Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars
A cookie staple made into an easy cookie bar! P.S. don't skimp on the frosting!
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With the sweetness of the raisins and the earthy savoriness of the oats, oatmeal cookies have become a cookie classic alongside chocolate chip and peanut butter cookies. They have been there in kitchen counter cookie jars, in care package cookie tins, and on Christmas green and red plastic plates wrapped in cellophane. They have just the right amount of sweetness to tide over any sweet tooth and beckon you to sit down and have a second bite alongside a glass of cold milk. Here, these Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars take the classic nostalgic comfort of those snacking cookies and turn up the flavor with a delicious maple cinnamon frosting.
This recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars follows the same formula of its cookie counterpart. After the dry ingredients are prepped with a touch of warm cinnamon, the butter and sugar gets creamed together in another bowl.
Once the dry and wet ingredients get mixed together, they get poured into a greased and lined baking pan.
As the cookie base is cooling, the frosting can be whipped up in a flash! This classic buttercream gets a jolt of flavor from maple syrup and cinnamon.
Spread in a decorative manner over the cooled cookie bars, the Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are ready to be sliced and served! The additions of cinnamon in the cookie and frosting create a treat that feels like the holiday season anytime of year.
Biting into these bars, reveals a moist, tender, and chewy texture packed with oats and studded with sweet raisins.
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are a fun and easy spin on the classic oatmeal cookie recipe. The recipe is easy to double, and the portability of the bars makes them easy to share (not that you’ll want to share or give these treats away!).
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars
For the cookie bar:
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 cups quick cook oats
- 1 cup raisins
For the frosting:
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 to 2 tablespoons heavy cream, room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon maple extract (optional)
To make the cookie bars:
- Preheat oven to 350°F, coat a 9x9 pan with baking spray, line with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Combine flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, set aside.
- In another bowl beat butter and brown sugar until light, fluffy, and smooth, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Scrape the sides and bottom of the bowl down throughout the creaming process.
- Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Scrape the bottom and sides of the bowl as needed.
- Add in vanilla.
- Gradually add in dry ingredients, beating to incorporate until no streaks of flour are visible. Use a rubber spatula to combine the dough thoroughly.
- Fold in oats and raisins. The dough will be thick and sticky.
- Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Top the dough with a few more raisins, if desired.
- Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until the edges start to look golden.
- Let the cookie cool in the pan for 5 to 10 minutes before using the parchment paper to lift the cookie bar out of the pan and onto a wire rack to cool completely.
To make the frosting:
- In a bowl beat butter until smooth and lump free. Gradually add in powdered sugar until completely combined. Add in maple syrup, heavy cream, cinnamon, and maple extract.
- Spread frosting over the bars. Cut bars into squares. Serve and enjoy.
Recipe adapted from Life Love And Sugar and Veronica's Cornucopia.