Nutella Crumble Bars from Lemons and Zest

Nutella Crumble Bars - made October 3, 2022 from Lemons and Zest

1 1/2 cups oats

1 1/2 cups flour

1 cup butter, melted

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup Nutella

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 8 x 8-inch baking pan with foil and lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray.
2. In a medium mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, melted butter, brown sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla. Stir together until combined.
3. Press 2/3 of the mixture into the bottom of prepared pan. Spread Nutella evenly over bottom layer. Crumble remaining dough over the Nutella. Bake 25 minutes or until top is lightly golden. Remove from oven and cool completely.

These are exactly what the title says they are: bar cookies, Nutella in the middle, sandwiched between an oatmeal crumble layer.

They're also quite good, especially if you like Nutella and oatmeal. Most recipes put oatmeal together with peanut butter or chocolate but Nutella works well in these bars too. Plus they were easy to Halloween-ize with the Halloween mix of M&Ms.

Be warned to take the "crumble" part of the title seriously as the oatmeal does make them more of a crumbly texture. I liked the heartiness from using old-fashioned oats and they cut the sweetness from the Nutella and the M&Ms.

All in all, a quick and easy bar cookie you can make. You can omit the M&Ms and keep them plain or garnish them in the holiday colors of your choice for a little pizzazz.