Chocolate Fudge Oatmeal Bars

“Rebel Bars.”

Yes, I bake things other than pie.

Do I sound defensive? Sorry. This could be hard to wrap your head around, but I have spent far more of my life baking non-pie things than pies. Cookies, bars and cakes are my heritage, my cherished memories, my soft blanket on a chilly evening.

My recollections of childhood are riddled with Rice Krispie treats, lemon bars, chewy brownies, Tollhouse cookies, Bundt cakes, blueberry crisps, and ice-cream-Lady-Finger cakes with homemade hot fudge sauce. And that’s not counting the layer cakes that showed up on our birthdays, and the coffee cakes that were trotted out for Sunday afternoon visits with grown-up guests. As a child, I climbed onto our mint-green step-stool to help my mom make these things. By early adolescence, I could make them myself, and I expanded on them as I moved into my own apartments and grew to relish the happiness of baking for my loved ones.

Pie and classic French pastry were the two great unconquered baking pinnacles, so I’ve taken those on in the last few years. But even CurvyMama needs an occasional return to her roots; and as much as my two daughters love pie, they also crave–and need–those childhood treats. So this freezing January day gave me the perfect chance to pamper them a little.

These bars came to me from my mother’s dear old friend, Muriel Rosenkrantz, who called them Revel Bars. My kids fell in love with these bars when they were little enough that their love exceeded their ability to say everything correctly. They came up with their own name, and it stuck: Rebel Bars. And with apologies to Muriel, I think “Rebel Bars” leaves the original name in the dust. So, with a loving hug to my two wonderful girls, I give you Rebel Bars.

Preheat the oven to 350.

In a large bowl, combine the oatmeal, flour, baking soda and salt. Set aside. 

In a glass bowl, combine the sweetened condensed milk, chocolate, butter and 1/2 tsp. of the salt. Microwave until melted. Stir to blend.

In a very large bowl, beat the softened butter until fluffy. Beat in the brown sugar til blended.

Beat in the eggs and vanilla. Gradually beat in the dry ingredients, on low speed, until blended.

Spray a 10 x 15 inch pan with Pam or grease it with butter. Pat two-thirds of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. You don’t need to go up the sides. Just cover the bottom of the pan. It can help to moisten your fingers with a little water when you’re patting-in the crust.

Spoon the chocolate mixture onto the bottom crust and spread so it covers the crust.

Cover with the remaining dough. The dough is so thick you won’t be able to pour or spread it over the chocolate. So I have found it helpful to take pieces of it in my fingers and flatten them, then lay them over the surface of the chocolate. Don’t worry about covering every little bit of chocolate; having some poking through looks yummier.

Bake 25-30 minutes. Be careful not to overbake.

Remove from the oven. Let cool completely before cutting. Here they are fully baked: