M&M Dream Bars – Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars Recipe

M&M Dream Bars are simple homemade squares with a chewy oatmeal crust, topped with a creamy peanut butter topping and sprinkled with M&M’s and some of the buttery oatmeal crust crumbs. A peanut butter and M&M lover’s dream!

Simple Chewy Peanut Butter Oatmeal M&M Dream Bars (Made from Scratch!)

Hey there, and welcome to my small-town kitchen! Today I’m making m&m oatmeal peanut butter dream bars, my favorite… Pull up a chair and enjoy an m&m dream bar, fresh from the oven.

They’re so amazingly gooey and delicious straight from the oven, so despite the mess, I’m not going to wait until they’re cool and more solid to have a taste! (S’mores Bars and Chocolate Peanut Butter Oatmeal Bars are also delish when they’re still warm, fresh from the oven!)

One thing I love about this recipe (and any recipe, really!) is how simple, quick and easy it is to make. You can literally go from dreaming of a chewy, tasty baked bar to popping a square of peanut butter M&M goodness into your mouth, all in about 45 minutes.

There’s no need to eat the whole pan of bars within a few days (though you totally could!), these bars freeze well! Make them ahead of time for an event or party or cut them in squares and freeze them for an easy snack to satisfy your sweet tooth during the day. 

Since M&M’s come in seasonal colors (and sometimes flavors) you can make these bars the perfect treat for any special occasion or holiday just by using the seasonal M&M’s. For instance, a sprinkle of only red and green M&M’s turns these bars into a festive holiday treat!

Ingredients

For the chewy oatmeal crust:

• Butter – salted butter; if you use unsalted butter, I’d recommend adding a pinch of salt to the crust mixture!
  
• Oatmeal – quick oats work about the best in these bars, but you can use rolled oats too! 
  
• Brown sugar – light or dark brown sugar
  
• Baking soda
  
• Flour – all-purpose flour

For the creamy peanut butter layer:

• Sweetened condensed milk
  
• Peanut butter – we prefer creamy peanut butter, but you can use crunchy peanut butter if you’d like.
  
• Milk – regular whole milk or 2% milk
  
• M&M’s – the regular milk chocolate ones are my favorite, but any flavor should work. Or you can substitute with semi-sweet chocolate chips or do a blend of both chocolate chips and M&M’s!

Find the full recipe on the handy little printable recipe card below!

Supplies we used 

• Electric stand mixer – aka Kitchenaid mixer (you can also use a large bowl and a hand mixer or spoon to do the mixing!)
  
• Small bowl – a microwave safe bowl to melt the butter for the crust
  
• Mixing bowl and wire whisk – to mix up the peanut butter topping
  
• 9×13 inch pan/baking dish – this NordicWare 9×13 size pan with a lid is my favorite pan for baking bars! Not only can you bake the bars in this pan, but it works great to store them in here too.
  
• Measuring cups and spoons
  
• A silicone spatula or two – it’s always nice to have a couple of these on baking days!

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How to make M&M Dream Bars

Pre-heat oven to 350° F.

Mix together the crust ingredients using a stand mixer. Grease a 9×13 pan with using the butter wrappers or with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside a half cup of the oatmeal crumb mixture and use your hands to press the rest of the crust mixture into the prepared pan. Bake crust for 10 minutes until it’s slightly puffed up and turning a light golden brown color.

Meanwhile, whisk together the topping ingredients in a mixing bowl. Once the crust has baked for 10 minutes, microwave the mixture for 30 seconds to a minute, then drizzle/spread the peanut butter mixture over top of the baked crust. On top of the peanut butter layer, sprinkle the m&m’s and reserved crumbs. Bake for 20 more minutes.

 

Cool 1-2 hours and serve. (Or grab a spoon and dig in when they’re warm, even though it’ll be messy!) Enjoy!💛

How to store M&M Dream Bars

Store the M&M dream bars in an airtight container (or cover tightly with plastic wrap if your container doesn’t have a lid) at room temperature for 5-7 days or freeze for a couple months.

Notes

M&M’s is my candy of choice for these bars; however, you can use half M&M’s and half chocolate chips, just chocolate chips, or even another type of chip like vanilla or butterscotch chips. Or peanut butter chips if you really love peanut butter! Chopped candy bars or just a regular chocolate bar broken into chunks would be good as well.

Make these bars with fresh milled flour! I used about 200 grams of soft white wheat berries freshly milled into flour.

Check out a few more of our favorite recipes for homemade baked bars:

Don’t forget to share!

As always…

Thanks for visiting our small town! Make yourself comfy and stay awhile… we appreciate you! More simple Mennonite recipes made from scratch right this way➡️

’til next time,

We love you and we’ll be praying for you,

Julie