Everything in the Pantry Cookie Bars

On Friday, our fridge stopped working and kicked off a pretty spectacular round of fall cleaning in the kitchen. After getting the refrigerator emptied for maintenance, cabinets were straightened, spices refilled and the pantry was reorganized.

This left me with a handful of raisins, half a bag of semi sweet chocolate chips and a Costco sized portion of oats with no home. Rather than tossing these ingredients or sacrificing the aesthetics of my newly orderly pantry, they became cookie bars! I decided to call them Everything in the Pantry Cookie Bars because really, you can throw whatever you’ve got in. Craisins? Put ’em in. Chopped nuts? Yep. Maraschino cherries? Could be weird, but okay.

This recipe does not call for any special ingredients or equipment, but after 24 minutes of baking my edges were pretty brown but the center was wobbly. I threw a piece of foil over the top and baked for an additional 5 minutes. I like my cookies a little under done, and this was just right, but keep an eye on your bars and do what works best for you! Additionally, I used salted butter because that’s what we had on hand, but if you use unsalted butter, be sure to add half a teaspoon of salt to balance the flavors.

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup (2 sticks) salted butter, softened
• 1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 2 cups rolled oats
• Up to 2 cups of add-ins

TO MAKE

• Preheat the oven to 350° and grease a 9×13 inch baking pan.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine butter and sugars.
• Add in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each.
• Add in vanilla extract.
• Add in dry ingredients and add-ins, mix on low until just combined.
• Transfer dough to pan, and carefully press the mixture to evenly distribute.
• Bake until golden brown, about 24-30 minutes.
• Let cool at least 10 minutes before slicing an serving.

Pictures and images are my own.