Whole Wheat Oatmeal Molasses Dark Chocolate Gooey Bars

I have a confession to make: Sometimes, when I run out of ingredients in my pantry, I make recipes for the sole reason that I don’t have anything else to work with. Case in point? These whole wheat oatmeal molasses dark chocolate gooey bars. Yes, it’s a mouthful. A big, delicious, chocolatey mouthful and I apologize. But what I don’t apologize for is that fact that I made them, because they’re ridiculously good.

I made these babies earlier in the week before heading home to Boston. I nearly ran out of all-purpose flour (Mental image = me scraping flour bowl with a spoon to scoop every last bit into my measuring cup*), had no brown sugar, and one lonely egg left. So I put my baker cap on (stood in my kitchen for 5 minutes), came up with a bunch of ideas (like one and a half) and finally came up with these. 

But, guys, have I told you how amazing they are? Like SO amazing. Gooey, chocolatey, healthy(er) due to the whole wheat, lower in sugar than normal bars, and the absolute best dessert I’ve made all month. I’m currently sitting on my bed in Boston eating one. No, I didn’t take them to Boston with me. I made a second batch here. All you food bloggers can confirm that when you make a recipe twice in a week, it means you’ve struck gold.

Meanwhile, how’s Boston? Oh it’s fantastic. I drove around town this morning, taking the long route to get everywhere because I missed everything so much. If you asked me 10 years ago if I could see myself raising a family in my hometown, I would’ve said are you crazy. If you asked me now, I would say heck yes and how can I confirm that this will happen because I’m all for it.

So I’m off to frolic around Newbury Street and then pick up my mum from work (with a gooey bar in hand, no doubt).

• Author: Sarah Fennel
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 16 bars

Whole Wheat Oatmeal Molasses Dark Chocolate Gooey Bars

4 from 4 reviews

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• Author: Sarah Fennel
• Prep Time: 10 mins
• Cook Time: 30 mins
• Total Time: 40 mins
• Yield: 16 bars

Units: USM

Ingredients

• 1 cup old fashioned oatmeal
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup canola (or vegetable) oil
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons dark molasses
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 4 oz bittersweet chocolate, roughly chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8″x8″ baking dish with parchment paper and set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, mix together the oil, sugar, molasses, egg, and vanilla. Next, stir in both flours, the baking soda, salt, and chocolate. Last, mix in the oatmeal.
3. Pour into baking dish and press down gently to even out the dough. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center of the pan comes out clean (not counting the melted chocolate!). Allow to cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan & cutting into squares.