I posted my best-yet Oatmeal Raisin Cookies last fall, but now I have one-upped myself by simplifying them and baking them up in a square pan. Oatmeal Raisin Blondies, y’all!If you are an Oatmeal Raisin fan, you’ll love these sweet little bars. They’re super chewy thanks to low flour content, a glut of old-fashioned oats, and a high brown sugar-to-dry ingredients ratio. The raisins are plumped in simmering water before mixing for maximum flavor and texture.Deep toasty flavor comes courtesy of brown butter and toasted oats. You could, of course, just melt your butter and use your oats straight out of the bag, but spending a few minutes drawing out their nutty richness makes a huge difference in the final outcome. A teaspoon of cinnamon rounds out the batter and makes these blondies pretty irresistible!These blondies bake up in 25 or so minutes, until the top is puffed and a little glossy. Let them cool until room temperature and then slice into pieces. The tops will crack in the best way and the middles will be dense and…well, they’re *very* good. The perfect low-maintenance sort of thing to make on this quarantine Wednesday.

Oatmeal Raisin Blondies
makes one 8- or 9-inch pan, about 16 servings

1 cup old-fashioned oats
2/3 cup raisins
1 cup water
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
3/4 cup + 2 tablespoons light or dark brown sugar, packed
1 large egg, room temperature
1 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch of Kosher or sea salt

Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease an 8- or 9-inch square pan. Line with parchment, leaving a little excess on two sides for ease of removal. Grease again. Set aside.

Scatter oats on a dry rimmed baking sheet. Toast 5-7 minutes, or until fragrant. Set aside to cool until you can handle them.

Plump the raisins. Put raisins and water in a small saucepan; if water doesn’t cover the raisins, add more until it does. Put over medium-high heat. When it reaches a simmer, remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Brown the butter. Place butter in a light-colored saucepan over medium heat. Let butter melt. Butter will bubble and crackle as the water content evaporates. Swirl the pan frequently for 5-7 minutes, keeping an eye on the color. When the solids are turning brown and the butter is nutty and fragrant, remove the pot from the heat and immediately pour the brown butter into a small-medium mixing bowl.

Add brown sugar to brown butter and whisk to combine. Mix in the egg and vanilla, followed by flour, cinnamon and salt. Mix in oats.

Pour raisins and water through a fine mesh sieve to discard water. Fold raisins into batter.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and spread in an even layer all the way to the edges. Bake 25-30 minutes, or until the top is set and a toothpick inserted in the center comes back with only a few moist crumbs (not batter).

Let cool completely in the pan on a rack. Use excess parchment to lift blondies onto a cutting board. Use a large, sharp chef’s knife to slice into 16 pieces. Serve.

Leftovers will keep covered at room temperature for up to four days.