Brown-Sugar Oat Squares | Baking with Dorie

This is a quick and easy recipe that uses only basic pantry ingredients. Even bakers with limited experience can be successful in making these. All you need is a food processor to blitz the ingredients together. Then press the dough into the pan and bake. It sounds so simple and it is.

Put flour (136g), oats (40g), salt, cinnamon (1/2 tsp), allspice (1/4 tsp) in the food processor and whir until oats turn into powder. Add the brown sugar (100g), then drop in the butter (127g) and pulse. Stop processing before the dough comes together in a ball. Turn the dough into an 8-inch square pan; compress and smooth it out with your fingers or the bottom of a glass. Finally, sprinkle oats, followed by granulated sugar all over the dough. It takes about 25 minutes baking time at 350°F.

The tricky part, if there is any, is the need to invert the large cookie from the pan onto a board and cut it into individual squares. This step can be made easier if you line the pan with a piece of parchment paper under the dough. Use the parchment paper as a sling, then divide the big cookie into small squares. (Thanks, Mardi for clarifying.)

We like these squares for its chewy texture, caramelish flavor and a little bit of spice — from cinnamon and allspice. Furthermore, I can’t overlook how easy it is to make these blitz-and-press cookies.