Old Fashioned Chocolate Revel Bars have a rich chocolate fudge layer sandwiched between two buttery oatmeal cookie layers.
This recipe is one of you probably can find in all sorts of church cookbooks across the Midwest and are a staple at large church potlucks. For those of you who have never had them, they are pretty rich. But the oatmeal cookie layer isn’t super sweet and balances out the richness of the fudge. They also freeze very well for those of you that want something you can make ahead. In fact, I think the texture improves on them after they have been frozen.
How to Make Chocolate Revel Bars
The oatmeal cookie layer requires your standard baking ingredients like butter, sugar, flour and oatmeal. Before starting to make the recipe, you’ll want to check that you have the ingredients for the fudge layer on hand. You’ll need:
- a bag of chocolate chips,
- a can of sweetened condensed milk
- vanilla
- butter
- chopped nuts (optional)
For this batch, I didn’t add any nuts since that is what my husband likes. But they are especially good with walnuts or pecans. It helps cut the sweetness of the sweetened condensed milk.
You’ll start by making the oatmeal cookie layer. It’s standard cookie bar recipe process. Cream the butter and sugar, add eggs and vanilla and stir in dry ingredients. Press half of the dough in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch pan and set aside.
To make the fudge layer. You’ll add the chocolate chips, sweetened condensed milk, and butter to a saucepan and stir over low heat until everything is melted and smooth. Spread the chocolate fudge layer on the oatmeal cookie layer and then crumble the remaining oatmeal cookie dough over the top. Bake, cool and eat 🙂 OR freeze for later.
How to freeze chocolate revel bars?
As I mentioned above, I think these chocolate revel bars are better after being frozen. The seem to get softer after spending some time in the freezer. To freeze them, let them cool completely before slicing into bars. Then place in an airtight container with wax paper between the layers and freeze for up to several weeks.
What are Revel Bars?
I was unable to find out the exact origin of the Revel Bar recipe, but they have been around for quite a few decades. Basically, a revel bar is an oatmeal cookie bar with a gooey or fudgy layer in the middle.
Check out some of my other favorite cookie bars:
Aimee Shugarman says
These are so fantastic and easy to make. Whipped up a batch last night and had a piece for breakfast. DELISH.
Allyson Zea says
Adding these to my MUST MAKE LIST! Looks amazing!
Samantha says
Do you think these would be tasty without sweetened condensed milk? Couldn’t I just melt the chocolate with butter and some sugar? I forgot to get some condensed milk at the store 😭😭😭😁