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I may just have a new favorite dessert.
Oatmeal cookie dough streusel crust with a thick creamy and a luscious lemon filling, sprinkled with more oatmeal cookie dough streusel on top…. so dang good!
My good friend Caitlin requested I make a fresh lemon-y dessert to ring in the warmer weather a few weeks. I may be a tad late getting around to it as it’s almost May (whooops!), but these bars were totally worth the wait.
I found the recipe off Betty Crocker’s website. Betty never steers me wrong!
Typically, I find that crumb bar recipes or lemon bar recipes have an unbalanced ratio of fruit filling to dough. There always seems to be WAY too much of the doughy stuff and not enough of the fruity stuff. With these bars? Not so much. There is plenty of creamy lemon filling in each and every bite. And what’s even better about these bars is that they are EASY. Start with a pouch of Betty Crocker premade oatmeal cookie mix, 1 stick cold butter, 1 egg, sweetened condensed milke and 2 lemons. That’s it!
If you can’t find this specific cookie mix, I’ve included a made-from-scratch oatmeal cookie crumble recipe to use instead. 
PS: one friend tasted them and LOVED them… and he doesn’t even like lemon. 
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makes 16 bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 pouch (1 lb 1.5 oz) Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix (see below for homemade recipe)
- 1 egg
- 1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 Tbsp grated lemon peel (about 2 large lemons)
- 1/4 cup lemon juice (about 2 large lemons)
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350F degrees. Spray 8x8 baking pan with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, cut butter into cookie mix using a fork or electric mixer. Stir in egg until crumbly.
- Press half of oatmeal cookie dough into bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake for 15 minutes.
- While the cookie bottom is baking, stir condensed milk, lemon peel, and lemon juice into a small bowl. Spread lemon mixture over baked crust (while crust is hot). Crumble the remaining oatmeal cookie mixture over top. Bake about 25 minutes longer or until golden brown.
- Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes before cutting into 16 squares. Store covered in refrigerator for up to 1 week. Enjoy!
Notes
*I used a bit more than half of the oatmeal cookie dough for the bottom layer of these bars. I'd say about 60% for the bottom layer and 40% used to crumble on top of the lemon creme.
Recipe source: Betty Crocker
© Sally’s Baking Addiction. All images & content are copyright protected. Please do not use my images without prior permission. If you want to republish this recipe, please re-write the recipe in your own words, or link back to this post for the recipe.
If you can’t find the Betty Crocker oatmeal cookie mix, use this from-scratch oatmeal cookie base recipe:
Homemade Oatmeal Cookie Base
- 1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats
- 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cold
- 1 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
- In a large bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment or using a handheld mixer, cream the butter and brown sugar until combined.
- In a separate bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking powder, and oats.
- Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture and mix to combine.
- Continue with step three in the recipe above.
By far, one of the best things I’ve ever eaten.
If you like these lemon bars, be sure to check out my Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake Bars =)
{ 66 comments… read them below or add one }
I wouldn’t have thought to pair oatmeal and lemon, but now that it’s staring me down it looks so good!
i would have either! but the lemon cream & oatmeal is delicious!
oatmeal cookie streusel crust – right there, we have a winner. The filling just adds to the over the top factor!
thanks Averie! and I love how thick the filling is… great streusel/filling ratio.
oh wow, these look decadently fabulous! i love the pairing of oatmeal and lemon together especially with that streusel topping..my favorite part of any dessert is always the streusel topping..this is a winner in my book!
Julie, you and i alike! i love anything with streusel all over it. it’s the best part!
What a delicious and easy bar recipe! These look so good, Sally. I wouldn’t know whether to devour these for breakfast or dessert… but maybe both!
Good point Georgia! I’d say both.
betty crocker recipes are pretty fabulous! i usually adapt them though for “from scratch” cookie/cake mixes. what a fun combo.
Thanks Sarah! Betty Crocker obviously comes up with nothing but the best.
Another Sally! It’s pretty rare for me to come across that name
I would never think to pair lemon and oatmeal together, but it sounds amazing!
It’s a WONDERFUL combo, Sally!
Oh my gosh, these look awesome! You know I love a good recipe short cut
I love the idea of oatmeal and lemon!
i knew you’d like the cookie mix shortcut! lemon cream & oatmeal cookie are VERY good together.
Oh Sally, I am in trouble with these. I love lemon desserts but add an oatmeal-streusel topping and I’m a goner. These look great!
i LOVE lemon desserts, too Cassie. The sweet & tart gets me every time!
I was wondering where you had gone – now I can subscribe again
Your new site looks simply gorgeous – congrats on the move!
And what a wonderful lemon creme bar – wouldn’t mind this for breakfast indeed
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
thank you so much! glad you found me again
OMG I have this inevitable need to get up and bake these right now! Lemon and oatmeal must taste soooo good together
thanks Diana! the combo of oatmeal streusel and lemon cream is outrageously good!
YUM!!! And I am not even a huge lemon fan. But something about the oatmeal streusel has me wanting this!!!!
Jocelyn, these bars will turn you into a lemon dessert lover!
So good! I made something similar recently, and oh my god, SO GOOD. Love the lemon and the topping. Pretty!
what a fantastic combination!
Thanks Heather – the combo of lemon and oatmeal cookie dough streusel taste SO good together – it was a pleasant surprise!
Sally! Besides the fact that these oatmeal squares look incredible….I LOVE YOUR NEW WEBSITE!!! so jealous!!! Who is hosting your site now? I need to get with the program. It looks professional
LOVE IT!!!!!!
Lauren, you are so sweet. Thank you!! I host my site myself now
Those look wonderful! Pinning so I can try them sometime! Thanks for sharing at Pin It and Win It Wednesday @ http://www.cheapcraftymama.com!
Glad to hear it Kate!
I am crazy about these! They look luscious. I love all that rich filling – you are so right – there’s a lot. I see myself making these. Sooner rather than later!
I love having a ton more filling and less crust. although, this oatmeal cookie dough streusel is to-die-for!
YUM pretty much sums it all up! These look so good. We loved having you link up to our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday.” We hope you’ll be back soon! -The Sisters
Goodness Gracious. We should be neighbors =)
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Oh Sally! These bars look heavenly. Love the idea of lemon flavored condensed milk! Your pictures are just drool inducing.
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Thank you so much! I love lemon creme made with sweetened condensed milk
oh man… these look like lemon cream pie… only ten times better!
Made these last night for my writers group. They were excellent! The lemon filling nicely complimented the oatmeal crust. Next time I will make them in a 9×9 inch pan so they aren’t so thick but otherwise I won’t change a thing. Thanks for posting these!
I am so glad to hear that! The lemon filling and oatmeal crust pair well together.
This recipe looks great and I’m hoping to bring them to an upcoming BBQ! If you are using the from scratch cookie recipe, do we need to add the additional butter and egg like you would when using the mix?
No you don NOT have to add the additional butter or egg when making the from-scratch version. Just follow the from-scratch recipe at the bottom of the post. Thank you Hannah!
Do you have to add an egg to the cookie batter made from scratch?
There is no egg needed in the homade cookie dough crust recipe, just those listed ingredients. Thank you!
These were the GREATEST bars I have ever made. I think that is all I can really say.
Oh and you’re awesome!
Hey Olga! Thank you so much! I need to make these bars again – it’s been awhile. I love them too!
I just stumbled upon your Web site and had one of those “Where have you been all my life?!” moments. I love to bake and try new things and this is such a fantastic Web site! I’m just drooling over all the pictures of these delicious looking treats.
Thanks Allison! Let me know if you bake anything from my blog. I’d love to hear about it!
I love lemon and oatmeal bars, so the two together are right up my alley. These look so yummy, I’m definitely going to have to make some to celebrate the warmer weather as well! Love your blog too- you have so many delicious looking goodies, it is hard to decide what I want to bake!!
THank you Jennifer! That is so nice of you to say about my blog. Always let me know what you bake – I love hearing about it. And yes, these lemon bars are perfect for spring! I can’t wait to make them this weekend.
These are delicious and so easy to make. I took some to the local fire house and they were gone within minutes.
That’s so nice of you to bring to the firehouse, Dianne. I am SO happy to hear that everyone loved them so much. They are a favorite of mine!
So far I have made your Banana bread w/Nutella, the cinnamon muffins with Nutella, Death by chocolate cookies, the chocolate chip.reeces brownie bars..just to mention a few.. now THIS! (I have gained 10 pounds ) You make them all look simple & beautiful and I am hooked on your site!
Hey Regina! You picked a few of my very favorites to make! I can tell you love nutella as much as I do – you’ll have to check back because I have a recipe with Nutella posting tonight or tomorrow morning
Let me know you like these lemon bars!
OMG I can’t wait to try these!!! I’m on your site constantly and I have soooo many recipes I’ve printed and made!! They’re all HUGE hits everywhere I go! Especially those peanut Butter Pretzle bites…they’re staples when I go to parties now! So many people keep asking for the recipes so now when I bring your stuff, I print off your recipe and make sure they have your full web address!
AMAZING stuff! LOVE IT!
I LOVE those PB Chocolate Pretzel Bites, Laura! I’m so glad you do too. I bring them with me to parties often and they are always the first to go. You are so sweet to give credit to my website, that means a lot. You will love these – they are so easy to make. Thanks Laura!
I made these bars today and they are YUMMY! The lemon flavor is really light and springy. I added a layer of white baking chips to the sweetened condensed milk, but since they all melted I couldn’t even tell they were in there. Love, love, loved these bars…such a keeper recipe. Thanks again, Sally!!
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Maybe you could add white chocolate chips on top of the final oat layer? That would be very good! I might have to try it. Glad you loved these!
I’m so excited – these are in the oven as I type!!!! What I especially love is that there are no eggs when we use your cookie dough
I have friends allergic to eggs, so now this adds to my dessert possibilities when they visit 
if you haven’t been told lately- Sally, you’re fabulous!
I tried these lemon creme bars, they are yummy. I am a huge lover of lemon meringue pies so I see this as a healthier altnerate.
Going to try the caramel upside down cake this weekend, its getting cooler weather here now so perfect weather for it.
Love, love, love your website!! I made these lemon creme bars and let them cool in the fridge for almost an hour before cutting. They fell apart and I’m not able to get them out of the dish without them crumbling. I did use non-stick cooking spray as directed. Any ideas as to why they are not staying together??
Thanks!!
Hey Cindy! That’s strange. Is the center not cooked through? Maybe they were not ready when you took them out of the oven.
Hey Sally,
Thanks so much for your reply. I think I should have used more cookie base on bottom…the 60/40 ratio you mentioned. I was able to get some bars out in one piece and serve them and everyone LOVED the flavor. I will try making them again with blueberries. I’ve also made a few more of your recipes and they have been a huge hit. Looking forward to trying more.
Cindy
That sounds great, Cindy! Let me know how they go the second time around!
Hey, Sally! I just baked these yesterday (using the homemade oatmeal cookie base) and it was incredible! Who thought that combining such simple ingredients could make such a DEElicious dessert? Thank you for the recipe!
So glad you liked these Ree! thanks for reporting back.
Hey Sally, I’ve got these in the oven as a gift to my Grandfather! I was just wondering what would be the best way to remove them from the pan without them falling apart?
Thanks for the recipe!
Hey Lauren! Just let them cool completely (I put them in the refrigerator for 2 hours) and cut with a sharp knife. Enjoy!
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