Pumpkin Oatmeal Granola Bars
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup plus 2 Tbsp canned pumpkin puree
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 1/3 cup avocado or vegetable oil any flavorless oil
- 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp fine salt
- 2 Tbsp chia seeds
- 1/4 cup ground flax seed (flax meal)
- 1 cup quick-cooking "instant" oats
- 2 cups regular "old-fashioned" rolled oats
White chocolate drizzle (optional)
- 1/4 cup white chocolate chips or 2 oz white chocolate bar, chopped
- pinch pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp refined coconut oil or vegetable oil
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper or grease with oil spray.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil, honey, and vanilla. (If you measure the oil before the honey, the honey will easily slide out of the measuring cup.)
- Whisk in the pumpkin spice, salt, chia seeds, and ground flax.
- Stir in the oats using a large spoon or rubber spatula. Mix until all of the ingredients are well combined.
- Spread the oat mixture evenly in your prepared baking pan. I like to use the back of a spoon to get into the corners and smooth the surface along the edges.
- Bake until the edges are very golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Allow to cool fully before cutting into bars. I like to cut into 5 equal pieces in one direction then in half to make 10 bars.
- Bars are best stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 5 days or individually wrapped and frozen for up to 2 months.
White Chocolate Drizzle
- If topping the bars with a chocolate drizzle, melt the chocolate and oil together until smooth. (I do this in a small bowl in the microwave.)
- Stir in a pinch of pumpkin spice for a little extra flavor.
- Drizzle each bar with the melted chocolate. Place in the fridge or freezer to set the chocolate.
Notes
You can add 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips to the batter instead of the drizzle on top.
If you don't have quick oats, you can pulse a 1 1/4 cups of rolled oats in a food processor until they are broken up into smaller bits then measure and use in the recipe. Do not over process into a flour.