After School Pumpkin Treat
My girls are getting way too used to me trying new pumpkin recipes. For breakfast recently when I served them pumpkin muffins from a box mix, they were a tad disappointed. To make up for my gaffe, I made pumpkin granola bars for an after school snack. After my first taste, I would have said they were just okay, but, they grew on me. I liked them better the 2nd day and it was the perfect accompaniment to my morning coffee. My suggestion would be to do as the recipe calls (shocking!) and let them cool completely before eating. The other thing I’ll do differently next time is add fewer chocolate chips. I found them to be a tad heavy on the chocolate chips.
Ingredients:
- 3 1/4 cups old fashioned oats
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup brown sugar
- ½ cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup applesauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup chocolate chips (I found this was too much, I’ll cut to ½ to ¾ a cup next time
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8 by 8 baking pan with cooking spray and set aside.
- In a large bowl, whisk oats, spices, and salt together. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, pumpkin, applesauce, honey, and vanilla extract until smooth. Pour over oats and stir well, until all of the oats are moist. Stir in chocolate chips.
- Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. The pumpkin keeps the bars moist, so make sure they are golden and set-you don't want them to be under baked. Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes.
- Using a sharp knife, cut into bars. Remove from pan and let cool completely. (yes, you must do this for them to taste their best)