“Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bars
My recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Bars is my absolute favorite, can’t-eat-just-one baked good. They’re seriously THE BEST! 
And, pretty much every time I bake a batch, they’re completely gone within 2-3 days with me doing 90% of the damage! 
I realize it would be much easier to just not make these delicious treats, so I don’t devour them in less than 72 hours, but not enjoying these goodies would also make me pretty sad. So, what to do? “Skinny” the recipe!
“Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bars
Makes 9 bars
Ingredients:
2 cups dry oats
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup wheat bran
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup canola oil
2 eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350*F. Spray 8-inch square baking pan with non-stick cooking spray.
2. In a large mixing bowl, combine ingredients until smooth.
3. Spread batter in prepared baking pan, and bake for approximately 20-25 minutes until bars are cooked all the way through.
4. Let bars cool completely in pan before cutting.
Changes: The sweet brown sugar still dominates the bars, which makes me think that the 1/4 cup of sugar in the original recipe probably wasn’t needed at all, so I just nixed it. I reduced the amount of canola oil to 1/4 cup from 1/2 cup, which cut a number of calories from the recipe. I replaced 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour with 1/4 cup of wheat bran for some added fiber, protein, iron, and other nutritional goodies. I also added a tiny amount of vanilla extract for some added sweetness.
My Review: Flavor-wise, the “skinny” version of Oatmeal Raisin Bars is pretty close to the original, but not nearly as sweet. The texture of the “skinny” bars is a tad more chewy and dense compared to the original recipe. If you’re in the mood for a sweet treat, but not necessarily dessert, these “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisins Bars are perfect for satisfying that craving!
Spring it!
Mara @ What's For Dinner? — May 3, 2009 @ 8:58 pm
Those look absolutely fantastic!!! I’ll bet they would disappear in a matter of a day here… but that’s ok! They’re healthy
Erica — May 3, 2009 @ 8:59 pm
AH! You know I love these bars and will def be trying the new skinny version
Marissa — May 3, 2009 @ 8:59 pm
Anything oatmeal is good in my book
Jen — May 3, 2009 @ 9:00 pm
Yay, I love your recipes already (oh gosh, those delicious pumpkin oat muffins!), but skinnified? Sounds great to me!
Natalie — May 3, 2009 @ 9:07 pm
Those look yummy
I’ll have to make those!
tiny giraffe shop — May 3, 2009 @ 9:14 pm
totally making these this week!
Kiersten — May 3, 2009 @ 9:15 pm
Yum! Those would disappear real quickly over here too. I love anything made with oats.
Pearl — May 3, 2009 @ 9:19 pm
ooh! these sound like they’d disappear in a flash!
gina (fitnessista) — May 3, 2009 @ 9:49 pm
is there anything i could use instead of the wheat bran?? would oat bran work?
these look AMAZING!
Katrina (gluten free gidget) — May 3, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
Hmmm…. do you think Flax Seed Meal could work in place of the wheat bran in order to make these gluten free?
Lele — May 3, 2009 @ 10:02 pm
Hi Tina! I really enjoyed meeting you tonight! I posted that picture of you photographing your food in my blog, hope that’s okay
meg — May 3, 2009 @ 10:08 pm
I love the skinny version! I actually prefer treats to be more chewy and dense.
Laura — May 3, 2009 @ 10:41 pm
These look great.
If you’re ever interested, I make “healthy” cookies all the time, and they’re really, really yummy. In a large bowl, combine 1 cup wholemeal flour, 1/2 cup rolled oats, 2.5 tsp ground cinnamon (I’ve also had good results adding a half teaspoon of mixed spice, too), 2 tsp baking powder, and 10-12 each of quartered prunes and dried apricots (you could sub in dates, raisins or other dried fruit, but the prunes and apricots plump out in the cookies and taste awesome 
. To the dry ingredients, add 1 lightly beaten egg, 4 Tablespoons pure maple syrup and enough applesauce (usually between 3/4 and 1 cup) until the mixture can be formed into cookie shapes on a baking tray. Bake at around 180 degrees celsius (350 fahrenheit?) for ten to fifteen minutes or until biscuits are firm and golden. Devour.
Rachel — May 3, 2009 @ 11:34 pm
Awesome recipe! See, I’d be compelled to add chocolate chips and nuts and coconut and all manner of other things that would de-skinny-fy them… but I bet I could exercise SOME self control if I had to. Hehe. Thanks for the inspiration!
bobbi — May 3, 2009 @ 11:40 pm
so making these this week, thanks TINA!!!
Christina — May 4, 2009 @ 1:41 am
Great recipe, bookmarked it for a later date!
lisa — May 4, 2009 @ 5:32 am
love the original recipe, so can’t wait to try this one! one question though, you recipe still calls for 1/2 c. packed brown sugar, but the paragraph below makes it look like, maybe, you wanted to that to be 1/4 c. in the “skinny” version. is that correct??
Tina — May 4, 2009 @ 6:20 am
@lisa: Nope, 1/2 cup of brown sugar.
Jessica — May 4, 2009 @ 6:21 am
Yum, I love oatmeal bars, looks great Tina!
coco — May 4, 2009 @ 6:46 am
I’ll definitely trying these!
Tina — May 4, 2009 @ 7:00 am
@gina (fitnessista): Yea, I think it would. Let me know how they come out of you try it!
Beadie @ What I Ate Yesterday — May 4, 2009 @ 7:14 am
Yum! I love your original oat bar recipe. I will have to try this version!
Jaime — May 4, 2009 @ 8:45 am
Shut up. Your Oatmeal Bars are the best recipe I have found in blogland to date. I freaking love them. You can see me rave about them on my blog when I’ve made them. I have even messed around the recipe adding things like PB2. Can’t wait to try the skinny version!! Thanks Tina.
Amanda @ Cakes and Ale — May 4, 2009 @ 10:19 am
Can’t wait to try these! Do you have an estimate on the nutritional stats?
Sara — May 4, 2009 @ 10:37 am
Yum, these sound great. Can’t wait to make them.
Tina — May 4, 2009 @ 1:57 pm
@Amanda @ Cakes and Ale: No, sorry!
jess — May 4, 2009 @ 10:36 pm
i just made these with dates instead of raisins, and 1/4c flax + 1/8c flour instead of the oat bran…they came out great!
Erin — May 4, 2009 @ 11:03 pm
Great alterations!
I don’t trust myself!
That’s why I don’t bake
Perishable – Carrots ‘N’ Cake — May 6, 2009 @ 8:27 pm
[...] “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bars [...]
Lara (Thinspired) — May 7, 2009 @ 6:06 am
I love “skinny” versions of goodies like this. I’ll definitely be trying your recipe soon
Thanks, Tina!
Cravings – Carrots ‘N’ Cake — May 7, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
[...] ate about 1/2 of my salad before giving up and eating what I was craving: “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bar! In last night’s batch, I further reduced the brown sugar to 1/3 cup and substituted 1 tbsp [...]
iPhone? Vegan Cookbook Review – Carrots ‘N’ Cake — May 8, 2009 @ 7:21 am
[...] of “hungry” this morning. Let’s hope this meal does the trick! (I took a “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bar to go just in case I get hungry [...]
Adventures in Baking Begin « — May 11, 2009 @ 9:35 pm
[...] One thing I love to do that is not apparent on my blog is bake. I often let things like baking fall to the wayside when school and work are in full swing. I decided last week that as soon as school was over I was going to hit the kitchen and try all the various recipes I’ve seen online. Tonight’s first adventure was with Carrots ‘n Cake’s Skinny Oatmeal Bars. [...]
Ashley — May 12, 2009 @ 8:31 am
tina, what do you think I could substitute wheat bran with? anything? i have all the rest of the ingredients but that.
A Happy Hour on the Hill « homegirl can eat — May 13, 2009 @ 2:22 am
[...] And started to make some Oatmeal Raisin Bars! [...]
Marie — May 13, 2009 @ 1:45 pm
Tina – I made a batch of these on Saturday and they were absolutely delicious. I used oat bran instead of wheat bran, because that’s what I had. Next time, I may mix some Craisins in with the raisins. I also think they would be good with a bit of simple confectioners sugar icing drizzled on top. I may try to drop these as cookies instead of bars and see what happens. Thanks for the recipe!
Peace in Motion — May 13, 2009 @ 8:12 pm
[...] and a recipe I really wanted to try. I am a sucker for anything baked oatmeal, so Tina’s Skinny Oatmeal Raisin Bars seemed the way to go. I altered the recipe quite a bit, so they came out way different than they [...]
supahhhhh « Peace in Motion — May 14, 2009 @ 11:54 pm
[...] time I got home I WAS STARVING. I knew I was going to babysit soon, so I grabbed a quick snack: a Skinny Oatmeal Raisin Bar and a Dr.Kracker with a laughing cow wedge. After a lovely long distance phone chat with Hannah, it [...]
Sue — May 16, 2009 @ 11:20 pm
Thanks for this recipe, I’ve already made these twice! Before I tried them, I was worried they might taste “overly healthy” but I’m now officially addicted
Brittany — May 20, 2009 @ 4:24 pm
I made two batches of these this weekend…they are delicious and addicting.
Monday…where did the weekend go? « Running Leaner and Greener — July 6, 2009 @ 1:49 pm
[...] Before my run, I snacked on this: 1/2 of Tina’s Skinny Oatmeal Raisin Bars [...]
A Misty Morning « Running Leaner and Greener — July 9, 2009 @ 11:43 am
[...] July 9, 2009 by Heather Today I made it out of bed only pushing the snooze button once (which for me is amazing). This gave me the time to run for 40 minutes and still not be rushed to get to work at a reasonable time. I started with my usual pre-run snack – a glass of water and 1/2 of a Tina’s Skinny Oatmeal Bar. [...]
Stressfree Sunday « Erin Starts Living — July 19, 2009 @ 6:30 pm
[...] July 19, 2009 Today was the most wonderful lazy Sunday. I woke up this morning and made Tina’s Skinny Oatmeal Raisin Bars . I cut the recipe in half because I knew if they were delicious I could probably eat the whole [...]
Courtney — July 28, 2009 @ 10:17 am
These are sooooo tasty! I made them in muffin tins so they would be more portable, and they turned out great! I altered the baking time to 18 minutes, and they had a yummy crunchy top. I also substituted PB2 for the wheat bran… mmmmmmmmmmm. =D
Julia Filer — July 29, 2009 @ 12:15 pm
These are so good! I actually like them better than the original version!
Dragon Breath « Running Leaner and Greener — September 7, 2009 @ 1:05 pm
[...] of a Skinny Oatmeal Raisin bar from my [...]
Libby How I Have Missed You | Running Leaner and Greener — September 8, 2009 @ 8:15 am
[...] minute tempo run. Before I left the apartment I had a glass of water and the other 1/2 of my Skinny Oatmeal Raisin Bar. After seeing everyone in the blog world eating with pumpkin, – pumpkin spice lattes, pumpkin [...]
Simple & ‘Skinny’ Oatmeal Raisin Bars « More Than Easy Mac — November 2, 2009 @ 8:42 am
[...] I saw this recipe on Carrots ‘n’ Cake, and decided to check it out as an alternative to my Nature Valley bars. Blogger Tina adapted her [...]
Baking on a rainy day « Run. Eat. Sleep. — April 8, 2010 @ 3:32 am
[...] vegging out in front of the TUBE), is bake something! I decided to do a twist on Tina’s “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bars. Here’s my “Oat ‘N Fruit Bars” [...]
I’m a Baking Fiend! « Jen is Green — June 8, 2010 @ 8:50 pm
[...] I used a recipe for “Skinny” Oatmeal Raisin Bars I found at Carrots ‘N [...]
Bama got back « Brit Chick Runs – A lone English girls' passion for healthy eating, exercising, and living! — July 3, 2010 @ 2:59 pm
[...] of abs work [which I’ve majorly been neglecting recently] I went for a walk and I baked some oatmeal bars for my mumma, as requested The poor woman worked from 8.40 – 7pm today She was so tired! I also [...]
Award Season « Brit Chick Runs – A lone English girls' passion for healthy eating, exercising, and living! — July 18, 2010 @ 3:05 pm
[...] some oatmeal raisin (& fig & apricot & sunflower seeds – my additions) bars for my mum and sister, as [...]
Nutty Oatmeal Raisin Bars « Vegan Awakening — August 13, 2010 @ 8:26 pm
[...] from the Carrots N Cake blog has a recipe for Oatmeal Raisin Bars that I’ve had bookmarked for ages; so yesterday I finally made them. I tweaked Tina’s [...]
Favorite Recipes « Carrots 'N' Cake — August 24, 2010 @ 12:28 pm
[...] Oatmeal Raisin Bars (“skinny” version) [...]