Each time I enter Trader Joe’s, I always stick the same 4 things in my shopping basket: bananas (I eat one every day), bagged spinach (ditto), a 3-pack of the red dark chocolate bars (remind me to write the FDA; dark chocolate should really have its own category in the Food Pyramid), and a box of chocolate chip brownie & oat bars.
What? You haven’t tried their chocolate chip brownie & oat bars? Why n…
Oh. Because I bought them all.
I’m sorry!
For a little while last year, I stocked up on those boxes like a grizzly bear about to hibernate for the winter. I added three, four, five of them into my basket every time—each box containing 6 individual brownie bars—and barely survived through a week or two. My guy made multiple “emergency” trips to TJ’s just for my brownie bars, and the cashiers probably memorized both of our faces from those purchases alone.
“Hey, look! It’s the brownie bar girl again!”
“Wanna bet how many she gets?”
Now that I bake for a living, I’m slightly embarrassed to be that dependent on factory-produced snack bars, so I resolved the make a copycat.
Well, maybe more of a copy-ish cat.
Trader Joe’s, Oroweat, Fiber One, and most other companies offering high-fiber baked goods don’t solely depend on oats or wheat flour as a source and often add in extra as a separate ingredient. To bump up the fiber in my bars, I would’ve needed to special order chicory root extract online, pay an arm and a leg, and wait 2-3 weeks for shipping. I didn’t think you’d want to do that either!
To compensate for less fiber, I added extra protein. I used the Gourmet Chocolate Designer Whey stocked at most TJ’s because it contained the largest amount of protein and the fewest number of calories per 1-scoop serving. If you choose a different brand, the calorie and protein content may change. With this Designer Whey, I more than doubled the amount of protein per bar compared to TJ’s version!
Finally, I made my bars fudgier than TJ’s because that’s the way I like my brownies! (See here and here.) The ooey gooey middles melt in your mouth, leaving you licking your fingers and reaching for another well.
That’s my personal experience, anyway.
My Chocolate Chip Brownie & Oat Bars are one of the healthiest snack bars you’ll ever make. They’re clean-eating friendly, low calorie, and packed with 6.5 grams of protein. Plus that taste like ooey gooey rich dark chocolate dessert brownies.
Running to your kitchen yet?
These taste like fudgy brownies, but they’re actually a really healthy snack! Store any leftovers in ziplock baggies for at least 1 week.
- Preheat the oven to 300°F, and coat an 8”-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the oats and next 6 ingredients (through salt). In a separate bowl, whisk together the honey, applesauce, and egg whites. Add in the flour mixture, stirring just until incorporated. Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter into the prepared pan. Bake at 300°F for 13-15 minutes. Cool completely to room temperature in the pan before slicing into 10 bars.
Note: If you don’t have quick oats, you can make your own! Measure ½ cup of old-fashioned oats, and pulse 5-8 times in a food processor.
I just made them without why powder and using mashed banana instead of apple sauce… and they’re so good! Thanks. 🙂
I’m so happy you enjoyed them Jen, and thank you for including your modifications! It’s great to know that they still work without the whey powder; other readers will be thrilled to hear that. 🙂
I’ve made these and they are fabulous . About two times a year I’m able to go to Trader Joe’s – and because of YOU I knew I had to seek these out. I only got two boxes and now I feel dumb because HOLY COW BATMAN! They are the best bars ever!!! I’m gonna have to hide them from my kids and husband. I should have bought all they had. LOL
I’m so glad you like them Stacy! I can’t believe you can only go to TJ’s twice a year… I’ve had one in both towns I’ve lived in, so I sometimes take the store for granted. They’re the best, and next time I hope you’re able to stock up! 🙂 (P.S. Try their PB ones next time too! They aren’t quite as out-of-this-world addictive as the brownie ones, but they’re still fabulous!)
Because I know how scoops of protein powder vary widely, could you tell me the weight of each scoop? (ex. 60 g)
Thanks!
Thanks for mentioning that Emma! I’ve updated the recipe to include the total weight of the protein powder I used. And thanks again for mentioning it for GF flours too — I’m doing my best to add weights for all of those recipes in the future! 🙂
Question – trying to stay gluten free so how do you think this recipe would work sobbing rice flour for wheat flour?
That should work Dan! The texture may be slightly different, but they should still taste the same. I hope you enjoy the bars!
I’d like to try this without the egg whites. Could I substitute Ener-G egg replacer here?
Definitely Krithika! You’ll need 1 tablespoon of Ener-G whisked with ¼ cup of warm water in place of the egg whites. I hope you enjoy the bars!
Love these! Has anyone tried freezing these? I’d love to keep a few on hand whenever a chocolate craving strikes.
I’m so glad you enjoyed the bars Ali! I haven’t personally tried freezing these, but I think that would work really well. I always keep a few chocolate treats in my freezer too — I’m a big chocoholic and the cravings strike often!
I just made these and I was pretty pleased with the results. I did make some modifications for ingredients I didn’t have, like sugar free syrup for honey, cottage cheese for the applesauce, and I ground up oats for the flour. It was pretty thick before going in the oven, so I just added a tiny bit of water. After they bake and cool down it’s like a fudgy brownie. Next time I will add some sweetener or extra syrup since they came out a little bitter from the cocoa.
I’m glad you enjoyed the bars Christina! You were really creative to come up with some of those substitutions!
Hi Amy,
I was wondering if Greek yogurt would work in place of the applesauce.
Yes, that should work. I hope you enjoy the bars James!
I used 1 old banana in place of the 1/2 cup applesauce and they were delicious!!
I’m glad that substitution worked for you, and I’m so happy that you enjoyed the oat bars Samantha! 🙂
Can I use vanilla protein powder instead of chocolate?
Yes! I’m excited to hear what you think of the oat bars Alyssa! 🙂