Yum Yum Bars
Oatmeal cookies are one of my MOST favorite cookies ever and these are a serious winner in my book. Combine a thick oatmeal cooking with a yummy chocolatey filling and Yum Yum Bars are what you get! My friend, Lethicia, shared these with me last fall and I have made them several times since, twice in the first two weeks after she brought me a plate of them. HA! Apparently they are a thing and have been for a while, but I had never had them! Where have I been? *gasp*
Gather up all your ingredients and let’s make Yum Yum Bars! These can be made either choc full of gluten or gluten free (see notes).
First, mix together the sugars and add in the soft butter. Mix until well combined and smooth. Add in the eggs, one at at a time. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt , then add in the oats. Mix the dry ingredients into the wet until thoroughly combined.
For gluten free Yum Yum Bars simply swap out the oats and flour for certified gluten free oats and a 1 for 1 gluten free flour blend.
Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1 for 1 Flour
Bobs Gluten Free Oats
Butter a baking dish (9×13″ or 9×9″) or line with parchment paper. Pat half of the dough into the bottom of the pan. Set the remaining half of the dough aside.
In a double boiler, melt together butter, chocolate, and sweetened condensed milk (scm). Keep stirring until all the butter is melted and combined. Don’t boil this, you want a gentle melt and you don’t want to scorch the chocolate, so keep your heat under control. Keep stirring. Just keep stirring. The filling will become silky and smooth.
Pour the filling over the top of the bottom crust. (I forgot to snap a photo of this step.)
Note: Depending on the size of your baking pan you may have some extra filling. When I make this in a 9×13 pan I have just a little bit of filling left. Enjoy this with a spoon 😉 When I make this in a 9×9″ brownie pan I have enough filling left to fill a half pint jar. Enjoy this over a bowl of ice cream or drizzle over warm cookies topped with ice cream. YUM YUM YUM!
Now, take the remaining dough and crumble it over the top of the filling. Leave a few small holes here and there. Then press the top dough gently down into the filling.
Now pop that beauty in a 350* oven for 15-20 minutes. Once it is done, take it out and let it cool in the pan for about 10 minutes before cutting into it. These will cut better if they are not screaming hot when you cut into them. You can let them cool all the way to room temp or enjoy slightly warm. We have enjoyed these with a scoop of ice cream and warm filling or fudge syrup drizzled over the top.
Look at that golden goodness!
Now sit back and enjoy a square or two of these delicious Yum Yum Yummy Bars!
and of course, we can’t forget topping a warm cookie with some vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of fudge sauce …
… and just for kicks and giggles, here is the latest batch that I baked in a 9×9 brownie pan. Just as good and extra thick!
Did you make this? Please drop a rating!
Yum Yum Bars
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 Cup Granulated sugar (reduce by 1-2 T at high altitude)
- 1 Cup Brown sugar (reduce by 1-2 T at high altitude)
- 1/2 Cup Butter (softened)
- 2 lg Eggs (room temp)
- 2 Cups Flour (all purpose)
- 1 tsp baking soda (reduce to 1/2-3/4 tsp at high altitude)
- 3 Cups Quick Oats
- 1/4 tsp Kosher salt (not in original recipe)
Filling
- 1/2 Cup Butter (sliced into 1 Tbs pieces)
- 200 grams Solid chocolate (approx 1 C choc chips, weigh other chopped chocolate)
- 1 Can Sweetened condensed milk
- 1 tsp Vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350* F. Position rack in the middle of the oven.
Dough
* I prefer to mix my dough by hand, but this can also be done in a stand mixer or with a hand mixer.
- Mix the sugars together and then add the softened butter and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Add the eggs, one at a time, until thoroughly combined.
- Whisk together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Mix in the oats. Add to the wet ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined.
- Butter a 9 x 9" or a 9 x 13" pan or line with parchment paper.
- Press half of the dough into the bottom of the baking pan. (If you use the smaller pan your cookies will be slightly thicker and you will have leftover filling.)
- Set aside the remaining dough.
Filling
- In the top of a double boiler add the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, and butter, and vanilla. Keep stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan until the butter is completely melted and combined with the chocolate and scm. Keep stirring so that the chocolate does not scorch on the bottom of the pan.
- Once all of the filling ingredients and thoroughly combined pour it over the dough in the baking pan. You may have extra. See notes.
- Crumble the remaining dough over the top of the filing. Gently press the top dough into the filling.
- Bake for 15 – 20 minutes. Let cool in the pan on a cooling rack. Cut into squares and serve cool or slightly warm with ice cream and any remaining filling or fudge sauce.
Notes
High altitude changes: You may not need to adjust for elevation, but at 6,300 ft this works for me. * reduce the baking soda to 1/2 tsp (above 6,000 ft) and to 3/4 tsp (3,000 – 5,999 ft) *reduce the sugars by about 2 Tbs each.