Bake Sale Peanut Butter Oat Bars. Think a doughy, buttery peanut butter cookie base made with old-fashioned oats, baked until just set, then layered with creamy peanut butter. On top, a rich chocolate frosting is poured over the bars to sandwich in all that peanut butter goodness. Once the frosting sets, it creates that old-fashioned crackly icing we all know and love. These bars are chocolatey, peanut buttery, and so delicious!

I’m back today with even more bake sale–inspired treats. I’m honestly not even sure if bake sales are still much of a thing, but I love baking up sweets that are perfect for sharing this time of year.

Bake sale or not, these are the bars to bring for game day, family parties, or dinners with friends. It’s that time of year when everyone’s starting to gather again after a summer of fun and easy nights.

Inspired by the peanut butter oat bars our school lunchroom used to serve, these are guaranteed to be a hit with everyone. And if you do end up baking them for the school bake sale, they’ll definitely be the first treat to disappear.

These are the details

Ingredients 

• salted butter
• creamy peanut butter – crunchy will work too!
• brown sugar
• vanilla
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• flour
• old-fashioned oats
• baking soda

For the Icing

• powdered sugar
• cocoa powder
• vanilla
•  dark or milk chocolate – I love dark

Special Tools

For these peanut butter bars, you need two mixing bowls and an electric mixer.

The Steps

Step 1: Make the cookie dough

In a mixing bowl, beat the butter together with the brown sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla. Add the eggs and beat until combined. Mix in the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt.

Mix, mix, mix until you have a soft dough!

Step 2: Bake

Line a 9×18-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Or, if you prefer thinner bars, use a slightly larger sheet pan.

Bake for about 20 minutes (22 minutes if using a sheet pan), until just set.

Step 3: The peanut butter layer

As soon as the bars come out of the oven, spread the remaining peanut butter evenly over the top. The heat from the bars will melt the peanut butter, making it easy to spread into a smooth layer.

Let the peanut butter stiffen and set. To speed things up, pop the pan in the fridge or freezer until firm.

Step 4: The chocolate icing

Whisk together the powdered sugar, cocoa powder, vanilla, and melted milk chocolate until smooth and fudgy. Pour the icing over the bars and spread evenly.

Let the icing set and harden, or dig in right away while it’s still gooey—so delish!

Tip

If you’d like a shiny, glossy finish to your icing, whisk in a couple teaspoons of meringue powder. It helps the frosting set without smudging. Totally optional, but a fun extra!

Whether it’s back-to-school, game day, or just a family night in, these bars are the perfect dessert to bake, share, and enjoy. And if you’ve got kids around, this is an easy recipe they can help with too!

Looking for easy “lunchroom” style back-to-school desserts? Here are a few ideas: 

Crinkle Top Brownies

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Blondies

Giant Salted Espresso Hot Fudge Cookies

Lastly, if you make these Bake Sale Peanut Butter Oat Bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

Easy Apple Butter Zucchini Bread—a simple zucchini bread topped with clusters of cinnamon sugar and served with whipped cinnamon maple butter. This is not your average loaf. The secret? A little apple butter baked right into the batter. You don’t really know it’s there, but it’s what makes each slice extra soft, perfectly sweet, and so flavorful.

I’ve been in such an end-of-summer baking mood lately. I think it’s the light right now—the way it filters through the trees feels so warm and a little autumn-like. It just makes me want to bake!

Last week, with a pile of zucchini on the counter, I decided to make a loaf. No chocolate this time (even though, yes, that would be amazing). I wanted something simple and cozy… but still special. The apple butter was kind of a spur-of-the-moment decision, but it’s what ended up making this bread so delicious.

We might not be in apple season just yet, but this loaf has me counting down the days. It’s that perfect in-between recipe—late summer zucchini meets the warm, spiced flavors of early fall.

These are the details

Ingredients

• Zucchini
• salted butter
• brown sugar
• plain Greek yogurt
• apple butter – you could also use maple, but apple butter is best
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• whole wheat or all-purpose flour
• baking powder
• salt
• salted butter

Ingredients – for the Cinnamon Maple Butter

• salted butter
• maple syrup
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• sea salt

Steps

Looking for other baking recipes? Here are my favorites:

Chocolate Chip Espresso Yogurt Cake

5 Minute Chocolate Chunk Banana Bread Mug Cake

Maple Banana Bread with Cinnamon Spice Butter

Vanilla Chai Hot Chocolate

Lemon Chai Cake

Earl Grey Blueberry Lemon Cake

Lemon Key Lime Pie Bars

Lemon Strawberry Dutch Baby with Ricotta Cream

Tahini Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Lastly, if you make this Easy Apple Butter Zucchini Bread, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

6 Ingredient Peach Magic Cookies. Made with shredded coconut, salty pretzels, sweet chopped peaches, oats, and a can of sweetened condensed milk. Just mix, scoop, and bake. For even more peachy goodness, add a spoonful of peach jam to each cookie before baking. These take just minutes to prep, and kind of like magic, you’ll have warm, golden cookies with bits of sweet summer peach. Nothing fancy—just simple, nostalgic, and totally delicious!

I’m so excited to be sharing these cookies! This recipe is easy, no-fuss, and honestly… kind of magic. You won’t believe how quickly they come together or how good they taste—especially if you have sweet, ripe peaches on hand.

I based the recipe on my magic cookie bars. So many of you love those five-ingredient cookies, and these are a fun peachy twist! I swapped cashews for salty pretzel twists and ditched the chocolate chips in favor of chopped yellow peaches and a little jam on top.

I wasn’t sure how they’d bake up, but they turned out better than expected. Soft, chewy, sweet, a little salty—these are my new favorite treats.

Peach season is the best—so short, so sweet—and these are the perfect cookies to bake while it lasts!

Here are the details

Ingredients

• unsweetened fine shredded coconut – I like the Bob’s Red Mill brand
• salted mini pretzels twist
• peaches – you could use frozen chopped peaches too, but fresh are ideal
• old-fashioned rolled oats
• sweetened condensed milk – the magic ingredient
• peach jam – if you can pick this up at a farm stand, even better!

Special Tools

You need just a mixing bowl and a cookie sheet for these peach cookies.

Steps

Step 1: Mix the cookie dough

Grab a big mixing bowl and toss everything in—except the peach jam! The order doesn’t matter, just mix it all up until the sweetened condensed milk evenly coats the ingredients. The dough will be sticky, and that’s exactly what you want.

For the pretzels, I add whole pretzel twists to a zip-top bag and give them a good smash with a rolling pin (or the bottom of a mug!). You’ll want a mix of bigger chunks and some finely crushed bits for the best texture.

Step 2: Scoop

Use a spoon or cookie scoop to portion out the dough. I usually do 9 cookies per baking sheet, but it depends on the size of your pan.

If any of your scoops look too loose, just press them together a bit with your hands. These cookies don’t need to be perfect or uniform, so don’t stress!

Gently flatten each cookie and then spoon about a teaspoon of peach jam over the top of each one.

Step 3: Bake

Bake the cookies at 350°F for 12 to 15 minutes. I usually pull them out around the 12-minute mark.

Let the cookies finish setting up right on the baking sheet. They might look a little puffed when they come out, but give them a few minutes—they’ll settle into sweet little peachy rounds.

Make them extra cute!

This is optional, but I love pressing a mini pretzel twist into the top of each cookie just after baking. The peach jam acts like a glaze and makes every cookie feel extra special (and extra delicious!).

Looking for other summer peach desserts? Here are some favorites:

Caramel Peach Dump Cake

Brown Sugar Peach Shortcakes

5 ingredient Raspberry Peach Sherbet

Nonnie’s 5 Ingredient Peach Dump

Cinnamon Maple Brown Butter Blackberry Peach Crisp

Lastly, if you make these 6 Ingredient Peach Magic Cookies, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And, of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!

This cottage cheese berry cobbler is crisp on top, gooey underneath, and made with simple ingredients for an easy yet stunning dessert to serve a crowd. Blended cottage cheese is used in place of buttermilk in the cobbler biscuits, and it’s officially the latest addition to our cottage cheese obsession .

I love serving this berry cobbler at backyard BBQs with the neighbors — it’s always a hit, but requires such little prep. Top it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream for the ultimate summer dessert.

Some Key Ingredients

• Blended cottage cheese: most berry cobbler recipes use buttermilk in the cobbler biscuits, but I’m using blended cottage cheese! Ya’ll know Fit Foodie Finds jumped on the cottage cheese train a longggg time back, and it’s just so dang versatile! It helps make these cobbler biscuits flakey, and adds a protein boost to boot .
• Mixed berries: both fresh or frozen mixed berries will work for this cobbler! But fresh berries will take a bit more time to cook down, so for that reason, I prefer using a bag of frozen mixed berries.
• Brown sugar: brown sugar is the sweetener you’ll use in both the filling and the cobbler biscuits on top! You won’t find any granulated sugar in this berry cobbler recipe

Find the list of full ingredients in the recipe card below.

Equipment to Gather

• 10 – 12 in. cast iron skillet (you can also use an 8×8 in. or 9×9 in. baking pan if you don’t have a cast iron skillet)
• Large bowl for tossing the frozen berries with cornstarch and brown sugar before baking.
• Another large bowl for mixing the cobbler biscuit dough! This is a no-knead dough, so you can easily mix it in one bowl.
• Silicone spatula for mixing up the cobbler biscuits. Using a silicone spatula helps prevent the dough from sticking to the spatula.
• High-speed blender or food processor for blending up the cottage cheese to use in the cobbler biscuits! This is our favorite

Serving Suggestions

Top this cottage cheese berry cobbler with some fresh whipped cream and a sprig of mint. I also love serving this cobbler with a big ol’ scoop of vanilla ice cream on those hot summer nights.

What is the different between a berry cobbler and a berry crumble or crisp?

This berry cobbler features a biscuit topping like most traditional cobblers do. Berry crumbles and crisps have a crumbly streusel topping. Try my sheet pan fruit crisp or lemon blueberry crumble bars if you’re hoping to get your streusel topping fix .

Can you make this cobbler gluten-free?

I have not tested this berry cobbler with gluten free flour, but if you do, please leave a comment and let us know how it goes! My go-to GF flour is alway, always Bob’s Red Mill 1:1, so I recommend starting there if you’re looking to make this recipe gluten-free .

More Crisps, Crumbles and Cobblers to Try

Chocolate Chunk Coconut Pecan Skillet Cookie.
Everything we all love about a warm chocolate chip cookie—but baked into one big, gooey, golden skillet. The center stays soft and almost doughy (in the best way), while the edges get perfectly crisp. It’s loaded with oats, toasted coconut, crunchy pecans, and puddles of melty milk chocolate. Top it with scoops of vanilla ice cream and serve it warm, straight from the skillet—no plates needed.

Truthfully, I didn’t grow up with skillet cookies. My mom stuck to classic cookie bars or her famous chocolate chip cookies—and they were always the best. But once I started baking on my own, I came across the idea of baking cookie dough in a cast iron skillet, and wow… total game-changer.

There’s just something about a giant cookie, hot from the oven, ice cream melting over the top. It’s the kind of dessert that brings everyone to the table. And for some reason, I always crave skillet cookies in the summer. Probably because it gives me a great excuse to pile on all that ice cream.

When I told my cousin Abby about this combo, she immediately said, “You have to make that.” So I baked it up before heading to New York—and it turned out to be one of the easiest, most crowd-pleasing recipes I’ve made in a while.

Perfect for low-key summer nights, last-minute entertaining, or honestly… just a weeknight dessert.

These are the details

Ingredients

• salted butter
• brown sugar
• eggs
• vanilla extract
• all-purpose flour
• baking soda
• semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks
• old fashioned oats
• pecans
• unsweetened coconut flakes – you can use sweetened, but we prefer less sweetness
• flaked sea salt

For serving

So much vanilla ice cream. And the good kind with real vanilla, eggs, whole milk, and cream! Plus, flaked sea salt.

Special Tools

For this recipe, you need an electric mixer, a large bowl, and an oven safe skillet.

Steps

Step 1: Make the Cookie Dough

Start with the basics—salted butter, brown sugar, a splash of vanilla, and a couple of eggs. Cream everything together, then mix in the flour, baking soda, and a good pinch of salt. Simple, classic cookie dough, just the way we like it.

Step 2: The Mix-Ins

Now the fun part—stir in old-fashioned oats, chopped pecans, shredded unsweetened coconut, and lots of chocolate. I usually go with semi-sweet chocolate chips or chunks, but use whatever you love or have on hand.

Step 3: Chill

This step is optional, but worth it if you have the time. I found that chilling the dough for 24 hours really takes this cookie to the next level. It helps the dough hold its shape in the skillet and gives the flavors time to deepen. Just pop the dough in the fridge overnight, then bake it cold—no need to bring it to room temp.

If you can think ahead by a day or two, do it. Totally worth the extra chill.

Step 4: Bake

Scoop the chilled dough into a 10-inch cast iron skillet and spread it out evenly. Bake at 350°F for about 30 minutes, until the edges are golden and the center is just set but still gooey. The goal is that perfect underbaked middle.

Serve warm, topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream—and eat it right out of the skillet. Nothing better!

Enjoy!

Skillet cookies are meant to be enjoyed warm—ideally right out of the pan with a few big scoops of vanilla ice cream on top.

This is one of those desserts made for sharing with family and friends. The kind you set in the center of the table and let everyone grab a spoon.

It’s simple, fun, and perfect for summer nights in the backyard. Truly the best way to end the day!

Looking for other easy summer desserts? Here are a few ideas: 

Crinkle Top Chocolate Peanut Butter Skillet Blondies

S’mores Chocolate Mousse Bars

Buckeye Crunch Bars

Lastly, if you make this Chocolate Chunk Coconut Pecan Skillet Cookie, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love hearing from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!