Oat Fudge Bars

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 13-inch baking pan by lining it with parchment paper and greasing it with butter along the sides. Make sure paper hangs over two ends of the pan.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and oats. In a separate large bowl, beat the butter and brown sugar with a hand mixer until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Beat in the eggs and vanilla until everything comes together. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, mixing along the way with a wooden spoon or spatula until incorporated. Keep mixing until everything is evenly combined.

Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the dough mixture and set it aside. Place the remaining dough in the prepared pan and press over the bottom of the pan in an even layer.

For the fudge layer: In a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water (make sure the bowl doesn’t touch the water), combine the condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter and salt . Stir occasionally until the mixture is warm and the chocolate chips and butter are melted. Remove from the heat and stir in the vanilla.

Pour the warm fudge over the oat mixture in your prepared pan and spread evenly with an offset spatula. Crumble the remaining oat mixture and scatter it evenly over the top of the fudge.

Bake for 25-30 minutes, until the topping is golden brown and the chocolate layer is starting to pull away from the sides of the pan. Transfer the pan to a wire rack and let it cool completely. Cut into bars and serve.

Recipe adapted from Annie’s Eats recipe for Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars.