Pumpkin Orange Soft Granola Bars
3/4 cup pumpkin puree, cooked or canned
1/4 cup coconut oil (I use Garden of Life)
1/2 cup maple syrup (I use grade B)
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 caps vanilla extract
1 teaspoon cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch ground ginger
pinch sea salt
orange zest from 1/2 orange
2 cups rolled oats
handful crasins or rasins
1 cup minced nuts (I used minced almond, sunflower, pumpkin and flax seeds)
4 tablespoons shredded coconut, unsweetened
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Mix all wet ingredients in one large bowl, then blend in all spices and zest. Add the oats, and mix well.
2. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Line an 8x8" baking sheet with parchment paper, or lightly grease it with coconut oil. Evenly spread the mixture into the pan, pressing it even and flat.
3. Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from oven and slice into desired serving while still warm. Let cool a bit then move to a cooling rack. Cool and enjoy, or while they are warm, top them with frozen banana ice cream for dessert.
Hope you enjoy.
Source of recipe: I wanted to make some granola bars and this is based on what I had in my kitchen. It can be as basic or crazy as you want! They taste amazing.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
These didn't really stick together for me, and didn't stay in a "bar". The orange was really overpowering, I didn't even taste the pumpkin or coconut in these. Also, with all the oil and syrup, the calories count on these is really high, I cut these into 10 bars, and each is about 300 calories. I thought I was making a healthy snack, and ended up blowing my diet for the day! You might want to mess with the amounts a bit!