These bars are sweet, chewy, and crumbly. They melt in your mouth and are dangerously addictive.
Imagine a crunchy, oat crust, filled with a soft, chewy, caramel filling. Making the filling from scratch, instead of store-bought caramels, takes these to a different level. Sprinkling with sea salt adds that contrast that everyone loves.
I highly recommend the added chocolate chips for extra goodness, or use chopped peanuts, or pecans instead.
This cookie bar recipe bakes in a generous 9 by 13 inch pan, so you have plenty for a party, potluck, or holiday occasion.
It’s also easy, you will make this recipe again and again. No mixer or fancy equipment!
Rachel’s Tip: Brown your butter (I did), and the depth of flavor is over the top 🙂
You may also love:
- Low-FODMAP Chewy Oatmeal Cookies
- Low-FODMAP Chocolate Chunk Blondies
- Low-FODMAP Oatmeal Cake with Coconut Pecan Frosting
- Low-FODMAP Twix Bars
- Low-FODMAP Tahini Fudge Oatmeal Bars
- Low-FODMAP Chai Spiced Oatmeal Chocolate Cookie Bars
Or check out over 600 more low-FODMAP recipes on the blog. IBS-friendly!
Be healthy and happy,
Rachel Pauls, MD
Brown Butter Caramel Oatmeal Cookie Bars with Chocolate & Sea Salt; Low-FODMAP & Gluten-free
Sweet, creamy, crunchy and chewy. Low-FODMAP and gluten-free Caramel Oatmeal Cookie Bars are easy and delicious. Brown the butter, sprinkle chocolate, and add sea salt for gourmet flavor. IBS-friendly!
- Prep Time: 5 minutes
- Cool Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 40 minutes
- Total Time: 55 minutes
- Yield: 24 servings 1x
- Category: Dessert, Snack
- Method: Baking
- Cuisine: American
- Diet: Gluten Free
Ingredients
Crust:
- 1 cup unsalted butter,*
- 1 & 1/2 cups quick oats (not rolled oats)
- 1 & 1/2 cups low-FODMAP, gluten-free flour*
- 1 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
- 1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
Filling:
- 1/4 cup unsalted butter*
- 1 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1/4 cup low-FODMAP milk (I used LF whole milk)*
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 tablespoons low-FODMAP, gluten-free flour
- 1/2–3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips, optional
Garrnish:
- Flaked sea salt
Instructions
- Grease a 9 by 13 inch pan and line with parchment, and preheat oven to 350F
- In a large bowl, combine quick oats, LF flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt until well mixed
- In a medium saucepan, place 1 & 1/4 cups butter (you will use this for the crust and filling)*
- Over medium heat, while stirring, warm the butter until lightly simmering
- After about 3-4 minutes, the butter will start to form brown flecks, darken, and have a deep aroma
- Quickly remove from heat, and pour the butter into a measuring cup to avoid burning
- Add 1 cup of the browned butter to the flour mixture until combined. Use a spatula or your hands, to form a soft dough
- Press about 2/3 of the crust dough mixture in the bottom of the pan. Use a spatula, and your hands, to make an even layer. Set pan aside for now
- Next, replace the remaining 1/4 cup browned butter to the medium saucepan over low heat (the butter should still be very warm)
- Mix in the 1 cup brown sugar until dissolved
- Stir in the LF milk, vanilla extract, and LF flour
- Increase heat as needed to allow this to simmer, while stirring well with a whisk
- After about 3 minutes it should begin to thicken
- Remove from heat to cool slightly (about 10 minutes)
- While cooling, place crust in the oven, and bake the base for 10 minutes
- Remove from oven, and pour the slightly cooled caramel over your crust, tipping the pan gently to cover it all
- Sprinkle with optional chocolate chips (if using)
- Drop the remaining 1/3 of the crust dough over the caramel layer, in order to cover as much as possible
- Replace the tray in the oven for another 20 minutes, until lightly brown and fragrant
- It may seem ‘loose or jiggly’ but it will firm up as it cools
- Garnish with sea salt after baking
- Allow to cool in pan, then slice and serve
- Store leftover bars in the refrigerator
Notes
- Although this recipe has not been lab tested, a single serving should be low-FODMAP based on the ingredients (using available FODMAP data at time of posting)
- Quick oats are low-FODMAP in 1/4 cup (23g) servings
- Butter is low in carbohydrates and naturally low in lactose and FODMAPs
- Dr Rachel’s Tips for browning butter:
- Firstly, this is not as hard as it sounds! However, if you don’t have the time to do this, simply melt your butter for the recipe steps
- Browning butter ‘toasts’ it, and deepens the flavor (rich and nutty)
- Using a light colored saucepan makes checking the butter easier (recommended if you haven’t done this before)
- The butter will start browning suddenly, so watch closely. At that point you will want to remove it from the heat to prevent burning
2 Responses
SO GOOD
i’m on a low histamine diet and this is amazing. definitely my favourite low histamine recipe so far. i substituted the sugar in the crust for sweetener and didn’t make as much sauce to cut down on the sugar and it was still amazing. very sweet and flavourful.
Hi Casper!
Thank you so much for this lovely review! Glad to hear those substitutions worked.
Hope you stay in touch,
Warmly,
Rachel