This vintage recipe is a family favorite. It's as simple and uncomplicated as childhood. Think of it as the first-generation granola bar!
Don't want to scroll through the page to get to the recipe? Use the table of contents to click on the section you want.
Table of Contents
🗝️ Key takeaways
- Sweet, salty, crunchy, creamy goodness and it's ready in minutes.
- Oh Henry bars travel well for bake sales, potlucks, school lunches, and picnics, too! Delicious with a glass of milk for an after-school snack.
- Peanut allergies? Be sure to read the tips section for peanut butter substitutes.
Oh Henry Bars. O Henry Bars. In some parts of the country Scotcharoos - they go by a lot of different names. These simple bar cookies are pure peanut butter and chocolate magic!
This recipe is made without corn syrup. I've seen many that call for it but this is the one I grew up with. I hope you love it as much as I do.
It's about to be your favorite treat.
Next time try these Vanilla Brownies!
🧾 Ingredients
This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the green recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📖 Variations
- Add chopped peanuts to the top.
- Try using crunchy peanut butter.
- Sometimes I put chopped Reese's Peanut Butter Cups on top.
- Use white chocolate chips instead of chocolate.
- Add toasted coconut to the top.
- Sprinkle crushed graham crackers on top.
- Use milk chocolate chips.
- Try butterscotch chips in place of the melted chocolate chips.
🔪 Instructions
This is an overview of the instructions. Full instructions are in the green recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Mix oats and sugars in a bowl. Add melted butter and stir well. Press into prepared pan and bake. Melt chocolate chips and peanut butter together and spoon over baked oatmeal base.
🎥 Video
Watch me make this recipe from start to finish with extra tips!
🥫 How to store leftovers
Leftover Oh Henry Bars can be stored at room temperature right in the baking dish.
Just cover with plastic wrap to seal.
You can also stack them in layers in an airtight container. I suggest putting parchment paper or waxed paper between the layers before adding the cover.
If the kitchen is hot you might want to store them in the refrigerator instead.
You can also freeze these for a month or two.
💭 Things to know
Expert Tip: If there are allergies to peanuts use almond butter, soy nut butter, or sunflower seed butter in place of the peanut butter. Or, your favorite alternative.
- Make sure you break up any lumps in the brown sugar.
- Old-fashioned or quick oats are fine - just don't use instant oatmeal. It won't work!!
- Brown sugar- either golden or dark is fine. It's up to your tastes.
- Peanut butter - creamy or chunky - just remember if you use chunky it will give the chocolate topping a lot of texture.
- Oh Henry bars can be made ahead, covered, and stored in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. Or freeze them for up to a month. Thaw before serving.
- Double-check your products for gluten but these are, as far as I know, gluten-free.
👩🍳 FAQs
Nope, not at all. Oh Henry bars are made with oats and brown sugar and Scotcharoos are made with Rice Krispies, corn syrup, and butterscotch baking chips.
I've never had a problem with this but some have. You can line the pan with a piece of parchment paper and let it hang over the sides. When the bars are cool pull the parchment paper out and you'll be able to easily cut the bars. Plus no sticking!
It sounds like you baked them too long. start checking them at 15 minutes because ovens can be different in how they bake certain foods.
📚 Related recipes
- This peanut butter pie is another chocolate and peanut butter masterpiece.
- In the mood for candy? These peanut butter truffles are delicious!
- I love this Reese's peanut butter cheesecake! It's dense and creamy.
What’s new? Check out my Restless Chipotle & Co. Store on Amazon where you'll find all kinds of nostalgic goodness! Thanks so much for being a part of Restless Chipotle!
📞 The last word
These easy bar cookies are bound to bring back some amazing memories. You may even make some new ones for your own kids.
If you click on the number of servings in the recipe card you can adjust the measurements up or down for the exact number of servings you need.
If you love this recipe please give it 5 stars! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
📖 Recipe
Oh Henry Bars
Print Pin Recipe Save Recipe Rate RecipeIngredients
- 4 cups oats, Old fashioned or quick
- ½ cup sugar
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1 cup butter, melted
- 6 ounces chocolate chips
- 1 cup peanut butter
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
- Grease 13" x 9 ” pan or spray with no-stick cooking spray.
- Cover with parchment paper and spray with more no-stick spray if desired.
- Mix oats, sugar and brown sugar in large bowl.
- Pour melted butter over and mix well.
- Press into pan firmly and bake for 15 - 20 minutes.
- Cool.
- Melt chocolate and peanut butter together stirring to blend.
- Spread over cooled cookie base.
- Chill 1 hour…IF you can wait that long.
- Cut into 2 dozen bars.
Notes
- Old fashioned or quick oats are fine - just don't use instant oatmeal. It won't work!!
- Brown sugar- either golden or dark is fine. It's up to your tastes.
- Double check your products for gluten but these are, as far as I know, gluten free.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition information is estimated as a courtesy. If using for medical purposes, please verify information using your own nutritional calculator. Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.
This recipe has been tested several times. If you choose to use other ingredients, or change the technique in some way, the results may not be the same.
First Published: April 20, 2015. Last updated september 3, 2023 for editorial improvements.
✍🏻 A note from Marye...
I know y'all don't always like the stories bloggers tell so when I have one I try to put it at the very bottom so you can read or skip as you like.
I have my mother's old Better Homes and Garden's cookbook, circa 1939... or something like that. It's super old.
It's got a lot of vintage recipes, the stuff I grew up on, but there is something I like better. Stuffed in the pages is a treasure trove of papers that Mom cut, collected, and procured for seven decades.
There are recipes that were my grandmother's, aunts', and ancestors unknown. There are recipes from brands that no longer exist and brands that are still around.
Memories. Memories with all of them.
This recipe for Oh Henry Bars with oatmeal is in there, faded, stained, and kind of frazzled looking but its appearance attests to the popularity of the recipe.
I've seen it called O' Henry Bars and plain Henry Bars depending on which cookbook I'm looking at. They're all the same. Yummy peanut butter and chocolate over a crunchy oat base.
Vintage recipes have a way of bringing back our memories with each nibble. I love making the dishes that I loved as a child and sharing them, along with the memories that go with them, with my kids and grandkids.
Things that no one makes anymore like Butterscotch Buckaroons and Peanut Butter Molasses cookies are flavors that are going to be forgotten and gone forever soon - and that would be a shame, don't you think?
These Rice Krispie Treats are another favorite recipe!
Leslie says
These are amazing!! They were a huge hit, and so easy to make. I used parchment paper so I could remove them from the pan to cut them, the bottom stayed intact. I pressed the mixture down really well and didn't over bake them. I added chopped peanuts to the chocolate topping and I think it really added to the flavour. It added a nice salty taste and they looked more like an O'Henry bar. I will definitely be making these again. Bonus that they are gluten free.
Susan Armstrong says
I had no issues with the recipe. I finished the top with chopped mini Reese’s peanut butter cups. Lined the pan with a sling of parchment paper.
Girlcarver says
Base didn't hold together, so dumped it all in a bowl and added the chocolate/peanut butter and some coconut as it still wouldn't hold together, then put the concoction into paper cups and in the fridge to set. Won't try this ever again!
Cathy Bein says
Sprayed pan well, then used parchment paper, just in case. Parchment had a couple holes in it, in those places, base was totally stuck to pan and took hours of soaking to loosen it, after I had lifted the rest out with the parchment paper. These are very good, but the base was dry and crumbly. Took care to not overbake it but it was still dry and crumbly. I have a small jar of the base that crumbled off to use for something else. Kind of peanut butter wouldn't matter because it's not in the base, but I did use regular, not natural.
Nathalie says
Very good. I didn’t not have any issues. I had crunchy peanut butter and it was perfect.... taste even more peanuty.... 😜. I will try to freeze them now 🤞🏻. Thank you for the recipe simple, sort of healthy and delicious.👍🏼👍🏼
Michelle says
Made these tonight with few changes,(mistakes:) ha!
Only had 3 cups Oats so I added 1 cup flour. Mistakes were I didn’t melt the butter and I put peanut butter in the crust. I used parchment paper in quarter sheet pan and baked for 28 minutes. I did do the topping as directed and then chilled for hour.
Family went crazy for them!!! Definitely will
Be making these again.
Thank you!
Jennifer says
I made these today. Super easy to make and absolutely wonderful! I will definitely make these again. Thank you for the recipe!
Jon says
These are amazing. I took the base out of the oven after 20 minutes. Definitely don’t over-bake, that may have been the problem others had. I also used a glass pan which tends to keep things from browning. These are better than candy bars and my family love them! Thanks for the recipe!
Shanleigh says
These are awful. The bottom completely stuck to the pan and is as hard as a brick. The top is okay. I wouldn’t waste my time on these. I am an excellent cook and am very disappointed. I was expecting the bottom to be chewy goodness. Sorry.
Marye says
I'm sorry you had trouble with it. I've not had that experience.
Donna says
Wish I had read the bad reviews before making these. Didn’t have any trouble site them sticking but base was crumbly and dry. They were just not good at all.
Marye says
I'm sorry this didn't work for you Donna. I've tried to replicate the problem several times but they always come out fine for me and for the recipe testers I've used. I don't know why it works for some people and not others.
Evelyn says
Okay. I made these and followed the recipe to a "T". Yes, sprayed the pan with Pam. The bars are TOTALLY stuck to the bottom of the pan and Simply cannot be removed. What in the world?
Marye says
I've never had that happen... You didn't happen to use homemade peanut butter did you? Sometimes that causes things to stick because there's less fat.
Candy says
Are these soft?
Marye Audet says
Candy, not really. They aren't terribly crispy either.
Manila Spoon (Abby) says
Oh what a treasure trove of recipes and good memories you have in that cookbook! You must be so delighted to have that! And these bars are delicious and certainly timeless!
Kristen Chidsey says
Your parties sound like mine did as a child--I wish everyone would return to simpler things in life. Kids need so much to stay happy these days (my kids ALWAYS have a homemade party--I refuse to pay over 200 to just rent a place for a few hours)
Sarah says
Those parties arent just a thing of the past. All through my childhood my mom would make the boxed cakes, and do pin the tail on the donkey! That is the only way to do kids parties. I can't believe that Toys R US does gift registry!!
Marye Audet says
I know! It seems kinda of creepy to me that they do but some people love it.
Anna @annaDishes says
Oh wow, these sound awesome! I love the peanut butter and oat combo and LOVE that they "They aren’t stuffed with Oreos, bacon, or the flavor du jour but just wholesome goodness." Perfect!!
Jennifer A Stewart says
Oh Henry bars were one of my favorites! I can't wait to try these bars! My kids have never heard of an O Henry bar and when I brought it up they just called it a "oldie" thing that mom keeps talking about. Like VCRs and Atari!
allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says
Loved your memories, Marye. I remember similar birthdays without the cart and pony show. It was a simpler time, we lived out in the country on fifteen acres of preserve lands in RI. Spent my days visiting elderly neighbors, collecting sap from the maple trees, boiling it for syrup in the sugar house by the pond next door. The one we skated on in winter, that had the little gazebo on the island and the covered bridge on the other side. Nice memories. Now let's talk these amazing bars. OH HENRY!!! They look THE BEST. Recipes that stand the test of time are wonderful. Thanks for sharing this one here, I can tell it's a keeper.
Olivia @ livforcake says
These looks delicious and I love that you have a retro cookbook that you can dive into for stuff like this!
Marye Audet says
LOL! I have a ton of old cookbooks. I have one that is about how to cook on rations from WW2. 🙂
Faith (An Edible Mosaic) says
I used to love these as a kid and I haven't had them in years! I am definitely craving one now though - these look incredible!
heather @french press says
I treasure my grandmothers old cookbooks, and secretly long for the days when people dressed up - and I SO remember my backyard parties dresses and all 🙂 what a great trip down memory lane and what a delicious recipe
Laura @MotherWouldKnow says
My mom wasn't much of a cook in the 60's, but she gave me some of her old cookbooks and I have one that is a Betty Crocker Cookie Book that I think I got when I was a brownie (not an edible one:) This recipe is classic and one that I can imagine is probably in that book (I'm too lazy to go and look for it) - the peanut and caramel flavors with chocolate on the outside is not exactly the same, but still close to the candy bar of the same name. Thought you might appreciate this link to a very esoteric discussion of the O Henry candy bar. https://www.candyblog.net/blog/item/the_oh_henrys