Whole Wheat Chocolate Oat Bars

These bars were the “practical final” for my level 1 class. This basically meant that I didn’t give my “tips, tricks, and explanations” introduction. Since high school students don’t really listen anyways, it was pretty much just a normal cooking day but worth more points. These bars consistently turned out fab – which essentially means that it’s nearly impossible to mess up this recipe.

A cookie bar made with 100% whole wheat flour? Yes! Do you see that I call for “white whole wheat flour”? It’s just made from a different variety of wheat, one that yields lighter, fluffier results than traditional whole wheat. It’s just as good for you. Anyways – these are seriously addicting and don’t last long in my house. My husband ate a plate of pasta at dinner and ducked back into the kitchen, I thought for more pasta. Turned out it was the “cookie” portion of dinner time. He ate four cookie bars and then finished up with more pasta. I looked at him quizzically.. like, you couldn’t wait till after your dinner? Apparently not.

My favorite parts are the edges. Over the coarse of a day I sliced off the entire outside 1/2 inch. I then began to worry that anyone who saw the pan would think I was 1) a big fat fatty, and 2) crazy. So then I had to cut up all the bars and place them into a different container, essentially hiding the evidence.

A great cookie to make for kids as I promise, the whole-wheat-ness is entirely hidden. They’ll love ’em! And remember, if 14 year olds could put these together flawlessly, even you novice bakers should have no prob.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Oat Bars

Makes a 9 x 13 pan

Filling

1 1/2 c. semisweet chocolate chips

2/3 c. fat free sweetened condensed milk

Bar

2 c. white whole wheat flour

1 c. old fashioned oats

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. kosher salt

2 egg

1 1/2 c. packed light brown sugar

1/2 c. canola or veggie oil

2 tsp. vanilla

Topping

1/4 c. oats

1 1/2 tbsp. butter, softened

1. Heat oven to 350. Spray a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In heavy saucepan, heat filling ingredients over low heat, stirring frequently until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.

3. In large bowl, mix flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

4. In medium bowl, stir egg, brown sugar, oil and vanilla with fork until smooth.

5. Add liquid mixture to flour mixture and stir until blended.

6. Reserve 1 c. dough in a small bowl for topping.

7. Pat remaining dough into pan using wet fingers.

8. Spread filling over dough and smooth to edges.

9. Add topping ingredients to the reserved dough. Use a fork to integrate butter and oats completely.

10. Break topping mixture into small pieces and drop evenly over filling.

11. Bake 20 to 25 minutes or until top is golden and firm. Cool completely, about 1 hour, before cutting into squares.