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Making Friday even sweeter with these Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars. These one-bowl homemade oatmeal cookie bars with dark chocolate chunks and a sprinkle of flaky sea salt are the perfect way to end the week. They’re super easy and made a touch healthier with a mix of whole grain oats, whole wheat flour, coconut or olive oil, and a reduced amount of sugar. But most importantly, everyone LOVES these oatmeal bars! Plus, they’re pretty difficult to mess up…they always turn out GREAT.
Going back to my childhood roots with these oatmeal cookie bars. For any of you that know anything about my mom, you know that when my brothers and I were growing up, she’d have dessert on the table before dinner was even a thought. Her staples were chocolate chip cookies, special K-bars, chocolate cake, and her famous oatmeal chocolate chip cookies that she’s been making ever since her friend Lora gave her the recipe (before I was even born).
Oh her cookies. My memories of them are so fond and perfect. We’d always eat them a little warm and gooey right after baking and always with a cold glass of milk. Very classic, right? To this day, these are some of my favorite memories. Baking in the kitchen with mom and zero brothers around.
Fun fact? My purpose in life as a kid was to figure out a way to get mom all to myself without any of my five brothers. It was tricky, but when I made it happen I loved every minute of our one-on-one time.
Anyway, when my mom wasn’t feeling like baking her round chocolate cookies, she’d make oatmeal cookie bars. Her recipe is EASY and it’s the BEST. You simply cannot beat a one large bowl, ten-minute prep, and pantry staple cookie bar.
Mom would make her oatmeal cookie bars once a week. And there were definitely many weeks she’d make them twice. When a recipe is as easy and as delicious as her bars, it becomes a staple in the kitchen. But here’s the truth. Over the years I’ve adapted her recipe, making small tweaks here and there to adjust them to be a little bit healthier and taste maybe even better?
Maybe…
It’s hard to beat an oatmeal cookie bar baked by my mom, but these healthier dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookie bars come very, very close.
Here are the very simple details.
This recipe requires just one bowl and a spoon…no mixer. It’s completely no-fuss, and takes ten minutes to toss together. You can’t mess these bars up. They are practically foolproof.
In your mixing bowl combine all of the dry ingredients. Now, add all of the wet ingredients. Mix away until you have a crumbly dough. Stir in plenty fo dark chocolate chunks, then press the dough into a baking dish. Bake twenty minutes and sprinkle with flaky sea salt once you remove them from the oven.
Smell the wonderfulness? Do you see the melty chocolate?
I don’t love the word perfect, but these oatmeal cookies are pretty close to it.
A few notes and keys to success…
Normally I’m all for butter, but with this cookie recipe there is no sub…oil is what works best, and is a bit healthier too. Over the years I’ve discovered that you can use melted coconut (which I prefer) or extra virgin olive oil (which is also delicious but adds a little flavor to the cookie).
To make these a heartier cookie, I replaced half of the white flour with whole wheat flour and reduced the sugar by half. And of course, was sure to stir in plenty of antioxidant-rich dark chocolate.
Oh, and you can’t forget a nice dusting of flaky sea salt. You don’t have to, but it sure is good…
One thing I do want to note is that these cookie bars are crumbly. It’s just the way they are, and it’s apart of what makes them delicious. So embrace the crumbly cookie bar. Promise you, it’s so good.
What I love about these cookies is that they’re so easy to make. They require no chilling and truly take just thirty minutes from start to finish. I almost always have these ingredients on hand. So when it’s Friday night and the urge for a delicious yet slightly healthier chocolatey cookie comes on? These cookies are always what I bake. Always.
They’re just perfectly crisp on the edges but soft and gooey in the middle. The best kind of cookie.
Bake these tonight, or sometime this weekend. Then make them again whenever you’re craving something sweet. Perfect for any time of the year bar, and such a great staple recipe. Hope you ENJOY!
Looking for other healthier desserts for the weekend? Some favorites…
Healthy…ish Homemade Samoas Cookies
Fudgy Avocado Brownies with Chocolate Fudge Frosting
Lastly, if you make these healthier dark chocolate chunk oatmeal cookie bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Healthier Dark Chocolate Chunk Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 262 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Watch the How-To Reel
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups old fashioned oats
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup white whole wheat or whole wheat pastry flour
- 1/2-3/4 cup light brown sugar, us more for a sweeter cookie (I use only 1/2 cup)
- 1/4-1/2 cup granulated sugar, us more for a sweeter cookie (I use only 1/4 cup)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup melted coconut oil (see notes)
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups dark chocolate chunks
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9×13 inch baking dish with butter or line with parchment paper. 2. In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, mix the oatmeal, flour, whole wheat flour brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda, salt, coconut oil, eggs, and vanilla. Beat until the dough is moist and all the ingredients are combined. The dough will be crumbly. Mix in the chocolate chunks. 3. Press the dough into the prepared baking dish. It will seem crumbly. Transfer to the oven and bake 18-20 minutes or until the edges are set and the bars are golden. Sprinkle with flaky salt (if desired). Let cool and then cut into bars.
Notes
To Make Gluten Free: Use an equal amount of your favorite gluten free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. I recommend Cup4Cup gluten free flour.
To Replace Coconut Oil: use an equal amount of olive oil, melted butter, or canola oil.
Storing: these cookies keep well for 3-4 days at room temperature.
This post was originally published on May 15, 2020
1,879 calories in a 1 cup of coconut oil…………
Thanks for the great info! Have an awesome weekend! 🙂
Should these be refrigerated after baking?
Nope. Thanks!
These are delicious! I’ve made them three times now, and they don’t last 24 hours in our house. Do you think I could freeze these? I have company coming next weekend for my daughter’s baptism and just won’t have much time to bake.
Hey Jeni! I have never tried freezing these, but i think it would work great! Hope your daughter has a great baptism!
I made these and omg they are so yummy! I didn’t have the size pan you recommended though and just used a square one so they were a little thicker but they came out perfect still!
I read the comments before making these, and I wanted them to hold together to be portable in my husband’s lunch box, so I decreased the AP flour by 1/4 cup. I also used half coconut and half canola, just because it’s what I had. These are great! I made them in muffin cups, and it made exactly 12 firmly packed in muffins. They stay together really well. A bit crumbly when eating, but in a good way! Thanks! This is a recipe I’ll make again and again.
I wish recipe blogs wouldn’t bury the ingredient list and steps under a lot of pictures.
These are delicious! Has this recipe changed though? I made them tonight after not making them for awhile and it seemed a bit different. Still delicious but I LOVED them last time I made them (or the last several times I made them…)
Hey Jennifer!
Nope the recipe is all the same. It might have just been an odd batch, thats all. So happy you love the recipe!
HEALTHY??????
Last I checked tons of sugar and flour weren’t “healthy”. But you made me look, so you got me there.
I just recently came across your blog, and love it! I made these tonight, and they are DELISH! Thank you for sharing. 🙂
These look great but do you have recipe in UK measures? Thanks!!
I almost never have whole wheat flour on hand. Can I use all all purpose flour?
Yes, that will be fine. Hope you love these!
Desperate for chocolate I made these but with semisweet as it was all I had on hand. Flavor still great, but my chips were dry and crumbly instead of melting. Any idea why? So bummed I don’t have the gooey melty chocolate. Otherwise delish!
What bran chocolate chips did you use?? I have found that some brands do not melt well.
I made these with all whole wheat flour and coconut sugar and they were yummy! I will be making them again! I would suggest to change the title though. These are not healthy. They are HEALTHIER and are a great option for your sweet tooth. But in reading the comments, people are believing the truly are healthy and good for you. Sugar and white flour are considered very unhealthy, so the title is misleading.
SO Happy you love them! THANK YOU!
Would love to incorporate peanut butter in this, any suggestions? Maybe a bit less oil and add the peanut butter??
Hey Angie, I think just adding around 1/3 cup of peanut butter might work great. Hope you love them!