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The rich, dense, chewy texture of a blondie, but these cookie bars are also loaded with chocolate chips, coconut, oatmeal and tart cherries, then topped with red and green M&Ms to dress them up for the holidays.
It’s a deliciously decadent bar cookie filled with all of my favorite cookie ingredients. I cut them on the diagonal to create the diamond shape.
I created this cookie for a holiday cookie article in the new FoodieCrush magazine. If you haven’t checked it out yet, you need to. It’s so well done, the layout and photography are gorgeous. It’s a feast for the eyes, as well as loaded with fun articles, great recipes, and entertaining and gift ideas from talented food bloggers across the country.
I’m proud to be a small part of the debut issue and wish Heidi much success with her new venture.[/donotprint]
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Chocolate Cherry Oatmeal Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup 2 sticks unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 cups light brown sugar packed
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ½ cups old-fashioned rolled oats not quick-cooking
- 1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup sweetened shredded coconut
- 1 cup dried cherries cut in half
- ½ cup red & green M&Ms coarsely chopped
Instructions
- Spray a 9×13-inch baking pan with nonstick spray. Preheat oven to 350º if using a metal pan or 325º if using a glass pan.
- In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.
- In a large mixing bowl mix the butter and brown sugar on medium speed until smooth and creamy. Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the eggs one at a time mix until well blended. Mix in the vanilla.
- Add the dry ingredients and mix just until blended. Stir in the oats, chocolate chips, coconut and cherries. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and sprinkle M&Ms on top.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes. (Don’t overcook.) Cool on a rack to room temperature before cutting. Optional: Cut bars on the diagonal to form diamonds.
Micaela P.
I finally made these last night, so delicious! I thought I’d comment on a few things for the benefit of others who may try them: I baked them in a glass pan, so I followed your directions & baked at 325* instead of 350*. This caveat is great because when following other recipes for bars the edges have gotten very crusty & close to burnt before the middle set. But I did have to bake longer, 40mins (could have probably left them 5 more without overcooking).
The other thing is that, for me, the flavor of the chocolate chips overpowered the cherry & coconut flavors, so next time I’ll use either milk chocolate chips or 1/2 cup instead of a full cup of chips. Thank you for this great recipe, I’ll be making it a LOT!!! 🙂
Barbara
Hi Micaela – thank you for letting me know you made and really liked this recipe. I appreciate that you took the time to leave tips to help others baking it in a glass pan. Makes me want to bake it again with less chocolate to see if it really is better. Happy New Year!
Micaela P.
Hi Barbara! I *really* appreciate it when other people who have tried a recipe come back & post about their experience, as it helps me know what issues to expect in my less-than-ideal kitchen. So I hope my comments are useful. I also wanted to add that my “problem” with the chocolate overwhelming the cherries is probably due to both the chips and the cherries I used. It sometimes amazes me how much an ingredient can affect the flavor profile of a dish — in this case, I used Trader Joe’s semi-sweet chips, which I tend to use less of in recipes because they have a stronger chocolate flavor than other brands of chips. I also used dried cherries from Trader Joe’s, and noticed before baking that their flavor was pretty mild. In my experience, dried fruit from Costco, Kirkland brand (what you used), has a stronger, juicier & brighter flavor. All this to say that I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the recipe as you wrote it, just that some of us need to know our ingredients and adjust accordingly 😉 However, if you tinker with the recipe too, please come back & share!
I’m already planning on making these again next week, to bring to a family get-together ♥
ophia
Looks delicious and the star shape is also so festival. You did a great designing :D.
Jessi @ Quirky Cookery
I love how you cut and presented them. Why didn’t I think of that?
Jamie
I do love me some blondies, and these look oooh scrumptious! And the red and green is perfect! Happy Holidays!
a spoonful of yumm
they look so festive !! 😀
Breand @ Meal Planning Magic
These look so delicious! I will have to try them for sure. I love how you cut them in the diamond shape and then made a star–so creative! And congrats on being part of the new magazine!
Marla
How creative are you with that star shape?! Love it. A total treat perfect for the holidays 🙂
Linda
At first glance, these look like the Christmas fruit cakes my Mom used to love with the colorful candied fruits. Red and green M&Ms and dried cherries are so much more palatable. 😉
The magazine is a fun read – very slick but very non-intimidating. Your presence on it makes it all the more enjoyable.
Angie's Recipes
Love that “star” presentation! So festive!
angela@spinachtiger
I love how you cut them up and made that cute star shape.
Carrie @ poet in the pantry
Did you know that M&Ms makes a Cherry Cordial variety? Could be a great addition to this recipe. Gorgeous bar cookies!
Patty H.
These look wonderful! I love how you cut them to form the star, and the layout, with all the red and green is beautiful!
teresa
oh wow, i think i know what i’m about to add to my cookie plate!
Cara
Oh my goodness! What a wonderful mixture!
Delishhh
So pretty 🙂 So Pretty 🙂 Love how you made it into a start.
Katrina
Yum! What a great combo. Love the way you cut the bars to look like a star. I just saw those mini red & green M&Ms. Everything is so fun and festive this time of year!
JehanP
I love combination of chocolate and cherries! These look fantastic.
Dana at Cooking At Cafe D
Oh, these look amazing.
Pistachio and cranberry?
I need to make those soon!
Emily
oh my god, this is heaven!
it looks very good! ♥
Katherine Martinelli
These look fun, festive, and delicious!!! I love Foodie Crush – so exciting you are in the debut issue! Very cool.