my mom would be just as happy to hear that, too.