Quinn's "I can eat the whole pan" bar cookies

This is quick because I'm suffering from tape-gun wrist due to all the packing going on around here and I have a half-marathon Saturday morning for which I need my rest. (Yeah, like that will happen...hope they're serving Diet Coke along the marathon route!)

But before I could head to bed after a wonderful night listening to Quinn (@limelightfood) talk about food photography during the Ignite Salt Lake event (she TOTALLY rocked it by the way), I wanted to share with you my newest, most favoritest recipe courtesy of Quinn "I rock the food photography world" herself.

The recipe is for a healthy variation on your typical chocolate chip bar cookie and it is to die for! We've made the recipe, devoured the first pan, froze the second pan and have already defrosted and eaten almost half that pan as well--and it's only been a couple days since we originally baked them! And I feel good about all that cookie-bar eating because they're healthy. They have wheat flour, oats and semi-sweet chocolate so you too can feel good about devouring a pan!

Quinn's healthy-yet-super-tasty bar cookies
2 cups butter
3 1/2 cups brown sugar (or 2 TBSP molasses + 3 1/2 cups sugar)
4 eggs
4 tablespoons hot water
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons dough enhancer (you can find this in a can in the baking section; it makes the wheat fluffy so use it anytime you cook with wheat flour)
4 cups whole wheat flour
6-9 cups oats (add as many cups as you think your family will eat it; we used about 7)
Optional Items: semi-sweet choc chips, walnuts, dates, coconut, raisins, craisins, butterscotch chips, peanut butter chips, etc.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine and blend butter, brown sugar (molasses + sugar), eggs, hot water and vanilla together in one bowl. In a separate bowl mix all the dry ingredients together: salt, soda, dough enhancer and flour. Combine the butter/sugar mixture with the dry ingredients. Add oats and any other optional ingredients like choc chips and blend again. (I used a whole package of chocolate chips. Next time I'm going to add coconut too!)

Spread the dough evenly in two large cookie sheets. Bake for approximately 15-20 minutes or until lightly browned and set in the center. Cut into bars when cooled.

Note: This recipe makes a double batch so feel free to store them in Ziploc bags and freeze to enjoy later. Or you can bake just one pan and freeze the other so you can have the second batch straight from the oven!

It's so beautifully arranged on the plate - you know someone's fingers have been all over it. ~Julia Child