Needing some comfort food right now? I definitely am and these Oatmeal Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting are one of my favorites. If you are looking for an old-fashioned bar like grandma used to make, this is it!
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We are in crazy times right now dealing with the COVID-19 virus. Many are feeling anxious and lost. The grocery stores are struggling to keep up with demand as many people are stockpiling and leaving others empty-handed for some of the basic items we have all grown accustomed to. I was shocked that there were no potatoes at any of the stores yesterday in a town of approximately 8500 people here in Southwest Iowa. This is definitely “getting real”.
It looks like many of us will need to be creative with our cooking and I wanted to help you out as best I can. These oatmeal bars can be made with items that you already have in your pantry. And, your family will love them! If you have bananas sitting around, check out my Banana Bread recipe too for a great snack.
Have you ever made frosting that you cook on the stove? If not, you may not be making it any other way after you make this brown sugar frosting for the oatmeal bars. There’s just something about bringing the ingredients to a boil that adds another level of yumminess to your dessert. Trust me on this one!
Making the bars
Before I dive into this, I have a little tip for you. These oatmeal bars call for butter but margarine works just as well. So, feel free to substitute if needed. Also, you can use old-fashioned oats or instant oatmeal. It’s all about using what you have on-hand. So, let’s get started!
The key to the bars is this first step. Bring one stick of butter/margarine and 1 1/2 cups of water to a boil. Remove from the heat and add 1 cup of oats/oatmeal. Let this sit for 20 minutes. No straying from that, :).
Next is to put the remaining bar ingredients in a large bowl, add the oatmeal mixture to that and mix well. Pour this into a jelly roll pan or you can substitute a 9″ x 13″ pan for more of a cake height. If you use the 9″ x 13″ pan, you will need to adjust the cooking time to approximately 30 minutes. I suggest checking that an inserted toothpick comes out clean. If so, you are ready to remove from the oven and make your frosting.
Frosting Time
I know you might think this is crazy but you actually frost these bars while they are still warm. So, that just makes them even more simple and quick to make. And, the quicker you can make these, the sooner you can enjoy them!
Bring 1 stick of butter/margarine, 1 cup of brown sugar, and 1/4 cup of milk to a boil in a saucepan on the stove. Once it starts to boil, remove from the heat. Add 2 cups of powdered sugar and mix well. Immediately spread on the warm bars.
These Oatmeal Bars have comfort written all over them! I hope you and yours get some comfort from enjoying them.
Till next time…Cheers!
Oatmeal Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting
Oatmeal bars just like Grandma made. Comfort food at it's finest!
Ingredients
- Bars:
- 1 cup of oats, instant
- 1/2 cup of unsalted butter (1 stick)
- 1 1/2 cups boiling water
- 1 cup of sugar
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- Frosting:
- 1/2 cup of butter (1 stick)
- 1 cup of brown sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 2 cups of powdered sugar
Instructions
1. Bring 1 1/2 cups of water and 1/2 cup of butter to a boil in a saucepan.
2. Take off the heat and add oats to the boiling water. Let stand for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine 1 cup of sugar, 1 cup of brown sugar, eggs, flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and vanilla.
5. Add the oat mixture to the ingredients in the large mixing bowl and mix well.
6. Pour into an ungreased 10" x 15" jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes.
7. For the frosting, bring 1/2 cup of butter, 1 cup of brown sugar and 1/4 cup of milk to a boil in a saucepan.
8. Remove from heat and add 2 cups of powdered sugar, mixing well.
9. Spread on warm bars.
Notes
You can substitute old-fashioned oats for the instant and margarine for the butter.
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Nutrition Information
Yield 24 Serving Size 1Amount Per Serving Calories 243Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 5gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 3gCholesterol 36mgSodium 96mgCarbohydrates 41gFiber 1gSugar 32gProtein 2g
Nutritional data is not always accurate.
Good recipe but I think of it more like a cake. The oatmeal bars I had in school were more firm and crunchy. This recipe tastes well, just wasn’t quite what I was looking for.
Absolutely loved this recipe! Super easy! I used an 11×17 cookie sheet/jelly roll pan and lined it with parchment paper. Because I used a larger pan, I doubled the icing recipe to be sure I had enough. The texture was cake like and the icing was lovely. Thank you!
Thank you for your comment. You definitely can’t go wrong with more frosting!