Butterscotch PB Monster Cookie Bars

• servings: 24 servings
• active time: 20 minutes
• total time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

1/2 cup (113 g)salted butter (softened to room temperature)

1 cup (255 g) creamy peanut butter

2/3 cup (141 g) light brown sugar

2/3 cup (141 g) granulated sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 large eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups (125 g) quick oats (see note)

1 1/4 cups (125 g) old-fashioned oats (see note)

1 cup (170 g) chocolate chips

1 cup (170 g) butterscotch chips or peanut butter chips or more chocolate chips (see note) or mixture of both

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X13-inch metal pan with parchment paper. This will make it easier to take them out and cut them. If using glass, you may want to decrease the oven temp to 325 degrees.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer, beat the butter, peanut butter, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking soda and salt together until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Add the eggs and vanilla and beat until well-combined. Add the quick oats, old-fashioned oats, chocolate chips and butterscotch chips and mix until evenly combined.

Spread the dough evenly in the bottom of the prepared pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the edges are lightly golden - don't overbake or the bars might be dry and crumbly. Cool the bars in the pan before cutting into squares. These bars freeze great!

Notes

Oats: I like the combo of the two different kinds of oats, but you can use either all quick oats or all old-fashioned oats (slightly different texture in the bars if doing so).

Peanut Butter: I have not tried these bars with natural peanut butter or a different kind of nut butter like cashew or almond.

Gluten-Free: these bars are easily gluten-free since there isn’t flour in the recipe, but to be truly gluten-free, double check all your ingredients (particularly the oats and the butterscotch or other chips) to ensure the package clearly states they are gluten-free. The Nestle brand of butterscotch chips are NOT gluten-free but the Guittard and Hershey brands are gluten-free.

Nutrition

• Serving Size: 1 Bar
• Calories: 231 kcal
• Total Fat: 12 g
• Saturated Fat: 5 g
• Cholesterol: 26 mg
• Sodium: 190 mg
• Total Carbohydrate: 29 g
• Dietary Fiber: 1 g
• Total Sugars: 21 g
• Protein: 4 g