Say hello to Gluten Free Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars. A chewy peanut butter cookie is spread with creamy peanut butter underneath a rich chocolate frosting.
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Woo boy, are these the most addictive things EVER! When I first made these, my son immediately declared them better than a Reese's cup. I wouldn't be able to choose between a Reese's cup, these bars, or my mom's no-bake peanut butter bars. That's high praise coming from the Reese's cup queen!
These bars have been on my radar since I saw a pin for them on Pinterest years ago. Being older than the average blogger and born in 70, I do remember having these in my early school days and I remember loving them way back then. What's not to love? Peanut butter and chocolate are the ultimate flavor pair.
ingredients you'll need to make these bars
The Crust
- Kim's gluten free all purpose flour - a store bought blend may be substituted, but has not been tested.
- Butter - dairy-free butter alternatives can be substituted.
- Old fashioned gluten free oats (affiliate link) - the brand I have been using as of late is one that was recommended on glutenfreewatchdog.org to take purity protocol measures. This means that the grower and manufacturer take care to make sure the oats are grown and processed separately without any gluten-containing ingredients.
- Peanut butter - make sure to not use a natural style peanut butter as the consistency is different and won't work with this recipe.
The Chocolate Frosting and Filling
- Peanut butter - the peanut butter is the only ingredient in the filling. It's dolloped on the warm cookie and melts to the perfect spreading consistency.
- Powdered sugar - the base of any American style buttercream.
- Unsweetened cocoa powder - you can opt for regular or Dutch processed.
- Butter - feel free to sub with a dairy-free butter alternative.
- Heavy cream - this thins out the buttercream and gives the perfect texture for these bars. For dairy free, try coconut milk or any other dairy-free milk sub.
make the peanut butter oatmeal cookie base
- Step 1: Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla and mix well.
- Step 2: Add peanut butter and combine thoroughly.
- Step 3: Add oatmeal and dry ingredients and mix just until combined.
- Step 4: Press or spread dough into a greased half sheet pan. Bake at 350 F for 15 minutes.
- Step 5: Dollop peanut butter all over the surface of the hot cookie and let it sit for 5 minutes.
- Step 6: Spread the softened peanut butter all over the cookie and allow to cool completely.
make the chocolate frosting
- Step 1: Combine all frosting ingredients in a stand mixer and mix until fluffy and smooth.
- Step 2: Spread over cooled peanut butter and serve.
prefer to watch?
peanut butter oatmeal bars FAQs
No, natural peanut butter will not work well for the actual cookie (base) part of the bars. I haven't tried it, but you may be able to spread natural peanut butter in between the bars and the chocolate frosting.
Yes! They can be frozen for up to 3 months. My recommendation is to cut them into individual bars and flash freeze them in one layer and then store them in a
We prefer these bars when dolloping the peanut butter makes the cookie sink slightly. We've tried it by melting the peanut butter and spreading it onto the baked cookie, but preferred it when the cookie base was slightly "smushed." If you would prefer a more distinct layer, feel free to melt your peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds and spread it over the mostly cooled cookie.
more gluten free bar recipes
- no bake peanut butter bars (naturally gluten free)
- gluten free scotcheroos
- gluten free magic bars
- perfect gluten free lemon bars
- gluten free smores bars recipe
If you're a peanut butter and chocolate fan, you MUST try these Gluten Free Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars. They will blow you away!
Gluten Free Oatmeal Peanut Butter Bars
Ingredients
Oatmeal Cookie Base
- 1 cup (226g) butter, softened (a dairy-free butter alternative may be substituted)
- 1 cup (200g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup (200g) brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1 cup (240g) peanut butter
- 2 cups (200g) gluten free old fashioned (rolled) oats
- 1¾ cups (245g) Kim's gluten free all purpose flour blend (a store bought blend MAY be substituted, but has not been tested)
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
Peanut Butter Filling
- 1½ cups (360g) smooth peanut butter
Chocolate Frosting
- ½ cup (113g) softened butter (dairy-free butter alternative can be substituted)
- 2 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups (375g) powdered sugar
- 4 tbsp (22g) unsweetened cocoa powder
- ¼ cup (60ml) milk (dairy-free milk may be substituted)
Instructions
Make the Cookie Base
- Preheat oven to 350° F and grease an 18 by 13-inch baking sheet; set aside.
- Cream together the butter and both sugars until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.
- Add vanilla, eggs, and peanut butter until well combined.
- Add oats, flour blend, baking soda, and salt and mix on low until a stiff cookie dough forms.
- Spread dough out into an even layer onto the prepared baking sheet. You can do this with your hands, but I like to use an offset spatula.
- Bake for 15 minutes and remove from oven.
- Immediately drop 1½ cups of peanut butter using a large spoon or cookie scoop all over the top of the warm bars. Let sit for 5-6 minutes and then gently spread the slightly melted peanut butter from corner to corner all over the bars. PRO TIP: My family prefers the warm cookie base to sink a bit from the weight of the dollops of peanut butter and like those "holes" that are formed. However, if you'd like a drier, less fudgy cookie, you can melt the peanut butter in the microwave and spread it onto the cooled cookie base.
- Let the peanut butter-topped bars cool completely so that the peanut butter has set up.
Make the Chocolate Frosting
- While the bars are cooling, mix together the butter and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar and cocoa and while the mixer is running, slowly stream in the milk. Beat until smooth.
Finish Bars and Serve
- Spread chocolate frosting all over cooled bars and cut bars into 24 large or 48 small squares and serve.
Jill Smith says
How can I get this in my email address
Kim says
You would need to sign up for my email newsletter, which sends all of my new recipes to your email. It is on the home page of my website at the very top, where it says "subscribe".
Angela Drake says
Early in your post you say quick cooking oats. In the actual recipe you say old fashioned oats. Which is correct? Could I use crunchy peanut butter instead of creamy? Either way I can’t wait to make these!
Kim says
I'm so sorry, they're supposed to be old fashioned oats. I will go back and correct that in the recipe now.
Thank you for finding that mistake 🙂
Angela Drake says
Thanks for clarifying that. If I make a half batch what size pan should I use?
Kim says
9 by 13"
Julie Garmon says
I’ve ordered everything to make your flour! 💕 can’t wait to try your sour dough bread recipe. Question on this peanut butter chocolate one— I have Celiac and can’t have even GF oats. Would you think it might work with substituting the oats for more of your flour blend? Thank you!!
Kim says
I'm not sure about that. I also have celiac and can have purity protocol oats, which are the ones I use in this recipe. If you just can't have oats in general, then I would go with a different recipe entirely that doesn't use oats because the oats are a big part of these bars. I do have some other peanut butter bars that are no bake and are just as good as these, in my opinion. Search peanut butter bars and you should find them.