Reese’s Peanut Butter Bars with Oatmeal feature mini Reese’s cups baked right inside along with peanut butter chips for an extra burst of peanut butter taste in every bite. Oatmeal makes them chewy and filling but doesn’t weigh them down. Peanut butter lovers, you’re in for a treat!

A glass platter of oatmeal peanut butter bars.

I know it’s the holidays and you might be overloaded with sweet treats, but the kids are still at home and Peanut Butter Bars with Oatmeal are an all time favorite for both kids and adults.

When I have a house full of family, I find that mine want a variety of sweets and you can never go wrong with a peanut butter treat in the freezer. If you are more of a cookie fan, you can still get alot of these flavors and textures in peanut butter oatmeal cookies, you just won’t get the Reese’s like you do with a bar.

You might think that an oatmeal bar is trying to trick you into eating a healthy dessert. Not so, these are not what I would consider “healthy”, but the oatmeal does give them some texture and keeps them together.

Peanut butter bars stacked between parchment paper on a blue background.

What I love most about these is the small bites of Reese’s cup that you get in each bar, it’s so creamy and has just the right amount of sweetness and peanut butter.

A batch of oatmeal bars cut into squares on parchment paper.

Why you’ll love them

There’s a double punch of peanut butter in each bite!
The bars are chewy like a blondie.
The peanut butter’s creaminess is perfect in these bars.
This dessert freeze’s well and you can ship them.

What you’ll need

Ingredients for oatmeal peanut butter bars.

Unsalted butter
Brown sugar
Peanut butter – creamy for these oatmeal bars
Eggs
Vanilla
Flour
Old fashioned oatmeal – these are rolled oats and are different from quick or instant oaks which are cut into smaller pieces.
Baking powder
Salt
Reese’s peanut butter chips – any peanut butter chip will work. Or if you want them to be more chocolate than peanut butter, you can use chocolate chips instead.
Reese’s miniatures or Reese’s minis – if using the mini’s you don’t have to chop them in half.

How do you make peanut butter oatmeal bars

Step 1:

First you make a peanut butter cookie dough with peanut butter chips and peanut butter.

A mixing bowl of peanut butter oatmeal dough.

A mixing bowl of cookie dough with peanut butter chips on top.

Step 2:

If using miniature Reese’s cups, cut them in half.

Reese's cups chopped on a cutting board.

Place a little more than half of the dough on the bottom of the pan and then cover that layer with the Mini Reese’s Cups.

Reese's cups on top of a cookie dough base.

Step 3:

Top the Reese’s cups with the rest of the dough and bake. It won’t cover the Reese’s cups completely.

Raw dough on top of Reese's cups in a baking pan.

A batch of baked oatmeal peanut butter bars.

So simple but the flavors are amazing.

They look a little bit like a blondie but not near as sweet. I think they’re the perfect combination, and if you cut them into bite size squares, it’s a great afternoon reward after a hard day!

Before the kids go back to school, make a batch to have on hand. They freeze great, and ship well if you need to send off some care packages once everyone has flown the nest. Or pack them in lunches for a nice surprise.