Oatmeal Raisin Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars

Raisins and other dried fruit have been around for centuries. They were mainly popularized by the Ancient Egyptians and Phoenicians. The earliest known grapevine is from all the way back in 35,000,000 BC. For a complete timeline of grape and raisin history you can go here.

I hope everyone had a very merry Christmas and happy holiday! I’m definitely a bit disappointed that I wasn’t here to celebrate the cookie baking craze with all of you. I’m finally back from Puerto Rico! Woohoo! Not that it wasn’t a nice trip, but family vacations can get taxing after a while–I’m sure you all know what I mean. It’s nice to finally have my own space again and to get back in the kitchen! Since we’ve been away for a while that means I had to do laundry, which means that today is a stay in my pajamas day (until I force myself to go to the gym haha). Anyway, so my jet lag combined with laziness and lack of clean clothes meant that I needed to use what we had in the house to throw together something delicious to share with all of you :).

Speaking of sharing, I have an insane airport story to tell. The plan was for me to fly to Puerto Rico directly from Boston once I was done with my finals. I would fly to Newark, and then get on a transfer flight there. Ok. Sounds simple enough right? It would have been if Newark airport weren’t notorious for delays. After being stuck on the tarmac for over an hour I knew that it was going to be cutting it incredibly close since once we landed I’d have about 15 minutes to make my flight. I formulated my game plan. As soon as the plane touched down, I unbuckled my seatbelt (terrible, I know), threw my backpack on, grabbed my mini-duffel, and assumed a seated runner’s stance. Once we came to a stop I leapt to my feet and using my duffel as a battering ram, ran down the aisle of the airplane yelling like a crazy person that I had to catch my flight and everyone had better get the hell out of my way. I didn’t know I had it in me haha. To everyone who I may have bumped into, I apologize. When I got out of the terminal, my mother had smooth-talked the airline into sending a golf cart to take me to the gate. The driver was waiting for me as I sprinted out of the gate and crash-landed onto the golf cart. We proceeded to speed through the airport like a game of Grand Theft Auto and I arrived just in time to make the flight. Talk about making a connection!

Luckily, unlike that insane flight to Puerto Rico, these bars are incredibly simple and come together in about ten minutes. I thought that something simple and safe would be a welcome relief while all the holiday baking is dying down. You can throw these together in one bowl and then put them in the oven for 20 minutes and make yourself a delicious snack or breakfast treat.

I’ll definitely be throwing some Puerto Rican recipes your way as soon as I can get myself looking presentable enough to go to the market! I’m toying with ideas about some guava paste I brought back with me and this amazing bar of baking chocolate I found in Old San Juan. So excited to use my tropical goodies!

Preheat oven to 375°

1 stick of butter

3/4 c brown sugar

1/4 c granulated sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 1/2 c uncooked oats

3/4 c flour

1 c raisins

2/3 c chocolate chips

1/2 tsp baking soda

1. Cream together butter, vanilla, and sugars

2. Add in egg and then baking soda, flour, cinnamon, and oats

3. Stir in raisins and chocolate chips

4. Spread the batter into an 8×8 baking pan

5. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until edges begin to pull away from the sides of the pan

6. Allow to cool for 20-30 minutes (or at least pretend ;))

*This was linked to the Foodie Friends Friday,  Time to Sparkle, and Strut Your Stuff Saturday link parties.