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Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars (V+GF): an easy recipe for soft, chewy cookie bars made from simple ingredients, bursting with juicy raisins and walnuts. Vegan and Gluten Free.
Cookie bars are the best, aren’t they? And my, have we come a long way since our younger days, when we may or may not have been very distrusting of oatmeal raisin cookies. Just sayin’.
If you have no clue what I’m talking about, or you’ve loved oatmeal raisin cookies from the start, read this and everything will make sense.
In any case, when I was a kid, I had a lot of zany ideas about things. But that was half of the fun, ya know? When you’re a kid, anything can be real. Anything is possible. Back then, I spent a lot of time tinkering around the house by myself because my folks were off working and my sisters were busy collecting neon stickers and listening to Vanessa Williams. Yes, they will kill me for revealing this to you.
Since I’m in trouble anyway, I might as well tell you that they also listened to Michael Bolton. Can you imagine, seven-year-olds listening to Michael Bolton?
*Raises eyebrows*
Before they come and get me, let’s talk about some of these youthful kitchen shenanigans. Quick, before it’s too late! Alright, so you might’ve already heard about my childhood fear of peanut butter. That evil TV was always leading me astray, let me tell ya!
Well, when I was seven or so, I saw this incredible infomercial for this neon green device that could do, like anything. Yes, anything! Well, at least the important anythings. Consider this: this small, compact-sized tool was battery-operated, and, wait for it…
A travel-friendly whisk.
And (yes and) a mini fan.
Dude. Just… DUDE.
Literally, one second during this infomercial, the presenter person would be drenched in sweat, ready to pass out, holding this bright green device near his face, enjoying the cool breeze. The next second, this magical device was in a big glass bowl, happily whipping its way through eggs.
What the?!? I mean, if you’re a kid that believes becoming a Firefighter Astronaut Figure Skater Gymnast one day could happen, you’re not gonna be super astounded by much. And did I mention that was just the day job?
But THIS. This battery-operated, bright green… thing… it was clearly the answer to everything. I mean, what one thing can solve profuse sweating and non-aerated eggs in one fell… whip? This. This travel-friendly whisk/mini-fan hybrid.
Can you imagine?
So there I stood, in my fruit-print jumpsuit, with shiny purple buttons I’d asked my mom to sew on (to match the grapes, of course), eyes big as saucers, staring/wanting/wishing/hoping for this fan whisk. Oh, the food I could make with this whisk; the sweat I could dry! The possibilities were endless.
But before I could even think about asking my mom to buy it for me, I just had to make my own version. To test it out, of course. So I rifled through all of the cabinets, til I found the straws from McDonald’s. I grabbed a scissor, snipped it off in a way I thought was very clever (see: purple grape-matching buttons genius), then I stuck a chopstick on the other end. I cracked some eggs into a bowl, removed the yolks, and rolled the chopstick/straw/”whisk” vigorously between my two palms.
I held my breath, waiting for the magic to happen. I rolled and rolled til I, funnily enough, got pretty sweaty.
A few bubbles started to form. But no whip. Now, sweating profusely and completely unaware of the meaning of irony, I rolled again. Could I simulate the magic fan whisk? Could I make these eggs fluffy with my self-made prototype?
No. I couldn’t. The experiment failed. But. Isn’t there always a but? I brought the sad bowl of bubbly eggs to my mom and showed her anyway.
After she got done yelling at me for wasting food, she waited for an explanation. I told her at once how my home experimenting and color-matching cleverness was reason enough to hear my case. The thing is, my chopstick straw whisk didn’t work because I didn’t have the exact infomercial product. Duh!
That infomercial was not to blame for me wasting eggs. In fact, it should’ve been given extra shiny gold star stickers for turning me into an engineer. Or something. A food scientist? Who knows! All I knew was that those words sounded important and might lead to me getting that magic toy.
And guess what? 4-6 weeks later, it arrived in the mail.
And I whipped egg whites like it was no one’s business. Then, I rinsed it off, because eggs can be really, really gross. Especially on your face. Then I fanned myself… then climbed up my special step stool and fanned my mom. Because, she rocked. And she was sweaty.
I don’t have that otherwordly, uber magical multitasking invention of the century anymore, but I do have a great, great love for experimenting in the kitchen. And I still have a mom that’s always willing to root for me. And support me in all of my kitchen “experiments.”
So join me, would ya? Whip up this super simple, whisk/fan-not required oatmeal raisin cookie bars goodness. Spoiler alert: this kitchen experiment is gonna work. 😉
These Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars are made full of love and…
- super easy to make
- vegan and gluten free
- chewy, soft and satisfying
- packed full of raisins, oats and walnuts
- made of the simplest ingredients
- whipped up by a color-matching genius
Try it out and let me know what you think! And while you’re at it, perhaps you’d like to check out these amazing gluten free lemon bars from Noshtastic. To make ’em vegan, swap the eggs for flax eggs and use organic sugar! Or, if you’re in the mood for chocolate, you could whip up these Gluten-free Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars from My Gluten-Free Kitchen. Just be sure to use dairy-free butter, dairy-free cream cheese, vegan chocolate chips and flax eggs to make them vegan. Back to what I was saying… 😉 whether or not you have your own fruit-print jumpsuit (with matching buttons), you’ll have tons of fun whipping up these cookie bars in the kitch.
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Oatmeal Recipes We Love
- Oatmeal Raisin Energy Bites
- Dairy Free Oatmeal Cookies
- Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
- Vegan Oatmeal Breakfast Bars
- Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookies
Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free)
Ingredients
Wet Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- ¼ cup unsalted, natural almond butter
- ¼ cup pure maple syrup
- ¼ cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Dry Ingredients
- 1 cup gluten free rolled oats
- ¼ cup gluten free oat flour
- 2 tablespoons ground flax
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Add-ins
- ½ cup raisins
- ½ cup chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment or greased foil. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients: coconut oil, almond butter, maple syrup, coconut sugar and vanilla.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients: oats, flour, flax, cinnamon and salt.
- Pour the wet mixture over the dry mixture. Using a rubber spatula or wooden spoon, fold until well mixed. Fold in raisins and walnuts.
- Pour this mixture into your baking pan. Using a rubber spatula, spread into an even layer.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes. Keep in mind that the bars will harden as they cool.
- Allow to cool on a cooling rack. Slice into 16 bars. Enjoy!
Notes
If you love oatmeal raisin cookie bars, try out my No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Granola Bars (Vegan, Gluten Free).
Breakfast just got so much happier. Try my Good Morning Breakfast Cookies (Vegan, Gluten Free).
More Oatmeal Raisin Recipes
I’ve totally been eyeing these Gluten Free Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Irish Cream Icing from Fearless Dining! Don’t they sound amazing?
In case you’re feeling more like a no bake bite, try my No Bake Oatmeal Raisin Bites! They’re deliciously vegan and gluten free. 🙂
What inspires you to cook?
I can’t wait to hear your responses.
Seven year olds listening to Michael Bolton by choice is very odd, if I do say so myself. But who am I to judge? I used to listen to the spice girls. 😉 I’ve never heard of the magical whisking fan, but had I seen one when I was younger I’m sure I would have “needed” one too. I just wouldn’t have been clever enough to test engineer one myself! Anyways, you know I LOVE oatmeal raisin anything, so I’m swooning like craaazy over these bars!! Heaven up in here, Demeter! Can’t wait to make these and shove them on repeat into my pie hole! Yaaaahhhs! Pinned! Cheers, muffin! Xoxo
You may say so yourself! Haha. It’s… an unexpected choice to say the least. What can I say, my sisters and I (and you, official BFF-bracelet wearer) are all cut from the same weird cloth. Lol. 😉 Oh the Spice Girls are just fun though! <--is that the weird cloth speaking? 😉 Oh, you SO would've wanted one too, Chey! Let me know how you like them, my dear. Thanks for pinning and stopping by, cupcake! xoxo
You know, your memories of commercials and infomercials are the funniest 😀
And I am so happy to see a new healthy bar recipe here, I always need your amazing recipes! Ooooh my goodness, these oatmeal cookie bars look so delicious again! The texture looks just peeeeerfect!
P.S. I wish you have had a fashion blog back then 😀
Hehe… oh, the TV. It was my friend. Yes, I was THAT cool. 😉 So happy that you’re feeling the healthy bar vibes. They’re just so convenient and… portable, ya know? Haha. The texture is the best part!
Fashion blog: oh, my fruit print jumpsuit would have been the top design, I’m sure. Lol. 🙂 Thanks Evi!
I LOVE oatmeal raisin cookies, so I can’t wait to try out these cookie bars! The cinnamon is what does it for me. And I absolutely loved this story lol I remember those infomercials as a kid. They always made things seem so cool. I really wanted an Alvin and the Chipmunks cassette tape from an infomercial. It’s not Michael Bolton, but still… LOL
Yay!!! Oh yeah, the cinnamon… and the raisins… and the oatmeal. That combo is just about as good as it gets. 🙂 So happy you enjoyed story time. 😉 The chipmunks vs. the Bolton: LOLOLOL. One day, I hope you get your chipmunks cassette. 😉 Thanks for sharing that memory with me, Megan. xo
I HAVE to try these asap. Oatmeal raisin is so underrated and I love making oatmeal raisin cookies so these bars look incredible!
Let me know if you do, Rachel! I would love to hear how you liked them. 🙂 So true about oatmeal raisin… it’s the underdog, ya know? That’s why we gotta root for it! 😉
Okay – you can rest-assured that I’ll be saving this post(!) so that whenever I need a good laugh – I’ll know exactly where to go. And without fail – you will raise my spirits! You are hysterical, girlfriend! That is some good writing right there – I was in the kitchen, getting sweaty and attempting to froth eggs with you….laughing the whole way through! You have another winning recipe in this bar, of course! Thanks for sharing! Pinned! 🙂
Woot woot! Aw, thanks Annie! Could it be because of the fruit print jumpsuit? 😉 Thank you so much for your kind words, Annie. They mean a lot to me. <3 Haha... thank you for sweating up with me! (Can one sweat up??? Lol). Thanks for pinning my dear! xo
Hahaha! Demeter, your mom (even though she might not have showed it at that time) must have been super impressed at how you used your failed experiment to show her why you needed that whip/fan gizmo! I’m so glad that that lead to the start of your “great, great love for experimenting in the kitchen” because these bars sound deeelicious! Now if only there was a gizmo that would deliver these bars from your kitchen to mine!? 🙂
LOL. Gizmo!! That was the exact word I was looking for Shashi! You are a genius. 😉 My mom, she sure knew/knows how to encourage the things that really matter. <3 If only! Lol... maybe we should start a pneumatic tube system... 😉 Thanks Shashi!
I love food in bar form. Isn’t it funny that sometimes you actually care about the shape of your food? Some days, it was to round and some days in a bar just like this. Oh yum. What a great snack to pack for my daughters lunch. Or for playground dates. Thanks for the inspiration!!!!
So funny. And so true! The shape makes it taste different, right? Lol. I hope you and your daughter get to try these out. 🙂 Thanks for stopping by Laura. 🙂
Oh man….laughing my butt off! Could just picture you in that jump suit with the shiny buttons running around trying to duplicate that gadget :D! And great for your mom on getting you one. How could she not have after all your excitement about it, right? Imagine if you still had it?
Love experimenting in the kitchen, although sometimes it doesn’t always work out. Yesterday I tried lentils in the pressure cooker for the first time after success with black beans. The lentils were overcooked, so then they became lentil soup. Nah, too thick….I’ll make lentil balls, I thought. Nope, too soft. Final result? It all got whizzed up to be a lentil dip. Oh well, it tasted good and it was a learning experience 🙂
Loving this oatmeal raisin cookie bars, Demeter. Plus, they look larger than regular circular cookies so more bites 🙂 Woo hoo! Pinning this for making soon, girlie!
Haha!! Let’s just say we share the same humor. <-- obvious statement of the century. 😉 I'm super lucky to have a mom who's ready and willing to humor my zany kitchen adventures! Hehe. Oh gosh, if only I could find one again... Lentils: Yes. So much yes. Lentils are a whole different creature from black beans. Lentil balls sound yummy! Wait, lentil dips sounds even better! High five for your kitchen learning experience. Go D! Woohoo for more bites! Thanks for pinning + stopping by. xo
Oh wow, these oatmeal cookie bars look scrumptious! I’m not the biggest fan of raisins, but I could gobble them up in these! 😉
Thanks so much Marsha! Oh, you would love the raisins in these. 😉
Haha I really did laugh out loud when you said that you listened to Michael Bolten when you were seven! I think I might’ve too, but that was only because my mom listened to that type of music on the radio. And yes, you should’ve gotten 100 gold starts for your fan whisk! So creative to try that, Demeter! And now onto these bars…wow, do they look good! I’m not a huge fan of raisins in things, but I think I would devour this in no time. Such a delicious breakfast or snack!
LOL. Fortunately, it wasn’t me. It was my sisters!! Pinky promise… 😉 Yup, Moms sure are our biggest influencers. Now, where can we find another one of these fan whisks? Haha. Trust me, the raisins are the best part of this! Thanks Gayle. xo