This recipe reminds me of the oatmeal bars my babysitter used to make. She was actually kind of a mean babysitter, but she was a good baker and I liked her treats which included these buttery and crispy oatmeal bars which are unique in that they do not contain any flour. I never got the recipe from Colleen, but years later I found a similar one in a Maida Heatter cookbook. Maida called hers "Aspen Oatmeal Bars.
Using Maida’s recipe, I made the bars as written below. I don’t know why Maida called them “Aspen” unless it has something to do with being rich. They are very buttery.
Crispy Oatmeal Bars (adapted from Aspen Oatmeal Bars)
1 stick unsalted butter (4 ounces)
1 cup packed brown sugar
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder (makes sure it’s not lumpy)
2 cups old fashioned or quick cooking oatmeal – not instant
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter an 8 inch square metal pan.
In a heavy saucepan, heat the butter over medium until it melts just enough to coat the pan-bottom. Add the brown sugar and melt together, stirring once or twice, until butter is fully melted and sugar is shiny. Remove from heat and stir in salt and baking powder – make sure the baking powder doesn’t lump (Maida sifts it in, I just stirred it well). Add the oats and stir to make a thick mixture, then dump the mixture into the buttered pan and spread it to the edges
Bake for exactly 25 minutes. You will probably smell burning, but this is the butter and sugar touching the sides of the pan. Remove from oven. It will look like a big, soft, gunky mess. Loosen the soft, gunky mess with a knife and let it cool on rack for about 30 minutes. It will firm up. When firm but still warm, pry out of the pan and place on a cutting board. Score into bars (trim edges if you want), but don’t peel apart because they are still delicate at this point. Let the bars cool. They will crisp as they cool. Makes about 12
Angie says
Did anyone see the recipe showdown show on Sunday evening? I am going to make the winning recipe for the spice cookie today and make the fudge bars tomorrow...I'll let you know how it works out.
Anna says
Jenny, thanks for the link. You blog is looking great, btw!
KAnn, it's from Maida Heatter's Cookies. Here's a link.
http://astore.amazon.com/httpwwwcookie-20/detail/0836237331/102-1327064-9497754
KAnn says
Which book is this one from, Anna? I have several of Maida's books but I don't recall seeing this one...looks fabulous!
jennywenny says
Yup, very similar to my flapjacks:
http://forayintofood.blogspot.com/2007/10/aaaah-nice-cup-of-tea-and.html
Great with a bit of dark chocolate drizzled on them.
Anna says
Lindsey, I'll be interested to hear what you think.
Meredith, thanks for the bit of trivia. I put "Scotch Tea Cookies" in Google and found this.
http://www.geocities.com/sandy80461/scotch_tea_cookies.html
It's interesting how most recipes, even ones we find in cookbooks, are just variations on old favorites. I'm always so happy when I run across something that's completely unique, but that is so rare.
Alison, you are right. Flapjacks have golden syrup. I think the flapjacks I made a while back were better than this. The nuts leveled out the sweetness.
Alison says
They look good, very like flapjacks without the golden syrup, but we would not put baking powder in flapjacks. Great for the school lunchboxes!
meredith says
My mom made these on a regular basis, but we called them "Scotch Teas". Our family LOVED them....I never could figure out the "Scotch" part, though I imagine, now, that it refers to "butterscotch".
(her recipe called for baking at 300 for exactly 20 minutes..and lining the pan w/ waxed paper, not greasing!)
Lindsey says
Oh my goodness....those look dangerous! I may have to try these tomorrow.
Anna says
BB, these are really rich and buttery. If the devil made granola bars, they'd be like these.
bakingblonde says
Those look so great! I make something similar and top with melted chocolate chips/PB. Very good! Yours look so rich and buttery they are making me hungry!