Amaze-bars {aka Oatmeal Cookie Fudge Bars}

This week I found this recipe from The Hub of our Home and it sounded so good I had to give it a shot.  The recipe was a little more involved than I normally look for (haha), but boy was it worth it! These Oatmeal Fudge Cookie Bars are amazing! In fact, my husband loved them so much, he deemed them “Amaze-bars” :).

Ingredients:

(Cookie Layers) 

• 1 C. salted butter (softened)
• 2 C. packed brown sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 2 1/2 C. flour
• 3 C. old fashioned rolled oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

(Fudge Layer)

• 14 oz. can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 C. semi sweet chocolate chips
• 2 Tbsp. salted butter
• 1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon.
2. In a separate bowl (or in an electric mixer), mix together butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy.  Then, one at a time, add in the eggs, then the vanilla.
3. Slowly add in your flour mixture.  I usually add 1/4 of the mixture in at a time.  Once thoroughly combined, add in the oats.
4. Set aside 2 C. of the cookie dough mixture for topping.  Fill the bottom of a greased 9 x 13″ pan with the rest of the cookie dough.
5. For the fudge layer, mix together the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate chips, butter, and vanilla in a small saucepan.  Over low heat, stir continuously until the chocolate is just melted and the ingredients are mixed together completely.  Be sure to keep stirring and watch the chocolate to make sure it is not burning!
6. Once melted, pour the fudge over the cookie dough in the pan.  Take the dough you set aside and drop small pieces of it evenly across the top of the fudge layer. Do not smooth out the top layer.
   
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes or until the top layer is starting to brown.
8. Out of the oven, leave them out on the counter to set for a couple of hours, then transfer them to the fridge.  After hardening completely, they can be stored at room temperature, but I preferred them straight out of the fridge!