These maple oatmeal squares are easy to make, wholesome, delicious – what more can you ask for in a cookie bar?

When I was growing up, my grandmother would make us what she called “health cookies.” She shaped them into lumps almost like dumplings and they were so good! We would sometimes break the cookies into little pieces and place them in a bowl of milk and eat it cereal-style. My mother always joked that the only thing “healthy” about those cookies was the wheat germ my grandmother added to them!

Sadly, my sweet grandmother has passed on and while I have many recipes from her, I don’t have that one. But I can confidently say that these maple oatmeal squares are actually healthy!! They contain no refined sugars or flours. And using high-quality, unprocessed ingredients not only makes them good for you, but it adds a tremendous amount of genuine flavor!

These squares actually originated as cookies that I was making weekly. One week, I was feeling too lazy to shape them, so I baked them in a pan and cut them into squares instead. My family was perfectly happy with them that way, so I stopped bothering to roll them into cookies.

I like to make the squares in a real 9×13 pan and slice them right in the pan while they’re still warm. Then I keep the pan on my counter — it gives my kitchen such a nice homey look! You can also take the squares out of the pan and place them in your cookie jar.

These maple oatmeal squares are so easy to prepare; it’s a “dump and mix” type of recipe. You can use any oats, quick or whole. If you don’t have real maple syrup, you can swap with honey, but I personally like the flavor of maple syrup better in this recipe. If you prefer to use white all-purpose flour, you can swap that as well. I add my Union Spice Blends Apple Crisp Blend, which gives these bars a real homey, rustic flavor, but you can also sub with cinnamon if you don’t have it.

I use chocolate chips in these because that’s what my family likes. However, if it were up to me, I would take it up a level in healthfulness and flavor by adding lots of chopped nuts, such as pecans or walnuts, and raisins! But that’s what’s so amazing about this recipe. It’s so versatile — you can easily play around with it and add any mix-ins that you’d like.

These squares freeze very well. I will sometimes make a double batch and freeze one pan.

If you are making them into cookies instead of squares, shape them into balls after making the dough, place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes, depending on how gooey you like your cookies.

Irresistible and Good For You Maple Oatmeal Squares

These maple oatmeal squares are easy to make, wholesome, delicious – what more can you ask for in a cookie bar?

Print Recipe

Ingredients

½ cup oil
¾ cup maple syrup
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Union Spice Blends Apple Crisp Blend*
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
2 cups spelt or white whole-wheat flour
2 cups oatmeal (any kind)
1 cup chocolate chips, or nuts, or any other add-ins of your choice

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F and line a 9×13 pan with parchment paper.
Place all ingredients in a bowl and mix with a spoon until combined.
Press dough into prepared pan.
Bake for 20 minutes for gooey squares, 25-30 minutes for more cakey squares.

Notes

*You can purchase the spice blend here, or sub with 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

To bake these as cookies, roll into balls instead and place on parchment-lined cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, depending upon how gooey you like your cookies.

Freezes very well.