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The recipe is finally here—GoGo’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars!!!
Named after my outstanding mother-in-law, whom we call GoGo, these bars are one of her specialties in the kitchen that everyone in her life knows and loves so very much! Growing up, my husband, Clayton, says that these oatmeal chocolate chip bars were a regular staple in their house and there was almost always a batch ready to be eaten at any given time. In fact, all of his high school friends know and love GoGo’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars and always rant and rave about how they loved them growing up! GoGo took them everywhere with her, and I completely understand why.
These chocolate chip bars are just about the easiest recipe to make, using limited ingredients and a box of yellow cake mix. It can be thrown together at any given time and taken to a friend in need of a little sweet treat, a potluck gathering or when hosting friends at your house.
While they are *fantastic* when warm or at room temperature, they are (arguably) better kept in the freezer and eaten straight out of there — a Snodgrass family secret! We carve them into squares, toss them in a ziplock and leave them in the freezer for a sweet treat whenever your heart desires or easily warmed up if that is what you prefer. But, if you do try our freezer trick, definitely let me know what you think!
want to make more of GoGo’s recipes? try these!
GoGo’s Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- 1 [15-ounce] box Miss Jones vanilla cake mix *use my code 20DEFINED for 20% off
- ½ cup avocado oil
- ¼ cup water
- 1 large egg
- 1 stick butter, softened
- ½ cup packed Miss Jones Smart Sugar *you can also use regular brown sugar here
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats *do not use quick oats
- 1 [8-ounce] package of semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 325 degrees and line a 9×13 metal baking pan with parchment paper.
- In a large mixing bowl with a paddle attachment, combine the avocado oil, water, egg, softened butter, smart sugar (or brown sugar if using) and only ½ of the bag of the vanilla cake mix. Mix at medium speed until well combined.
- Add the remaining cake mix and the oats. Mix over medium speed once more until just combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips. Transfer to the parchment-lined baking pan and spread into an even layer using a rubber spatula.
- Transfer to the preheated oven and bake until the center has just set (you want it to still be pretty soft in the center so try to not over cook)– mine takes exactly 30 minutes. It might not look completely done, but once it has time to set it will be perfect and still chewy in the center.Allow the bars to cool completely, at least 30 more minutes, before lifting the parchment paper out of the baking dish and carving into squares.
Notes
- Quick oats does not work as an alternative in this recipe!
- 1:1 substitute for brown sugar
- I do not like plain coconut sugar as a sub in this recipe
- I have tried grain-free boxed yellow cake mix as an alternative and it did not work the same.
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I followed the recipe exactly how it is and they turned out perfect! Everyone loved them and asked when I could make them again.
Great for taking to a party or event because it makes so many.
Do we think this would work out with m&ms instead of chocolate chips? Wanted to used festive Valentine’s Day colors!
I bet it would be great with M&Ms!
They were really good, and not overly sweet (which I was worried about). I sprayed the dish before I baked them, and I think it made them more oily. I think I’ll experiment omitting the oil, just because it did come out quite oily. I also baked them 10 minutes longer than the recipe said, because they did look too underdone. They came out great! I’d make them again.
Will this work with bob mills gluten free rolled oats?
Yes, it should work with that!
I made these last week and they were SO good and SO easy that I’m making them again today! Thank you for sharing this special family recipe!
I’m confused. Is it supposed to be yellow or vanilla cake mix?
Love these! So easy to make, they did seem gooey after 30 minutes but I trusted the process and I’m glad I did. I let them cool for 30 more mins and cut them (they still seemed gooey) but after popping in the freezer, they are truly perfect. They taste like cookie dough and are so tasty.
I made these today after seeing you post them on Instagram last week and they are PERFECT! Plus I had a ripe banana that I needed to use, so I tossed it in. Still came out just right! My husband and teenage boys devoured them. Maybe the next batch can make it to the freezer, haha. This just became a staple in our house, tell GoGo thank you!!!
Wow! So good, so easy! I made them and then was requested to make them again 2 days later! I did have to let them set up a couple minutes more than 30mins. 2nd batch was made with King Arthur’s Gluten Free Yellow Cake because I was unable to find Miss Jones’ this time. It was equally delicious but had to stay in around 38mins or so to set up. All in all myself and my family are clearly obsessed with these! I will say that I also tried the freezer trick but almost broke a tooth haha. I much prefer them warm and room temperature. They are divine. Thank you for sharing this amazing recipe!
Echoing comments about the consistency- these did NOT set. I almost ruined the batch while I took them out of the pan. These need another 10 minutes minimum.
Agree! I had to leave in for longer! But let it set for a while in the pan. They are so good but for some reason my pan was so oily. Anyone else?
Should I make any changes to the cooking time if I am baking these in a glass dish and not a metal one?
it should be the same– I usually bake mine in glass or porcelain