My mom made these all. the. time. growing up. They are straight out of the church basement cookbook, and as everyone knows, the best recipes come from church cookbooks, don’t they?

I was inspired to revisit this recipe since I was recently cast in Church Basement Ladies, it’s adorable, especially if you grew up Lutheran or Catholic, or around any kind of church actually. It takes place in Minnesota, and I am just now discovering that Minnesotans have no use for cookies, it’s bars bars bars bars! It’s been such a fun process already and we’re just a week into rehearsals.

I these bars were a part of my childhood, and it’s time to revive them!

You will need:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 9×13 baking dish. Cream together the oats, flour, brown sugar, butter, baking soda and salt in a stand mixer. 

Press the oat mixture into the bottom of a greased 9x 13 baking dish to make a crust, reserving approximately 1 ½ cups for crumble topping. It’s no big deal if it’s a little more or a little less!

Stir together the sweetened condensed milk and peanut butter. Pour evenly over the top of the crust. Next, sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the peanut butter mixture. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture over the top of the chocolate chips, patting down slightly. 

Bake for 25-30 minutes until the edges have browned. Cool, cut into squares and serve.

Here’s a handy printable!