Butterscotch Oat Bars

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Butterscotch Oat Bars have a pecan oat shortbread crust covered in rich homemade butterscotch then are topped off with a pecan oat crumble for the most delicious cookie bars!

September is National Whole Grains Month and I’ll be celebrating all week long with my favorite whole grain recipes!  I’m starting with oats because they are so versatile.  They are used in cereals, to make bread, and in so many different desserts.

One of my favorite things to eat with oats are Cheerios.   For a year or so I would eat them every single day for breakfast.   Currently I eat them a few times a week for breakfast whenever I need something filling but don’t have a lot of time.

As soon as I decided to use oats I knew I wanted to make a dessert.   There are so many great dessert options using oats including sweet breads, cookies, and bars.

After going through dozens of recipes I knew I had to make these Butterscotch Oat Bars.  I love butterscotch especially when it’s homemade and it’s a great when paired with oats.  The whole cookie bar sounded amazing so I decided to go for it.

Ingredients:

• old fashioned oats
• flour
• baking powder
• salt
• butter
• brown sugar
• egg
• vanilla
• pecans
• heavy cream
• butterscotch chips

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl combine the oats, flour, baking powder, and salt.
3. In a medium bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
4. Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
5. Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and mix just until combined.
6. Fold in the pecans.
7. Remove 1 cup of the mixture to use as the topping.  Spread the rest of the batter into the prepared pan.
8. Bake for 12 minutes.
9. Meanwhile, make the butterscotch mixture by combining the butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally or until the butter has melted.
10. Turn the heat up to medium high and bring the mixture to a low boil.  Boil, stirring occasionally, for 4 or 5 minutes or until the mixture has thickened.
11. Remove the mixture from the heat and add in the heavy.  Be careful as it will splatter when you add it. 
12. Stir in the vanilla and butterscotch chips and mix until smooth.
13. Pour the butterscotch mixture over top of the partially baked crust.  Sprinkle the topping all over top of the butterscotch mixture.
14. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
15. Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. 

I made the crust and topping first so that I could get it into the oven.   After I pressed 3/4 of the mixture into the pan for the crust I decided the topping wasn’t crumbly enough so I did add another 1/4 cup of flour but make your own judgement on whether or not it’s crumbly enough.

Next I set out to make the butterscotch filling.  I have a bit of a hard time with brown sugar because I often feel like it doesn’t entirely dissolve when it’s melted and this was true this time as well.  However, the butterscotch tasted amazing.

My problem with the butterscotch is that it wasn’t super thick.  I was worried it wouldn’t set so I added in a half cup of butterscotch chips I had in the cupboard.  If you don’t have these it’s ok, just make sure your homemade butterscotch thickens up enough.

Can I use quick cook oats?

Yes you can.   While the old fashioned oats will result in a chewier texture, quick cook oats will work just fine if that’s what you have in your house.

Can I use granulated sugar instead of brown sugar?

Yes and no.  You can definitely use the granulated sugar in place of the brown sugar in the crust.  However, you can’t really use it in place of the brown sugar in the butterscotch.  If you use granulated sugar you won’t get as deep a flavor for the butterscotch as you would with the brown sugar so I would only use brown sugar.

Is there a way to prevent the butterscotch from sticking to my pan?

You can line your pan with foil if you are worried about the butterscotch sticking to the pan.  Mine did stick but it was easy enough to cut the bars out once they were cool.   Then I soaked the pan in hot water and it came right off.   Foil will make for easy clean up but I have had trouble getting the butterscotch off the foil so choose whatever works best for you.

Can I use milk or half and half instead of heavy cream?

NO!   Don’t do it!   The only thing that will work to make the butterscotch is the heavy cream.   The texture and flavor won’t work otherwise.

Can I use gluten free flour to make these gluten free?

Yes!   You can substitute an all purpose gluten free flour in a one to one ratio which will make this a gluten free cookie bar. 

When I pulled these bars out of the oven I already knew they were going to be amazing.  I could smell the butter, sugar, and butterscotch and it smelled incredibly.

Make sure you let the bars cool otherwise you run the risk of letting the butterscotch filling run out of the bars.  If that happens you will basically have butterscotch flavored oat bars and they won’t be as good.

More Recipes with Oats:

• Butterscotch Brown Butter Banana Bread with Oats
• Pear Ginger Mini Cakes with Spiced Oat Crumble
• Cranberry Orange Baked Oatmeal
• Oatmeal Cookie Pear Bars
• Air Fryer Almond Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Muffins

These bars are incredible.   The oats melt into the crust to form a sweet, chewy shortbread layer.  Then the butterscotch firms up though it doesn’t get hard so it’s like a soft and chewy butterscotch in the middle.  The topping gets crunchy and adds a next texture to the bars.

I dropped some off at two of my neighbors houses and both of them texted me telling me how good they were.  I had to agree.  The reason I dropped them off is because if we had kept them in the house my husband and I would have eaten them!

These would be a great cookie bar for a fall party or even on a holiday cookie tray.  They taste so good and everyone will want the recipe.  Definitely a show stopping cookie bar if that’s what you are looking for!

If you’ve tried my Butterscotch Oat Bars or any other recipe on Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks please take a minute to rate the recipe and leave a comment letting me know how you liked it. I love hearing from you! You can FOLLOW ME on:

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Butterscotch Oat Bars

These bars have a pecan oat shortbread crust covered in rich homemade butterscotch then are topped off with a pecan oat crumble for the most delicious cookie bars!

5 from 1 vote

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Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 42 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 2 minutes minutes

Servings: 24 bars

Author: Hezzi-D

Ingredients

For the crust and topping:

• 2 c. old fashioned oats
• 1 1/2 c. flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 c. 12 Tablespoons butter
• 1 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla
• 1/2 c. chopped pecans

For the filling:

• 1/2 c. 1 stick butter
• 1 c. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. heavy cream
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 c. butterscotch chips

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9 x 13 baking dish with cooking spray and set aside.
• In a large bowl combine the oats, flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix well and set aside.
• In a medium bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar until fluffy.
• Add in the eggs and vanilla and mix well.
• Pour the butter mixture into the flour mixture and mix just until combined.
• Carefully fold in the pecans.
• Remove 1 cup of the mixture to use as the topping.  Add a little flour if it's not easy to crumble.
• Spread the rest of the batter into the prepared pan.
• Bake for 12 minutes.
• Meanwhile, make the butterscotch mixture by combining the butter and brown sugar in a large saucepan over medium heat.  Stir occasionally or until the butter has melted and the brown sugar is combined with the butter.
• Turn the heat up to medium high and bring the mixture to a low
  boil.  Boil, stirring occasionally, for 4 or 5 minutes or until the
  mixture has thickened.
• Remove the mixture from the heat and add in the heavy.  Stir until combined.
• Stir in the vanilla and butterscotch chips and mix until smooth.
• Pour the butterscotch mixture over top of the partially baked
  crust.  Sprinkle the topping evenly over top of the butterscotch mixture.
• Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from oven and cool completely on a wire rack. 
• Cut into 24 squares and enjoy!

Notes

Recipe adapted from Go Bold With Butter

September is National Rice and National Whole Grains Month. The fourth week of September is National Wild Rice Week. Whole grains are nutritious and are great to make delicious food right from appetizers, salads, breads, and main courses to desserts. In our #FestiveFoodies group we are celebrating the grains this month by sharing our favorite recipes showcasing any grains.  Thanks to Radha of Magical Ingredients who is hosting this event. We are sharing 30 different recipes using whole grains.   Join us in the celebration.

Friday Whole Grain Recipes

• • Cracked Wheat Upma by Magical Ingredients
  • Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies by A Day in the Life on the Farm
  • Easy Rice Pudding by That Recipe
  • Hot Oat & Quinoa Cereal by The Spiffy Cookie
  • Blueberry Quinoa Breakfast Bowl by Jen Around the World
  • Butterscotch Oat Bars by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
  • Wild Rice Stuffing by Leftovers Then Breakfast
  • Old-Fashioned Crisp Oatmeal Cookies by Making Miracles