Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and line a 15 x10 x 1inch baking sheet with heavy duty foil.

Start by preparing the crust. In a large mixing bowl, beat one cup of butter until light and fluffy. Add to this half the flour. Then add the brown sugar, eggs, 2 teaspoons of vanilla extract and the baking soda. Beat this until it's well combined, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Add in the remaining flour and stir well. Add in the oats and stir until combined. This dough will be very stiff. Set the mixture aside.

Next make the chocolate filling. In a small saucepan, heat 1 1/2 cup chocolate chips, the can of sweetened condensed milk, and 2 tablespoons of butter over low heat, stirring often. Heat just until all the chocolate is melted, then remove from heat and stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract.

In a small bowl, combine the chopped cherries with cornstarch and sugar.

To assemble. Take about 3 1/2 cups of the crust dough and press it evenly into the bottom of the foil lined baking sheet. Then pour the chocolate filling over the top, and spread it evenly almost to each edge. Evenly spread the chopped cherries over the top. Drop the remaining dough by teaspoonfuls over the top of the chocolate layer and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until the dough on top is lightly browned. (The chocolate layer will still look a little moist.) Cool in the pan on a wire rack. Remove from the pan, by gently pulling up the foil edges. Cut into bars and store in the fridge.