M & M Oatmeal Cookie Bars

Valentines Day is quickly approaching, so I made some Valentines M & M Oatmeal Cookie Bars for the kids. This is actually the second time I've made these. My kids are a still bit under the weather, so I wanted to make a sweet treat for them. 

I thought it would be neat to use holiday themed M & M's instead of regular ones for more of a holiday cookie bar. I also doubled the recipe to make a 13 x 9 pan. The recipe below is for a single recipe using a 8 x 8 inch size pan. 

I know there's a lot of Valentine Parties at school coming up and I think the kid would love these. They're super easy to make, plus they call for a biscuit baking mix and who doesn't usually have those on hand.

The original recipe calls for Pioneer Baking Mix, but I only had Bisquick. No problem the recipe turned out perfect. These bar cookies are a nice little sweet for your little sweeties.


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray and 8 x 8 inch baking pan with non stick spray, set aside.  In a large bowl, add the baking mix, oatmeal and brown sugar. Give the dry ingredients a good stir. Add the melted butter, egg, and vanilla extract.

Add 1/2 cup m & m candies and mix, making sure to blend the candies really well. Pat mixture into the pan and smooth using a spatula. Add the remaining 1/2 cup m & m candies to the top and press them down just a bit. 

Bake for 20 minutes for a 8 x 8 inch size pan and 30-40 minutes for a 9 x 13 inch pan. Use a toothpick to test for doneness. 


Let cool completely and slice into bars. Very Festive!!!!!



Yield: 16
Author: Tina Butler | Mommy's Kitchen
Easy M&M Cookie Bars

Easy M&M Cookie Bars

Simple cookie bars made with a biscuit baking mix and M&M candies.
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 20 MinTotal time: 30 Min

Ingredients

  • 1 cup M & M candies, separtated
  • 1/2 - cup oatmeal
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed
  • 2 cups biscuit baking mix
  • 1 egg
  • 1 stick (1/2 cup) margarine or butter melted
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 
  2. Combine everything in a mixing bowl except candies. 
  3. Mix until well blended. Stir in candies, reserving some to place on top.
  4. Pat into greased 8×8 pan.
  5. Press some additional M&M's on top and bake for about twenty minutes.
  6. Allow to cool and cut into bars.

Notes:

To make a 13 x 9 inch pan you will need to double the recipe ingredients. Reese's Pieces can be substituted for M&M's.

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Adapted from: southern plate 
 
Post Update:

Some of you have noted that the recipe listing above is to much cookie dough for a 8 x 8 inch size pan. I verified the recipe at Southern Plate and all the measurements are correct.

 I'm adding a photo of the first time I prepared this recipe using a 8 x 8 inch pan, using this recipe with 2 cups baking mix and so on. 

The only thing i can think of is maybe some of you are doubling the ingredients as I stated that I had done at the beginning of my post, which would make way to much dough.



24 comments

Nonnas News said…
Those sound very good and very easy! I'll pass this on to my daughter! Thanks for sharing!
Reeni said…
They look scrumptious!! I love the pretty colored M&M's on top.
Meg said…
Love this recipe! It puts me in a Valentine's Mood!
(F)redddy said…
Can't wait til Tuesday night to make these with the kids. Thanks, and Happy Valentines day.
Ingrid_3Bs said…
Those look great with the pretty valentine's M&Ms. I agree I bet the kids will love these & the addition of oatmeal is a plus.

Thanks for stopping by my blog & the lovely comment!
~ingrid
Very nice! Bet they are yummy too. Thanks!
Live.Love.Eat said…
These are adorable!!!!
Maria said…
I love bar cookies!! These look great!
Tina, boy do these bring back memories. Baking tons of cookies and cupcakes for my kids' school. These bars look very delicious and most of all nutritious. Hope you and your family have a lovely Valentines Day together. :)
shweetpotato said…
Mine are in the oven right now :D will blog about them :D Carm
shweetpotato said…
They are soo soft and yummy, I think I need to do some more later with Reese's Pieces omgosh the peanut butter and chocolate would be FAB with the brown sugar :D Carm
Tina Butler said…
ummm Carm I bet those would be awesome with reese pieces. I would of never thought of that. Thanks!!!
Anonymous said…
Is this the doubled recipe? I made it as written and it was way too much for an 8x8 pan. What did I do wrong?

Thanks.
Tammy
Tina Butler said…
The written recipe is for a 8 x 8 size pan. I made the actual recipe the first time and it turned out fine in a 8 x 8 inch size pan. The second time for the pictured i doubled the recipe using 4 cups of the baking mix. The bars are not thin but thicker. I got the recipe from southern plate and she used a 8x8 inch size pan as stated in the recipe. I dont know what could of went wrong.
Anonymous said…
Thanks - I think I just don't like them as thick as they're supposed to be. I doubled the batch this time, put them in a 10x15 pan and baked them longer - they were better.
Browns said…
This comment has been removed by the author.
Browns said…
I don't know why my last post shows as deleted by me....anyways...I had the same problem as Tammy...these were WAY too thick for an 8x8 pan, and I had to nearly triple the baking time just to get them cooked in the middle. They had a good taste to them, but I think they would be better in a 9x13 pan for the amounts listed in this recipe. I will definitely try it again using the larger pan.
Tina Butler said…
I am sorry that some of you are having problems with the amount of dough fitting in the pan. I have made a update on this post along wtih a photo hoping this helps.

Update: I prepared this recipe using a 8 x 8 inch pan, using this recipe with 2 cups baking mix and so on. The only thing i can think of is maybe some of you are doubling the ingredients as i stated that I had done at the beginning of my post, which would make way to much dough. Please see the recipe post for the update and photo.
Anonymous said…
Hi,
Just wanted to leave a note about this recipe. I made it in a 8x8 pan as instructed. It looked done on the top after 20 minutes but the bottoms of the bars were really wet. I kept cooking them for an additional 10 min and no change. I had to take them out of the pan and turn them over so they could bake on the bottom. I would suggest making this recipe in a 9x13 pan so you can spread the dough out better and it wont be as thick as it is in a 8x8. They taste really good...I just had a hard time with the baking instructions.
Tina Butler said…
I am sorry you had problems with the dough being wet. I have never run into that. Some feel it is to much dough to fit in a 8 x 8 pan. Then by all means use a bigger pan. I have baked it in the same size with no problems and have doubled it to use a 9x13 inch. Here is the link to the original recipe at SP she uses a 8 x 8 in pan as well. I cannot figure out why yours were wet and not done.

Southern Plates M&M Bars
http://www.southernplate.com/2009/01/mm-oatmeal-bars-made-with-baking-mix.html
Diane Schmidt said…
They look great! I'm stopping by from Hoosier Homemade. I linked up too. I'm following and can't wait to see what you'll post next.
I love bar cookies! So quick & easy! And I love how you added the Valentine touch! Thanks for joining the fun at the Valentine Party!
~Liz
Heide said…
I made these a couple of days ago...my kids loved them, and they are quite easy (and quick) to make!
Mrs. Green said…
Great recipe! I made these today. I used a glass 8x8 pan and baked for just over 30 minutes. The middle was not quite done and fell quite a bit as they cooled. They were still really yummy though and so simple to make!