Need a quick pick me up snack? Add some candy bars and coffee to an easy oatmeal bar cookie. These Java Twix Oatmeal Bars will have you grabbing two or three before you even know it.
I have realized that I bake in food stages. I get a particular food or flavor in my head and I just can’t stop adding it to different creations. Right now that food craze that I am digging is coffee.
Of course, most of you that read my blog regularly are thinking, “you use coffee all the time, this isn’t new.” And you would be right. But let’s not forget the banana phase where I posted banana treats for an entire week…and haven’t stopped. There is actually banana bread in my oven right this very second…and I added coffee to it 🙂
Oh, and the coconut phase that I go through once a year. Believe me, our kids are glad I have moved on from the coconut. Treats definitely don’t disappear as quickly when they know I have added the coconut to it. I keep hoping one day they will learn to love it as much as me. My daughter does like toasted coconut now, so I’m claiming that as a small victory.
But back to the coffee love. My husband and I both love drinking coffee every day. He usually goes through a few more cups than I do. I’m more of a habitual coffee drinker. I don’t do it for the caffeine…in fact, too much caffeine gives me problems. Shakes, palpitations, chest pains…it’s not fun. It was an easy fix to correct though just by watching how many regular cups of coffee I have a month. Yes, this does mean I am a decaf coffee drinker for some of the month because I hate giving up that cup of coffee every afternoon. Like I said it is more of a habit for me. And now you all know that I am an old fart that has to drink decaf. Oh, the joys of getting older 😉
I have found that I can add coffee to the crazy things I bake and it doesn’t seem to bother me. Bring on the coffee laden treats I say!!!!
A few years ago I tried making Oatmeal Cream Pies from scratch. They were good, but I got lazy over the years and adapted them into a bar cookie. I’m blaming that on old age! Last year I made them into Oatmeal S’mores Bars. Delicious and gooey!!! But…I think these Java Twix Oatmeal Bars blow all the other ones out of the water. By a mile!!! They are seriously that good!
These bars do call for a mixture of butter and shortening. Using the two together gives it a slightly cakier and chewier texture. I know that there are some people out there that have an aversion to that white stuff…I am not one of them. I use it in frosting and I use it in some cookies and bars. This happens to be one of them. Feel free to use all butter if you like and let me know how it works for you. Butter usually will make a cookie spread more when baking. But these are in a pan, so you won’t have that problem. I have been using this version for years, and just haven’t adapted that part yet. Maybe the next version I’ll mess with that part.
Some instant coffee dissolved in milk adds just a lit bit of flavor to the oatmeal bars. You don’t want to over power the other parts of the cookie. The other parts being the Twix candy bars. Does anyone else remember the Java Twix Bars? They were a specialty candy bar years ago, and I was sad when they didn’t make a come back.
Now you could eat the bars just like they are, but why not add some frosting. Coffee frosting gives it another hit of flavor. Go ahead and lick the spatula…I know you want to. I admit I did. Just be careful, or you will want to hide in the closet with the frosting instead of putting it on the cookies. That thought went through my head a few times. I even considered scraping it off the cookies and going to hide with it. But logic and reason won out. Reason being I am headed to Miami in a week and I really don’t need more “frosting” added to my body in places I don’t want it.
These cookie bars would even work for breakfast. I mean it is oatmeal and coffee after all 🙂 Probably more logic and reasoning I should work on.
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Twix candy bars and coffee frosting give these oatmeal cookie bars a fun and delicious twist.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup butter
- 1/2 cup shortening
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 Tablespoon milk
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 eggs
- 1 3/4 cups flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
- 1 1/2 cups chopped Twix candy bars
- 1/2 cup butter, softened
- 2 Tablespoons hot water
- 2 teaspoons instant coffee
- 2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Cream the butter and shortening with the sugars. Dissolve the instant coffee in the milk. Add the milk, vanilla, and eggs to the creamed mixture and beat again.
- Sift the dry ingredients together and slowly add to the mixture. Stir in the chopped Twix bars by hand.
- Line a 9x13 baking dish with foil and spray with non stick spray. Spread the batter evenly in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Do not over bake. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.
- Dissolve the coffee in the hot water. Beat the butter and coffee together. Slowly add the powdered sugar. Beat until creamy. Spread on the cooled cookie bars. Let set. Cut into 24 bars. Store in a sealed container on the counter.
More fun and delicious recipes that include coffee:
danielle says
May 6, 2014 at 10:00 AMThis sounds amazing – I love the hints of coffee flavoring throughout.
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:48 AMThanks Danielle!
Averie @ Averie Cooks says
May 6, 2014 at 10:16 AMCoffee frosting – oh that sounds so good and then Twix are one of my fave candy bars ever. Perfect! pinned
Jocelyn (Grandbaby Cakes) says
May 6, 2014 at 10:39 AMThese are gorgeous oatmeal bars! They look so delish!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:49 AMThank you Jocelyn!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:49 AMThank you Jocelyn!
Anna @ Crunchy Creamy Sweet says
May 6, 2014 at 11:28 AMOoooo! I need these in my life! Love the coffee frosting! Pinned! Shared!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:51 AMThank you for the Pinterest love and for sharing! 😉
Lavender says
May 6, 2014 at 1:12 PMHow delicious! This recipe looks amazing!
Amy | Club Narwhal says
May 6, 2014 at 1:24 PMJocelyn, these bars look so, ridiculously good! And I think I tend to cook by theme too (or it might be my obsessive personality needing to cook the heck out of ingredients I fall in love with ).
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:51 AMHaha, thank you Amy!
Jennifer @ MondoMom says
May 6, 2014 at 1:37 PMThis looks delish! Thanks for sharing! : )
[email protected] says
May 6, 2014 at 2:16 PMOh man, these sound awesome. The coffee lover in me is singing 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:52 AMThanks, girl! 😉
Mary Frances says
May 6, 2014 at 3:26 PMCoffee and Twix? Pretty sure that is the best combo I’ve seen all week!
Gayle @ Pumpkin 'N Spice says
May 6, 2014 at 3:37 PMWhat a FABULOUS idea to combine coffee and twix! Two of my favorites! I definitely will be trying this!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:53 AMThanks Gayle! 🙂
Dorothy @ Crazy for Crust says
May 6, 2014 at 6:18 PMI go through those phases too, although mine never end. Peanut Butter, Lemon, Coconut, repeat. 🙂
kim mccormick says
May 6, 2014 at 8:09 PMyou are the best! you are always giving great recipes. thank you so much for all your great work
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:54 AMThank you so much for the sweet comment, Kim! 🙂
Jess @ On Sugar Mountain says
May 6, 2014 at 9:50 PMI love when I can have my coffee and my dessert and my candy bar all in one glorious bar! I don’t know which part I love the most, so I’m just going to say ALL OF THEM! 😀
Amy @ Amy's Healthy Baking says
May 6, 2014 at 9:54 PMJocelyn, I’m the same way when it comes to coffee! I’m really sensitive to caffeine (doesn’t help that I’m super short!), so I almost only drink decaf, unless I’m running on 5-6 hours of sleep and desperate to stay awake. Anything more than a cup (or shot of espresso) gives me shakes, jitters, and makes me sweaty and light-headed. Not fun at all, so I’m right there with you on decaf! I actually bake with decaf instant coffee most of the time too, just in case. 😉 Man, I wish I had known about those Java Twix Bars; they sound incredible. But not as good as your oatmeal bars!! That moist, dense texture gets me every time. Already pinned!
P.S. I go through phases too! Chocolate is a perpetual one, and peanut butter is creeping up there too… Nothing wrong with that as long as your tummy is happy!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:55 AMI’m glad I’m not alone in the decaf dept! 😉 Thanks Amy!
Chloe @ foodlikecake says
May 7, 2014 at 7:03 AMThose look so good! i love coffee in desserts, especially coffee frosting 🙂
Kim (Feed Me, Seymour) says
May 7, 2014 at 8:13 AMAs a coffee addict, I have no problem with you sharing a million coffee recipes. The more, the better! Especially ones like this. Holy moly, those bars look great.
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:55 AMThanks Kim! 😉
Ashley | Spoonful of Flavor says
May 7, 2014 at 8:38 AMYes, I do need a mid-week pick-me-up! These java twix bars looks like the perfect snack. Love that coffee frosting!
Cate O'Malley says
May 7, 2014 at 8:58 AMI don’t have much of a sweet tooth, but these are seriously calling out to me.
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:57 AMYou should give them a try! 😉 Thanks for commenting, Cate!
Jessica @ A Kitchen Addiction says
May 7, 2014 at 9:06 AMI am glad you’re on a coffee kick, because the recipes you’re coming up with are incredible! I wish I had one of these bars to go with my morning coffee!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:58 AMThanks Jessica! 🙂
Wendy says
May 7, 2014 at 9:57 AMI can always happily count on you, Jocelyn, to feed my coffee addiction, one delicious recipe after another! A chew, a crunch, and a sweet caffeine boost would be wonderful with my morning (afternoon, evening) cup of coffee! Years ago, I cut out caffeine completely when I was pregnant. After that I had years of caffeine sensitivity just like you describe. Now….I consume caffeine by the boat load (3 double espressos a day!) with very little effect other than drinking pleasure. Maybe that’s what happens when you get really old! 🙂
Kelly @ Mostly Homemade Mom says
May 7, 2014 at 10:38 AMI’m a decaf drinker, too! I love coffee, but I also like getting a full night’s sleep! These bars looks amazing, and that frosting….
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 1:59 AMYes, sleep is good! ;)Thanks Kelly!
Carole @The Sweet Chick says
May 7, 2014 at 1:07 PMYum, Yum, and more Yum!
Serene @ House of Yumm says
May 7, 2014 at 1:45 PMJocelyn, these are fantastic!!! Twix is definitely my favorite candy bar, so these are definitely on the list of things to make! As for coffee, I am an addict. No shame in having decaf..I do it too sometimes. Caffeine causes me all kinds of anxiety when I over do it. Please don’t tell me that’s a sign of me getting older!! Aaahhh!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 2:00 AMHaha! It could be! 😉 Thanks Serene!
Ashley @ Wishes & Dishes says
May 7, 2014 at 7:40 PMI’m trying not to bake before my vacation coming up and these are making it extremely difficult!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 7, 2014 at 7:51 PMDo it, do it, do it!!! I promise these are totally worth it 😉
Marcie says
May 7, 2014 at 8:52 PMI completely go through flavor phases, too. I’m almost always in a coconut one, and I can’t stop thinking about brown butter and salted caramel at the moment! I drink a second cup of coffee a day out of habit, and I often get the shakes too. Gotta watch it! Twix bars are still a favorite candy of mine, so these bars look incredible, especially with oatmeal and coffee, too! What a fabulous combination! 🙂
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 2:02 AMThanks Marcie! 😉
Chels R. says
May 8, 2014 at 5:37 PMOMG-Get out! My husband would go nutty for this!
Hayley @ The Domestic Rebel says
May 9, 2014 at 2:10 PMI’m just like you — when I get a certain ingredient in my head, I can’t stop using it! And hey, your coffee craze is fine by me — I need more coffee recipes on my blog and to work with them more! These bars … I am OBSESSED, I tell you! Such a genius flavor combination. Pinned!
Jocelyn Brubaker says
May 12, 2014 at 2:02 AMThanks Hayley! 🙂
Tashiana says
June 5, 2014 at 4:08 PMYou are incredible!! These looks crazy out of this world. I want some NOW!
“I have realized that I bake in food stages. I get a particular food or flavor in my head and I just can’t stop adding it to different creations…” – – – did you just read from my thoughts? I could have written this myself!
Me too!! I’m currently onto caramel, peanut butter + chocolate (altogether). But then again, I always am…
Fab pics.
dina says
June 8, 2014 at 12:08 PMit looks yummy!
Lindsey says
March 22, 2018 at 4:14 PMOk. I have made MANY of your recipes, and this is the first one I did not LOVE. I don’t really know what went wrong. The icing was perfect. The bar was super dry. I couldn’t taste the Twix and it was sparse, using the full amount called for. Baking time was perhaps an issue, but I have never had that happen with one of your recipes. Any other ideas?
Jocelyn says
March 23, 2018 at 11:04 AMFirst things first…thank you so much for letting me know you have made and loved lots of my recipes. That totally made my day 🙂 I am bummed that you didn’t like this one. It’s one I haven’t made in a while, but I don’t remember them being dry when I made them. I wonder if pulling the baking time back to 20 minutes would help. And you could totally add more chopped up candy bars if you wanted too.