I’ve been meaning to share this recipe for a long time but I just couldn’t get it right. Now that I have and I can hardly wait to publish this post. The inspiration for these skillet chocolate chip bars came by way of Heidi Swanson’s blog, 101 Cookbooks (one of my absolute favorites) in which she interpreted a recipe from the cookbook Good to the Grain by Kim Boyce. For my version, I’ve added in some oats and reduced the amount of sugar by about a quarter. The result is a scrumptious bar with toothsome texture that delivers just the right amount of sweetness. Prep time takes just about five minutes and once you’ve placed your dough in a cast iron skillet – please tell me you have one, they are essential in any kitchen! – your efforts will be rewarded in a moist bar that is ready to take out of the oven in just forty-five minutes.
Oatmeal Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Skillet Bars
Truly one of the fastest, easiest, and satistying bar recipes around. And they’re cooked in a skillet to boot! Perfect sliced into wedges and topped with a dollop of ice cream or cut into squares and packed in a lunchbox. They’re also nifty wrapped up and tucked away a pocket to take on a snowshoe. Dress ‘em up or dress ‘em down. They’re delicious both ways, moist and whole grain. What’s not to love? Ok, they’re probably not low calorie.
2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup quick oats
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
8 ounces/ 2 sticks unsalted butter, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
3/4 cup light brown sugar
3/4 cup white sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups bittersweet chocolate chips (about 8 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place a rack in the middle. Lightly butter a 10 or 11-inch OVENPROOF skillet that is at least 2 inches deep (mine is a little over 3 inches deep). This will prevent your bars from overflowing the sides.
Combine the dry ingredients in a bowl. Place the butter and sugars into the bowl of a stand mixer and, using the paddle attachment, mix until they are just blended. Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing until each is combined . Add the vanilla. Now pour the flour mixture into the bowl and blend on low speed until the mixture is just combined. Do not overwork the dough. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Slowly add in 1 1/4 cups of the chocolate chips (making sure to reserve about 1/4 of a cup) until they are incorporated into the mixture. Turn the batter out of the bowl into the prepared skillet, pressing it into place. Now sprinkle the 1/4 cup reserved chocolate chips evenly over the top of the dough and lightly press them into the dough. The purpose it to make the top of your bars look yummy and chocolate-y!
Bake the bars for 35-45 minutes (mine are usually ready after 35 minutes but I have a convection oven) until they are golden brown on top and the center has set. Let the bars cool for at least 20 to 30 minutes before slicing – otherwise they will be too gooey in the middle. These bars are even better the second day.
I DO have a cast iron skillet (since you’ve asked). But I will need someone to share the bars with, so as not to ruin my girlish figure.
We take any and all leftovers. These don’t last long in our cookie jar!
It’s all I can do to keep from running to the BIG through the rain and wind and buy a package of chocolate chips immediately. Will do so tomorrow, make the bars, eat half of them myself, then walk the beach for a few hours to work it off – thanks, Lisa!
Baking oatmeal chocolate chip bars and walking the beach. Sounds like a perfect day.
Hey, has Norwich moved to a different time zone? You and JP posted 5 hours from now…
Lisa- You mention “quick” oats… are “quick” essential OR can I use regular cooking oats? If modifications needed- let me know!
I think essential oats must be old-fashioned rolled oats. Most people swear that you can use either old fashioned or quick in a recipe with the same results (and that rolled have a nicer texture). I personally think either would work fine but since this is a 100% whole wheat flour recipe – and whole wheat absorbs a little more moisture as do rolled oats – the result might just be an eensy-weensy bit drier. But these bars are super moist with the butter so it should be fine. Good luck, Heidi. Let me know how things work out.
OK–Hanna and I were a little intimidated, as we do not (shamefully) have a cast iron skillet. However, I braved the recipe in a caphalon square tin, and it worked fine. (I cooked for a bit less time than suggested.) Also, I only had regular (not quick) oats and they were fine. Everyone at the table loved these bars. Another huge hit–thanks Lisa!!
So glad you liked them, found a way to make them without a skillet, and aswered the oat question once and for all!
Am going to buy new whole wheat flour tomorrow so I can make these yummy things! (Am I right in thinking whole wheat flour does not have an eternal shelf life? I’ve had some in an airtight container for … a while, but it smells less than fresh!)
How old is the flour? I’ve let mine go up to a year in the pantry in an airtight container and it’s still worked fine. BUT, with that said, if you’d feel more comfortable investing in new ww flour, go for it and make this fantastic recipe. Don’t let anything get in the way of that!
One more thing: just wanted to let you know that the reason whole wheat flour has a shorter shelf life is because it incorporates the whole grain (germ, etc) in the milling. The whole grain has oil in it and that can lead to the flour becoming rancid more quickly than the simpler, refined white flour.
Lisa, I keep my whole wheat flour in the freezer, in a plastic zip-lock bag, and it doesn’t go rancid. Back in the olden days when I had my Popoma Farm Health Food store in our back yard, I ground all my flour as I needed it. I liked using a mixture of soft white wheat, barley, brown rice and oat flour with a bit of corn meal for cookies and pancakes – yum!