Iced oatmeal bars are soft, chewy and super simple to make. Made with quick oats, melted butter, brown sugar and a touch of molasses and cinnamon for a classic light spice flavor. Then frosted with a thin layer of vanilla icing. This cookie bar recipe uses an 8x8 pan, takes 10 minutes of prep time and bakes in about 18 minutes.
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Pure nostalgia vibes! As a busy mom and home baker, I'm always looking for simple recipes that don't take much time to prepare. These iced oatmeal cookie bars taste as fantastic as oatmeal cream pies or iced molasses cookies, but with less work. Just mix the dough, spread into a pan and bake. The vanilla icing gives them that “something special”.
The homemade bars slice cleanly and travel well, making them perfect for bake sales, taking to parties or for lunchboxes. The warm spices make this an inviting dessert any time of the year. They are soft and chewy and a balance of cozy and indulgent.
Big E loves the Trader Joe’s iced oatmeal bars to throw in her backpack. When she taste tested these cookie bars she exclaimed, “they taste like TJ's bars, but way better!”
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🛒 ingredient notes and substitutions
The iced oatmeal cookie bar dough comes together quickly and easily with a bowl and melted butter. Once cool, they get frosted with an easy vanilla icing. The icing dries firm, allowing the cookie bars to be stacked.
Please scroll to the printable recipe card at the end of this post for the full list of ingredients and baking directions.
Oats ~ this recipe uses quick oats, which help with the soft and chewy texture. If you only have old-fashioned oats, give them a blitz in a food processor to make them a bit smaller.
Molasses ~ I use Wholesome organic molasses. It is darker in color than many brands. Grandma's is the other brand I have used. Please avoid blackstrap molasses as it is too bitter for this cookie bar recipe.
🥣 how to make these easy cookie bars
Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
In a medium to large bowl, melt the butter. Allow it to cool for about a minute. Add the brown sugar and kosher salt and whisk until fully combined.
Then whisk in the egg, vanilla and molasses.
Add the cinnamon and quick oats and stir to combine.
Then add the all-purpose flour to the wet ingredients. Now mix it all together with a spatula until combined.
Drop the blondie batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly in the pan. An off-set spatula is helpful.
Bake for about 16 - 18 minutes, until the edges have slightly browned and are firm. If tested with a toothpick, it should have some moist crumbs stuck to it.
Allow the oatmeal bars to cool completely in the pan before icing.
Once the bars are cool, mix confectioners' sugar, vanilla and milk together in a small bowl until a thick icing is created. I usually need an additional ¼ teaspoon of milk to reach a thick, spreadable consistency.
Then spoon the icing over the cooled oatmeal bars and spread in a thin layer, leaving some bits of cookie bar showing through. Allow the icing to set, then cut and serve.
🫙 how to store
Any leftovers should be stored in an airtight container, they will stay fresh at room temperature for 2-3 days.
The iced oatmeal bars can also be frozen for up to 2-3 months. Freeze in an airtight container.
Remember to snap a picture and tag me @twosugarbugs on Instagram if you make these Simple Iced Oatmeal Bars. It warms my heart to see you bring these recipes to life! Thank you for being here and happy baking!
If you make this recipe {or any recipe!} from two sugar bugs please come back and leave a review and a ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ star rating. I read every comment, and I LOVE hearing from you!
📖 recipe
Simple Iced Oatmeal Bars
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams in parenthesis DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Ingredients
- ½ cup unsalted butter melted (113g)
- ¾ cup packed brown sugar 150g
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 large egg room temperature
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 tablespoon molasses 15mL
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 cup quick oats 90g
- 1 cup all-purpose flour 125g
vanilla icing
- ⅓ cup confectioners' sugar 40g
- ¼ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ½ tablespoon milk + ¼ teaspoon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F and prepare an 8x8 baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a medium to large bowl, melt the butter (you can do this on the stove or microwave). Allow it to cool for about a minute. Add the brown sugar (¾ cup/150g) and kosher salt (½ teaspoon) and whisk until fully combined, then whisk in the egg (1 large), vanilla (1 tablespoon) and molasses (1 tablespoon).
- Add the cinnamon (1 teaspoon) and quick oats (1 cup/90g) and stir to combine.
- Then add the all-purpose flour (1 cup/125g) to the wet ingredients. Now mix it all together with a spatula until combined.
- Drop the blondie batter into the prepared pan and spread it evenly in the pan. An off-set spatula is helpful.
- Bake for about 16 - 18 minutes, until the edges have slightly browned and are firm. If tested with a toothpick, it should have some moist crumbs stuck to it. Allow the oatmeal bars to cool completely in the pan before icing.
- Once the bars are cool, mix confectioners' sugar (⅓ cup/40g), vanilla (¼ teaspoon) and milk (½ tablespoon) together in a small bowl until a thick icing is created. I usually need an additional ¼ teaspoon milk to reach a thick, spreadable consistency.
- Then spoon the icing over the cooled oatmeal bars and spread in a thin layer, leaving some bits of cookie bar showing through. Allow the icing to set, then cut and serve.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Michelle says
These oatmeal bars were so good! Since we can't get down to Trader Joe's, these really fit the bill! Will have to make them again to keep them on hand for school lunches.
Tasia says
Hi Michelle, I am so happy to hear you loved these oatmeal bars! Thank you for making them and coming back to comment!