Pumpkin Oat Bars

I bought a few cans of pumpkin puree over a month ago, and I haven't used any of it yet. Being the start of a new year and all, I wanted to make something healthy, with whole grains and minimal sweetener. I browsed other recipes for a while and combined a few.

Love Walnuts

Dry Ingredients

Wet Ingredients

All Together  Now

Fresh Out of the Oven

They turned out pretty well - I'm still going to experiment with the recipe a bit, but I like how hearty and chewy they are. They are moderately sweet, and I'm thinking molasses would be great as a substitute for either the brown rice syrup or the brown sugar.



Pumpkin Oat Bars
Inspired by Bob's Red Mill and Two Peas and Their Pod

Ingredients:

3 cups oats
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup walnut oil (a mild olive oil would work too)

1/2 cup chopped walnuts
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 9x9 inch baking dish with lightly greased parchment paper.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients (oats through spices). In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin, slightly beaten egg, sweeteners, and oil. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, mixing until just combined. Stir in the walnuts and cranberries.

Pour the batter into the prepared dish, using a spatula to level the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the center is set and the edges are barely golden. Let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then remove from the pan and cut into bars.