Like a Chunky bar wrapped in a delicious oatmeal peanut cookie...

I already had an idea in mind when I asked Jeff what item he would like for the weekly Wednesday Treat Day - all he requested was that it contained oats and peanuts. Score! I thought to myself when I ran through the ingredient list in these Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars that I had marked to try.

Have you ever had one of those Nestle Chunky candy bars? You can still find these retro candy bars here and there, but they can be hard to come by. I haven't had one in ages, but after Jeff took a bite from his "quality control" piece of these bars, that name was the first thing he said! While these bars are not quite the same, the thick fudgy middle layer has flavors that are reminiscent - chocolate (updated to bittersweet!), raisins and peanuts.

First, the bottom layer is like a rich and sturdy oatmeal cookie laced with chunky peanuts - a small portion is set aside and we'll get to that in a bit. While firm, the base is still fairly chewy from a generous amount of brown sugar - however, because the peanuts are salted, this helps keep the balance to ensure it is not cloyingly sweet. The dough is not notably sticky, but it is not dry and crumbly either - if you find it tough to press the dough into an even layer, place a sheet of plastic wrap on top to help you move it around the pan.

Next, the studded chocolate layer is prepared - this is like a quick fudge made simply by heating sweetened condensed milk with bittersweet chocolate and a couple pats of butter. You want to work with this mixture warm as it will begin to stiffen as it cools - when the mixture is melted and smooth, a shot of vanilla, plump golden raisins and more crunchy salted peanuts are stirred in. You can use golden or dark raisins here, but make sure they are nice and moist - if the raisins are dry, just steep them in boiling water for a couple minutes and pat them dry before adding them.

Now is when we bring back the reserved oatmeal cookie dough that was set aside. You want to drop chunks of this mixture all over the fudge layer - you are not looking to smooth it together as you want it lumpy and bumpy so don't try and be perfect here. You want the chunks to be somewhat large - about marble size or a little bigger as they will spread just a bit and connect together. This way you get those beautiful buttery cookie bits strewn all over the top. Serve them at room temperature or chilled - either way, these neat and clean squares will be gone in no time!

Sadly, I can't comment myself on the taste of the finished product as I have to eliminate(!!) chocolate due to health issues for the next couple of months - so I hope I was able to describe them well enough from Jeff's feedback. I did sneak several tastes of the delicious cookie dough though! Don't expect me to stop baking with chocolate however; I don't think we'll have a problem finding people to let us know how whatever it may be came out (well, it would have to get past Jeff first!).

Recipes
Chocolate Oatmeal Almost-Candy Bars