Pumpkin Granola Bars

These granola bars line up right in-between a good snack and a not-so-guilty dessert. They're crunchy, salty, well spiced, and pumpkin flavored! It's best to use lightly salted and roasted pumpkin seeds for this recipe, or add one full teaspoon of kosher salt instead. With a busy schedule, and midterms arising  these were great to pop in a ziploc and take for a snack. Extremely kid friendly, you can always cut out the pumpkin seeds and add other things like dried cranberries, shredded coconut, raisins, and nuts. Last year around this time I made Pumpkin Cupcakes which were equally as amazing.

Ingredients 

4 cups old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup white spelt flour 

1/3 cup packed Turbinado sugar (or brown sugar)

1 cup chocolate chips 

1 cup pumpkin seeds

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 tbsp cinnamon

1/4 cup olive oil (or canola)

1/3 cup pumpkin puree

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 cup agave

2 tbsp maple syrup

Directions 

1. Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a 9x13 baking sheet with parchment paper. Combine the oats, flour,  sugar, chocolate chips, pumpkin seeds, and salt in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the oil, pumpkin puree,vanilla, agave, and maple syrup. Pour the wet ingredients over the oat mixture and stir to combine. Spread the granola mixture on the baking sheet and shape it into a 9 x 13-inch rectangle that’s about 1 inch thick. Bake for 40 minutes, or until golden and dry to the touch. Cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes, then cut into 3 x 1-inch bars using a serrated knife.

Bon Appétit!