Amazing Oatmeal Chocolate Bars

These cookie bars are just incredible. The first time I had them, years ago, it was just incredible. I'm pretty sure I had them at someone's house and ran home to search for the recipe. I found one on Hershey's site and made it the first chance I got... and somewhere, over time, I forgot about these bars. Last summer, I had them again and the memories of my love for them flooded back.

I pulled the recipe up again and was surprised that it had cocoa as the main ingredient for the chocolate filling.... I decided to use real chocolate instead and holy amazingness. It's just heaven in every bite! I can't remember exactly how much bittersweet chocolate I added but I just kept adding it in until it screamed of chocolate. One can never get too much chocolate, right?!?


Chocolate Filled Oatmeal Walnut Bars
adapted from Hershey

Oatmeal Part:
1 cup (2 sticks) butter or margarine, softened
2 cups packed light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon powdered instant coffee(optional)
3 cups quick-cooking rolled oats
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 cups chopped walnuts, divided

Chocolate filling:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine
12 ounces semi-sweet baking chocolate, chopped
4-6 ounces bittersweet baking chocolate, chopped
1 can (14 oz.) sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F.

2. Beat butter and brown sugar in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, vanilla and instant coffee, if desired; beat until fluffy. Stir together oats, flour, baking soda, salt and 1 cup walnuts; gradually stir into butter mixture with spoon. (Dough will be thick.) Set aside 2 cups dough.

3. Melt butter in medium saucepan over low heat. Stir in chocolate. Add sweetened condensed milk; cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thick. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla.

4. Press remaining dough evenly onto bottom of ungreased 15-1/2x10-1/2x1-inch jelly-roll pan (I didn't have a jelly roll pan so I used a 9x13 pan). Spread chocolate filling evenly over dough. Crumble reserved dough evenly over filling. Sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup walnuts.

5. Bake 25 minutes or until top is golden brown (chocolate will be soft). Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars. About 4 dozen bars.



Stay tuned next week for the cool sugar cookie stars in this picture!