A few weeks ago a co-worker brought some Oatmeal Fudge Bars to work and everyone went crazy for them. I of course had decided to work from home that day and didn’t get any! However, I got the recipe and decided to make them myself to try it out. It tasted like a date bar, but with the dates replaced by lots of chocolate. If you’re a chocolate lover like me you’ll love the chocolate fudgy bit!

The first time I made the recipe, I made it as stated, but found that it was too sweet. I also wanted to attempt to make a little bit healthier. On my second attempt I used coconut oil instead of butter and reduced the sugar. I found that using the butter in the oatmeal crust made it crispier. The coconut oil in the crust part was still really good, just a little bit spongier. However, the coconut oil in the fudge part was so much better. With the butter I found that the fudge part was more dense and I like the chocolate part a bit softer and fudgier.

Oatmeal Crust
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 – 3/4 cup brown sugar (depending on taste)
1 cup butter (or butter substitute)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 cup instant oats
1 cup rolled oats, or an additional cup of instant oats

Fudge
½ cup coconut oil, melted (100g)
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 can condensed milk

Prep:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Line a 9 x 13 inch pan with parchment paper.

Making the Oatmeal Dough:

1. In a stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until light an fluffy.
2. Mix in the eggs and vanilla.
3. In another container, mix the flour, baking soda, and oats.
4. Slowly mix the flour mixture into the egg mixture in the stand mixer until all the oat mixture is incorporated. You will probably have to scrape the sides down a few times to make sure that all the dry bits get mixed in.
5. Scoop a few spoonfuls onto the parchment paper, and evenly spread the oat dough on the bottom of the pan. Don’t use all dough. You’ll need to reserve some for the topping.

Making the Fudge Part:

1. In a glass bowl or measuring cup, add the coconut oil, chocolate chips, vanilla, and condensed milk.
2. Place the glass bowl into a pot filled with water and simmer until the chocolate mixture is smooth and melted all the way through.

Putting it together:

1. Pour the fudge part over the oatmeal dough and spread evenly to the edges of the pan.
2. Sprinkle the remaining oatmeal cookie dough evenly on top of the fudge part.

Baking:

1. Bake for 25 minutes.
2. Cool on wire rack.
3. Once cool, cut into squares.
4. Store in an air tight container or wrap in parchment paper and freeze.

Notes

• You can substitute the butter in the Oatmeal base with 1 cup coconut oil (200g). Just melt the coconut oil and mix in the sugar, egg and vanilla mixture.
• To make it a bit less sweet, instead of adding 1 cup milk chocolate chips. Add 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips and 1/2 butterscotch chips.
• Consider adding 1/2 – 1 tsp of cinnamon the fudge part to make Mexican chocolate fudge.
• Consider adding coconut flakes to the oatmeal crust.
• If you’ve made too much, these bars freeze well. Just wrap in parchment paper and freeze in a freezer bag.