Our Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe are a long-time family favorite. . . I adored them growing up and I passed the love onto my kiddos! Today, we are so happy to share them with all of you. I love this recipe because it’s been passed down for a couple of generations in our family. Our homemade oatmeal raisin bars are simple to make and bake all at one time. . . which makes them perfect when you are in pinch for time. Our Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe are soft and chewy and I adapted them to be a little more health conscious too. Enjoy! 🙂 

Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe

• Eggs- I place my eggs in a small bowl of very warm water while I’m gathering all the other ingredients and prepping to bake then when I’m ready to add them into the batter they have reached the perfect temperature! Add your eggs one at a time and cream for 2 minutes, then scape the bowl down using a rubber spatula, and add the next egg. This is the best way to be sure the eggs are incorporated evenly into the batter. Beating each egg individually is essential because eggs act as a leavener which brings the loft (height) into your baked goods. 
• Oats- I prefer to use whole grain oats because they hold up better that quick oats for baking. Did you know that oats in any form help to lower bad cholesterol, are rich in antioxidants, and a great source of fiber! 
• Applesauce- Helps Promote Good Digestion. Due to a high concentration of pectin, applesauce aids in good digestion and helps remove waste from the body. Simultaneously it promotes the growth of probiotics. Apples contain soluble fiber — the kind that can help lower your blood cholesterol levels. They also contain polyphenols, which have antioxidant effects.
• Raisins- Despite their small size, raisins are packed with energy and rich in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. Raisins are naturally sweet and high in sugar and calories, but they’re beneficial to our health when eaten in moderation. In fact, raisins can aid digestion, boost iron levels, and keep your bones strong.
• Flour- Today we using unbleached flour which has been aged naturally after being milled. It has an off-white color, which continues to dull as it ages, and a more dense grain than bleached flour.
•  Leavener- We are using baking soda (as mentioned above eggs and incorporating air are also leaveners) in our Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe. Both baking powder and baking soda are chemical leavening agents that cause batters to rise when baked. The leavener enlarges the bubbles which are already present in the batter produced through creaming of ingredients.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe

Along with loving our Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe we know you’ll enjoy these “skinny” recipes too: 

• Skinny Lemon Cheesecake Bars
• Skinny Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts
• Linguini with Skinny White Sauce
• Skinny Cranberry-Orange Scones
• Skinny Banana Chip Cake
• Skinny Gingerbread Doughnuts
• Skinny Dark Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
• Skinny Gingerbread Dip
• Skinny Pumpkin Cream Cheese Loaf
• Orange Yogurt Fruit Dip

 

Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe

Print

Ingredients

• 2 cups seedless raisins
• 1 cup water
• 1/2 cup butter, softened
• 1/2 cup apple sauce
• 1 1/2 cup sugar or 1 cup agave nectar (if using agave reduce oven to 350 degrees and cook a few minutes longer)
• 2 eggs, room temperature
• 2 cups unbleached flour
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 cups whole oats
• 1/2 cup walnuts (optional)

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. Coat a cookie sheet with cooking spray.
3. In a small sauce pan combine raisins and water- bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes or until most of the water is gone(reserve 1/8 C) and the raisins are plump. 
4. In a large mixing bowl cream butter, add sugar (or drizzle in agave),
5. Add eggs one at a time; creaming 2-3 minutes with each addition. 
6. Add flour, salt, cinnamon, soda mix; mix to 80% incorporated.
7. Add applesauce and oats; mix to incorporate. 
8. Add hot raisins with remaining juice and nuts (if desired); gently mix with a wooden spoon.
9. Spread evenly into prepared cookie sheet. 
10. Bake 375 degrees for 12-17 minutes or until lightly golden brown.
11. Enjoy your Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe!

Oatmeal Raisin Bars Recipe

We love to hear about your magical cooking moments. If you get a chance to make our recipes then leave us a comment or tag us on Instagram @cookingwithruthie, pin us on Pinterest, or follow along with us on Facebook so we can share in the joy of cooking with you! Please reach out if you have questions or comments via our email: ruthie@cookingwithruthie.com. We’re excited to see you again soon!  

One more thing before you go…

We love creating recipes and sharing our adventures with you, so if you can do us a huge favor it’d really support us! It’s easier to stay motivated to share our best with you when we hear from you!! We adore our readers and it really makes our day to get comments, social tags/shares, or pins that you save for later to share with your family and friends! Our hearts sing when you do. We SEE you and we do our very best to respond to all the love! It also amps up our mo-jo so we get lots of awesome things done around here.   

Cooking with Ruthie on Instagram

Cooking with Ruthie on Pinterest

Cooking with Ruthie on Facebook

 

Thanks for sharing in the CWR blog-love!

Love Always,

Ruthie & Madeliene