With some grandsons coming for the weekend, I wanted to bake them some goodies that they would enjoy. I had seen a recipe for something called an Oh Henry Bar on Simply Recipes that not only looked delicious but also very quick and easy to make.
With a delicious sweet buttery oaty base and a peanut butter and chocolate topping. They sounded like a kid's dream come true! A bit wholesome because of the oats, but not so wholesome that children would turn their noses up!
The base actually reminded me very much of a typical bar that is very popular in the U.K. called a Flapjack. Contrary to the North American idea of a flapjack, I can promise you that British ones are not pancakes!
Instead, flapjacks are a popular British snack that is made from oats, butter, sugar, and golden syrup. They are baked until lightly browned with a deliciously deep caramelized flavor. Very moreish and something children really love!
In fact in looking at the recipe ingredients, I could see no difference really from the base of these and a British flapjack. Same ingredients. Butter, oats, golden syrup and sugar. They are the same.
The difference however comes in the topping which is applied after baking. A simple mixture of chocolate chips and peanut butter that are melted together. Easy peasy. This is spread on top and then chopped peanuts are sprinkled over top. Altogether very scrumptious indeed!
The only thing was I did not need a full sized recipe of these bars. I set about small batching the recipe and it worked out beautifully.
What you end up with is only 8 delicious bars. Just enough to please two grandsons without going over the top! It is important to note however, you can freeze these if you wish, tightly covered, for up to six months.
They taste just like the ever popular Oh Henry candy bar as well. A very popular candy bar in Canada with sweet caramel, peanuts, chocolate etc. Easy to make and delicious these are. You are going to fall in love!
WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE OH HENRY BARS
Simple baking cupboard ingredients and not a lot of them. I like that.
- 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar, packed
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS liquid honey or corn syrup (can use golden syrup)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1 cup (80g) rolled oats (not quick cooking)
- 1/3 cup (60g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 TBS smooth peanut butter (don't use the natural one)
- chopped peanuts to garnish
I used the President's Choice decadent Chocolate Chips. Kirkland chocolate chips from Costco would be my other choice. You can use any chocolate chip you want, but do use semi-sweet and not milk chocolate to get that lovely rich candy bar flavor.
I used liquid honey, Greek honey. You can use any liquid honey you have or even corn syrup if that is all you have. Golden Syrup would really impart a lovely caramel-like flavor to the bars.
Do not use an all natural peanut butter for the topping. I am not sure why, but I suspect it won't set up properly if you do. I used Kraft. Skippy would be great as would any commercial peanut butter. Do not use chunky peanut butter. Only use smooth.
I used chopped salted roasted peanuts to sprinkle over top. You can leave them off if you wish, but they really do add a nice bit of extra texture and flavor.
HOW TO MAKE OH HENRY BARS
These are really simple to make. The hardest part is waiting for them to chill. Seriously!
Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, leaving an overhang on two sides long enough to lift out the bars when done.Melt the butter together with the brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the rolled oats, combining everything well. Press this mixture into the bottom of the loaf tin.Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Do not overbake. It will not change color, but it will smell toasty nutty and sweet.
While the oat base is baking melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a heat proof bowl which has been set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl.Mix well together and then spread this mixture over top of the baked base. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts to taste.Leave to cool to room temperature then cover and chill for about an hour until the topping has set.Remove from the tin and peel off the baking paper. Cut into 8 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
I was very impressed with these simple yet very tasty bars. I had never made Oh Henry bars before, or if I did it was a very long time ago. These were scrumptious.
The base reminded me very much of British Flapjacks. With their peanut butter chocolate topping and those chopped peanuts, they went down a real treat!
I am no stranger to small batch recipes. I try to small batch my old favorites all the time and do so with success. Here are some other small batch baking recipes for the smaller family that you might enjoy!
SMALL BATCH CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS - I think of all the cookies and bars in the world Chocolate Chip bars have to be my absolute favourite! Golden brown and stogged full of semi sweet chocolate chips. This smaller batch may be small in size, but thy are HUGE on flavour! These incredibly moreish bars lack none of the tastiness of their larger sized counterpart! Recipe makes 8 bars.
SMALL BATCH BAKEWELL BLONDIES - This recipe makes 8 fabulous bars. With a buttery fudgy almond cookie base. Rich, fudgy, sweet . . . dense and filled with white chocolate chips and almond flavors . . . with a swirl of raspberry jam and then that almond glaze and those flaked almonds. Incredibly moreish with a hot cuppa or an ice cold glass of milk!Yield: 8 squaresAuthor: Marie Rayner
Oh Henry Bars
Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 15 MinInactive time: 1 HourTotal time: 1 H & 25 MA small batch recipe for a small sized family. Every bit as tasty as the full sized recipe. Peanut Butter and Chocolate are perfect partners.Ingredients
- 1/4 cup (50g) soft light brown sugar
- 2 TBS butter
- 2 TBS liquid honey or corn syrup (can use golden syrup)
- 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- pinch salt
- 1 cup (80g) rolled oats (not quick cooking)
- 1/3 cup (60g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 2 TBS smooth peanut butter (don't use the natural one)
- chopped peanuts to garnish
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350*F/180*C/gas mark 4. Butter a 9 by 5 inch loaf tin and line with baking paper, leaving an overhang on two sides long enough to lift out the bars when done.
- Melt the butter together with the brown sugar, honey, vanilla, and salt. Stir in the rolled oats, combining everything well. Press this mixture into the bottom of the loaf tin.
- Bake in the preheated oven for 15 minutes. Do not overbake. It will not change color, but it will smell toasty nutty and sweet.
- While the oat base is baking melt the chocolate chips and peanut butter together in a heat proof bowl which has been set over a saucepan of gently simmering water. Do not allow the water to touch the bottom of the bowl.
- Mix well together and then spread this mixture over top of the baked base. Sprinkle with chopped peanuts to taste.
- Leave to cool to room temperature then cover and chill for about an hour until the topping has set.
- Remove from the tin and peel off the baking paper. Cut into 8 squares. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days or in the refrigerator for up to a week.
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