Are you craving something sweet and salty for dessert? These O’Henry Bars will satisfy that craving! Their chewy oatmeal base is covered with a smooth peanut butter chocolate topping, combining your favorite flavors in one tasty dessert!
The nostalgia is real with this family favorite dessert. Reminiscent of the discontinued Oh Henry Candy Bars, this vintage recipe is popular for a reason! These dessert bars make a great after-school snack, potluck dessert, or make a delicious addition to your holiday cookie trays!
SAVE THIS O’HENRY BARS RECIPE TO YOUR FAVORITE PINTEREST BOARD!
The Inspiration: Oh Henry Candy Bars
The original chocolate bar was created by the Williamson Company and has a colorful history, with many theories about the origin of its fun name and no definite answers! No matter where the name came from, it’s a delicious treat! The Oh Henry Bar was made with crunchy peanuts, chewy fudge, and creamy caramel, all covered in a milk chocolate coating. Sadly, these bars are no longer available in the US.
That’s where this homemade recipe comes in! This is one of my favorite recipes because it reminds me of my grandma. She made these all the time when I was young, and my mom made them on holidays, too!
I chose to create a sweet oatmeal base like a granola bar and use peanut butter instead of whole peanuts in my bars. That way, you get all the satisfaction of the original candy bars in a smooth, chewy homemade treat!
Ingredients for Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars
You need a handful of simple ingredients to make this sweet treat:
- 1/3 cup butter, room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 ½ tsp pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups uncooked oats- rolled or quick oats
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
How to Make O’Henry Bars
These homemade bars come together in just a few easy steps:
Oatmeal Base
- First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease an 8×8-inch baking pan with cooking spray or use a piece of parchment paper to line the bottom of the pan.
- Cream butter and sugar in a large bowl. Add corn syrup and vanilla, then mix to combine thoroughly. Add oats and stir to coat.
- Press the oatmeal mixture into the prepared baking dish, creating an even layer on the bottom. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes.
- Remove the bars from the oven and place them in the refrigerator to cool for about 10 minutes.
Chocolate Peanut Butter Layer
- While the oatmeal bars are baking, use the double boiler method to melt chocolate chips and peanut butter in a small bowl over a small saucepan containing an inch of simmering water. Stir over low heat to combine.
- Pour the melted chocolate and peanut butter mixture over the cooled oatmeal bars and spread to the edges of the pan.
- Place back into the refrigerator to solidify. Cut into squares and serve!
Be sure to read the recipe card down below for complete list of ingredients and instructions!
Can I use milk chocolate chips instead?
If you like sweeter chocolate, you can absolutely use milk chocolate chips instead of semi-sweet chips.
Can I use crunchy peanut butter?
I recommend creamy peanut butter as it combines smoothly with the chocolate. You can use crunchy instead, but you will have texture in your chocolate topping.
Are O’Henry Bars the same as Scotcharoos?
While you might see similar recipes called by that name on other blogs, O’Henry Bars are NOT Scotcharoos. Scotcharoos have a cereal base (usually Rice Krispies or Cornflakes) and the topping is a combination of chocolate and butterscotch chips (hence the “scotch” in Scotcharoos!)
Can I make these ahead of time?
Oh Henry Bars can be made ahead and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Just make sure to keep them in an airtight container.
Can you freeze O’Henry Bars?
You can freeze O Henry Bars for up to a month. Make sure to thaw them completely before serving.
How do I store O’Henry Bars?
Store these dessert bars in an airtight container at room temperature. If I’m going to stack them, I always put a layer of wax paper or parchment paper in between so they don’t stick together. These should be good for 3-4 days, IF they last that long!
More Delicious Bar Recipes
I love making bar desserts, as they are so quick and easy to make! Here are some of my favorite dessert bar recipes:
- Caramel Apple Cheesecake Bars are perfect for fall and so delicious!
- Funfetti Oreo Cheesecake Bars are a great treat for a birthday or other fun party!
- Toffee Coconut Oatmeal Bars are another sweet and salty treat that also makes a great snack!
- Funfetti Ooey Gooey Bars are like a cake batter blondie- just full of sweet goodness!
- Snickerdoodle Bars take the classic cookie and simplify it by making one big slab of snickerdoodles at once!
Happy Baking!
FOLLOW ME
FACEBOOK ~ PINTEREST
INSTAGRAM ~ TWITTER
YOUTUBE
Keep an eye out for more of my easy recipes each week!
O’Henry Bars
Equipment
Ingredients
- ⅓ cup butter room temperature
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¼ cup light corn syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups uncooked oats rolled or quick-cook
- ½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
- ⅓ cup creamy peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Lightly grease a 8 X 8-inch baking dish with cooking spray.
- Cream butter and brown sugar in a mixing bowl.
- Add corn syrup and vanilla, combining thoroughly.
- Add oatmeal and completely mix.
- Press evenly into prepared baking dish.
- Bake for 15 minutes.
- While bars are baking, melt the peanut butter and chocolate chips in a small bowl over a small saucepan containing an inch of simmering water. To melt in a microwave, place the chocolate chips and peanut butter into a small microwaveable bowl and heat for 30 seconds. Stir and heat again in 10 second increments, stirring in between until completely melted and smooth.
- Remove bars from oven and place into the refrigerator to cool for 10 minutes.
- When cooled, pour the melted chocolate mix over top and spread to edges.
- Store in refrigerator.
Nutrition
This post was originally published as Day 204 on September 8, 2011, when I was doing my original 365. It has been updated in format and with picture on April 5, 2024.
Comments & Reviews
Lately, I have been feeling the same way about worrying about my future empty nest. I also am a rescuer at heart. I want so much to protect them from the disappointments, unfairness and mean people. It’s hard to realize that I can’t and probably shouldn’t do that. I also empathize with not knowing who I am aside from “World’s Most Devoted Mom”. 😉 I am sure you have the title as well. For the record,I don’t think it is held by one individual.
Enabling is just way too easy to be sucked into sometimes. The next turn around a corner will bring wonderful things along with the bittersweet. I enoyed the story along with these bars. I love my grandmother’s recipes.
Thank you again for the giveaway. I sent my information in an email. You are so right, being a mom is a never ending blessing. We got to cherish the moments, and take things one day at a time.
Adding some coconut & flour (1 cup each). & reducing the oats to 2 cups – adding 1/2 teaspoon baking soda will also produce wonderful results. I also add some choc chips & nuts to the mixture or sprinkle roasted nuts over the melted choc/peanut butter mixture.
Ah, great ideas, Angie. I’ll have to try those next time. Thank you for the comment!
The pats are already at 2 cups though
I’m making these tonight using MY grandmother’s recipe, and so I was looking for an online version of the same one so that I could easily share it to Facebook. A lot of the other ones I’ve found use white sugar or more butter or something….but not only is yours the EXACT same recipe as my grandmother, but the typewriter recipe paper you showed also looks eerily similar as well. Don’t alter the recipe….the original is just fine as is! The only “update I do is melting the PB and choc chips in the microwave with 30 second bursts (stirring every time).
can you sub maple syrup for the corn syrup here? or will that alter the taste/texture?
Adam, I think the maple syrup may be too thin as the corn syrup is thicker and adds the right amount of sweetness, but you could definitely give it a go. If you do, let me know how it goes!
Don’t overbake them and is easier cutting if you do it before chilling them
Beautiful post. I wish you luck with your next chapter.
Thank you so much, Mary. I appreciate that!
I loved your post. It’s nice to know I have company. I think we are a dying breed. I am now a Grandma and loving it! ?
Looks nice, I’ll give it a try. Always looking for simple treats for my customers.
The serving size you have written down as 1 gram? That doesn’t seem correct. Do you have the proper serving size amount?
Cathy, sorry about that. I have edited the nutritional info, so it now reflects the nutritional count for one of the 16 bars.
Thanks for bringing that to my attention.
Do you use salted or unsalted butter for the O’Henry Bars?
Virginia, I’ve made the O’Henry Bars with both unsalted and salted butter, and I haven’t really noticed a difference, so I would say that either is fine.
Need recipe to make
Hi Helen,
If you scroll to the bottom of the page, you’ll see the recipe. You can also click the phrase “jump to recipe” to see it quickly.
So yummy! Love the mix of the crunchy oat base and the creamy chocolate-peanut butter topping!
Dylan, thank you so much for your feedback! I’m thrilled that you loved them and I know my mom would be just as happy to hear that, too.
I was hoping these would be like my mom’s O Henry bars but they turned out too hard. I followed the recipe but they are not like what I was hoping for. I upped the servings to 24 and the recipe adjusted itself. I used a 9×13 pan to accommodate the increase in ingredients. Maybe that was the problem. The flavor was not bad, the base was just too hard.