Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Bars, with and without Gluten

I made Peanut Butter Bars, following the recipe to a T, then I switched out the flours to bake a gluten free version. We ate the gluten free bars and sent the regular ones to my brother, who is away in college.

I tasted both bars, and both were delicious, of course (you can hardly go wrong with peanut butter, chocolate, and sugar), but they had slightly different textures. The regular recipe had a finer crumb, but felt too rich to me. You can see the texture difference in the photos.

Regular recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup wheat germ
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, peanut butter, and vanilla until well blended.

In another bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir or beat into butter mixture until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.

Spread dough evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake until pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes, then cut into pieces (about 12). Let cool completely.

Gluten-free recipe:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup oat flour
1/2 cup almond flour
1/4 cup wheat germ- substituted 1/8 cup rice flour/ 1/8 cup of Bob's biscuit and baking mix
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 package (6 oz.) semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°. In a large bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter with sugars until smooth. Beat in egg, peanut butter, and vanilla until well blended.
In another bowl, whisk together flours, wheat germ, oats, baking soda, and salt; stir or beat into butter mixture until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Stir in chocolate chips.
Spread dough evenly in a buttered 8-inch square baking pan. Bake until pale golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool on a rack about 10 minutes, then cut into 12 pieces. Let cool completely.