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Easy Oatmeal Raisin Butterscotch Bars

These soft and chewy oatmeal raisin bars with butterscotch chips are perfect for busy bakers! If you love the classic flavors of oatmeal raisin cookies but want something quicker and more portable, these bars deliver all the same delicious taste with half the work.

Easy oatmeal raisin butterscotch bars baked until golden brown, cut into squares and packed with plump raisins and melty butterscotch chips.

Why You’ll Love These Butterscotch Oatmeal Bars

Bar cookies are my secret weapon for stress-free baking. Instead of dropping individual cookies, you simply spread the dough in one pan and slice when cool. They’re perfect for care packages, travel treats, or when you need dessert fast. Plus, they stay incredibly moist and tender if they last long enough to test that theory!

Baking Mix Notes: I’m using House-Autry Buttermilk Biscuit Baking Mix for these bars. While you can use any baking mix you have on hand, I find this one creates an especially rich, tender cookie. The buttermilk adds a subtle tang that pairs beautifully with the sweet butterscotch.

Two thick, chewy oatmeal raisin butterscotch bars stacked on a wooden board, with a blue mason jar of milk and a glass jar of raisins in the background.

Ingredients You’ll Need

  • Raisins Use plump, fresh raisins for the best texture
  • Baking Mix Any brand works, though buttermilk biscuit mix adds extra richness
  • Dark Brown Sugar The molasses creates that deep, caramel-like flavor
  • Oats Old-fashioned oats give the best texture
  • Cinnamon Just a pinch for warmth
  • Egg Helps bind everything together
  • Butter Use real butter for the best flavor
  • Vanilla Pure vanilla extract is worth it here
  • Butterscotch Chips The star ingredient that makes these extra special
Labeled flat lay of ingredients for oatmeal raisin butterscotch bars, including rolled oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, egg, butterscotch chips, butter, raisins, vanilla, and baking mix, all arranged on a light blue surface.

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Prep Your Pan Grease an 8×8 inch baking pan and preheat your oven to 350°F. Trust me, greasing the pan well will save you heartache later when it’s time to remove these beauties.

A hand sprays non-stick cooking spray into a decorative red and white baking dish with a floral design, while a bowl of oatmeal raisin butterscotch bar dough sits in the background.

Step 2: Combine Wet and Dry Ingredients Melt your butter in the microwave and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Add the baking mix, brown sugar, egg, and oats. Stir everything together until well combined. The mixture should look cohesive but not overmixed.

Ingredients for oatmeal raisin butterscotch bars—including rolled oats, brown sugar, flour, melted butter, egg, and vanilla—gathered in a large blue mixing bowl, ready to be mixed with a red hand mixer nearby.

Step 3: Add All the Delicious Mix-Ins Now comes the fun part! Fold in your butterscotch chips and raisins, then add the cinnamon and vanilla. Give everything one final good stir to distribute all the goodies evenly throughout the dough.

Oatmeal cookie dough in a blue mixing bowl with raisins, butterscotch chips, and cinnamon added on top, ready to be folded in with a black spatula.

Mixing tip: Don’t overmix once you add the butterscotch chips and raisins. You want them evenly distributed without breaking them up.

Step 4: Bake to Perfection Spread the mixture evenly in your prepared 8×8 pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the edges start to pull away slightly from the pan and the center feels set but still soft.

Unbaked oatmeal raisin butterscotch bar batter evenly spread in a red square baking dish, topped with extra raisins and butterscotch chips, ready for the oven.

Doneness test: The bars are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs. Don’t overbake, or they’ll lose that wonderful chewy texture.

Freshly baked oatmeal raisin butterscotch bars in a red square baking dish, golden brown on top with visible raisins and melted butterscotch chips, resting on a striped kitchen towel.

Serving and Storage Tips

These bars are delicious warm from the oven, but they’re even better after they’ve had time to set. Let them cool completely before cutting for the cleanest slices. They’re perfect as an after-school snack with a glass of milk or alongside your morning coffee.

Storage: Keep these bars in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week. They actually get more flavorful after a day or two as all the ingredients meld together.

Travel tip: These bars are incredibly sturdy, making them ideal for packing in lunch boxes or taking on road trips. They won’t crumble like traditional cookies, and they stay moist even after a few days.

A thick, chewy oatmeal raisin butterscotch bar sits on a wooden board surrounded by scattered butterscotch chips and raisins, with a blue mason jar of milk and a colorful baking dish in the background.
A fork digs into a soft, chewy oatmeal raisin butterscotch bar on a wooden board, surrounded by scattered raisins and butterscotch chips, with more bars and a colorful baking dish in the background.

These oatmeal raisin butterscotch bars combine all the comforting flavors you love in a format that’s both practical and delicious. Give them a try and watch them disappear from your kitchen!Pro tip:** These bars are fantastic for getting kids involved in the kitchen. The simple mixing method means little hands can help with almost every step.

Oatmeal Raisin Bars with Butterscotch Mmm, Mm!

With a tender soft cookie texture, the taste of butter, brown sugar, butterscotch, and raisins these will become a quick favorite. They also remain moist and delicious in your cookie jar – if they live long enough to make it there.
Servings: 12 bars

Ingredients

  • 1/2 Cup Rolled oats
  • 1 Cups Brown sugar packed (I use light or dark, whatever I have on hand)
  • 2 Cups Baking Mix I’m using House-Autry Buttermilk Biscuit and Baking Mix
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 Stick butter melted
  • 1 tsp Vanilla
  • 1 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/2 raisins
  • 1/2 cup butterscotch chips

Instructions

  • Combine first five ingredients in large mixing bowl. Mix until well blended. Stir in remaining ingredients. Pat into greased 8×8 pan and bake at 350 for twenty five to thirty minutes. Allow to cool and cut into bars.
Tried this recipe?Mention @southernplate or tag #southernplate!

 

53 Comments

  1. Christi,
    I was just thinkin it would be so awesome to have a cookie bar chart, kind of like your casserole chart, with the main recipe the same but changing out the add-ins. I just put these bars in the oven with choc chips instead of raisins and I didn’t know if I should add the cinnamon or not, so I added it and we’ll see how it does! Thanks so much for all you do – I always check here first for my recipes and feel like I’ve learned a lot about cooking from you! 🙂

  2. Hi ~ I made these this morning for an upcoming road trip (leaving tomorrow). They turned out beautifully and are all packed & ready to go (with the exception of one…or was it two or three?!…that won’t be going along)!! WONDERFUL taste and texture! I was very low on margarine so splurged and used a stick of Amish butter I keep on hand…YUMMY!!! Thanks, Christy, for sharing the recipe!

    1. Girl, you took the words right out of my mouth! I’m not too crazy about cooked raisins in sweets – I’ll eat them in Raisin Bran but that’s about it – so I picked up some semisweet choc chips along with the butterscotch chips for mine. Headed to the kitchen now! 🙂

    2. I made these the other day with Semi sweet chocolate chips and they were delicious. Chocolate chip and butterscotch chips are yummy together. 🙂

  3. I’m 45 minutes east of Raleigh, and would LOVE to come meet you…… but I will be spending Saturday shopping with my Mom, aunt and cousin for my wedding dress.

    (Which means no Butterfinger Cake for me until September!)

    Hope you enjoy your time in NC!

  4. Christy’s gonna be in NC!! Raleigh is about a 2 hour drive for me but I think I could maybe convince my hubby this could be our weekend excursion when I tell him about that all you can eat BBQ AND kids eat FREE!! Now if only the rain will just stay away…

    And speakin of that baking mix… I have never seen it in any of the grocery stores around here. I only thought they made hushpuppy and breading mixes. Their hushpuppies are goooood!

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