Pumpkin, Almond, Chocolate Granola Bars (Gluten Free)

"These perfectly moist and chewy granola bars make a wonderful road trip snack, or pack into a school lunch box for a delightful & healthy homemade treat. From Strands of My Life. Note: These bars are gluten-free, if you skip the optional wheat germ."
 
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photo by Yankiwi photo by Yankiwi
photo by Yankiwi
Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
16
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ingredients

  • 5 cups old fashioned oats (for gf check pckg it hasn't been prepared with equipment which makes products containing gluten)
  • 34 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 12 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • 34 cup slivered almonds
  • 12 cup wheat germ (leave out for gluten-free bars)
  • 1 cup dried fruit (I used apricots and cranberries)
  • 12 cup toasted seeds (I used sunflower and pumpkin)
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree (I boiled a pumpkin, skinned it and pureed it in a food processor)
  • 12 cup applesauce
  • 14 cup honey
  • 1 12 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1 12 cups chocolate chips
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directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F/180°C Butter a 10” by 10” baking pan and line with baking paper.
  • In a large bowl, mix oats, spices, dried fruit, almonds, seeds, choc chips, wheatgerm, 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.
  • Evenly press oat mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes.
  • Remove from the pan by lifting the parchment paper.
  • Using a sharp knife, cut into bars.

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Reviews

  1. I was looking for ways to use my last pumpkin from last summer (I live in New Zealand) and these bars caught my eye. I had just two cups of oats in the house so food.com worked out 40% of the recipe for me. By making a small batch I was able to bake them in my bench top oven.<br/>I used more pumpkin and no applesauce, used oat bran instead of wheat germ, and the mix seemed a little dry so I beat up an egg and added that, kneading it all together with clean hands. I compressed it in the baking pan with the back of a wooden spoon. When done, I let it cool for a little while then put it in the fridge overnight. I've found it's easier to cut this sort of bar when completely cool. I use a very thin Japanese cleaver which makes a good job of cutting the bars. I cut them into 20 pieces, ate a few and put the rest in the freezer.<br/>These bars were very easy to make and substitutions could be made without affecting the outcome. I'll make them regularly, thanks for posting.
     
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Tweaks

  1. I was looking for ways to use my last pumpkin from last summer (I live in New Zealand) and these bars caught my eye. I had just two cups of oats in the house so food.com worked out 40% of the recipe for me. By making a small batch I was able to bake them in my bench top oven.<br/>I used more pumpkin and no applesauce, used oat bran instead of wheat germ, and the mix seemed a little dry so I beat up an egg and added that, kneading it all together with clean hands. I compressed it in the baking pan with the back of a wooden spoon. When done, I let it cool for a little while then put it in the fridge overnight. I've found it's easier to cut this sort of bar when completely cool. I use a very thin Japanese cleaver which makes a good job of cutting the bars. I cut them into 20 pieces, ate a few and put the rest in the freezer.<br/>These bars were very easy to make and substitutions could be made without affecting the outcome. I'll make them regularly, thanks for posting.
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

<p>Married to my sweetheart for almost forty years and we have two wonderful children who are grown and have flown the coop. Also, we have been blessed with a wonderful son-in-law and beautiful daughter-in-law, plus FIVE grandchildren: two beautiful granddaughters ages five and eight, and three sweet adorable little grandsons ages 2 months, 2 years and 3 years. My husband and I share a combination of English, Irish, Scottish, Welsh, Dutch, Swiss, Polish, Austrian, German and French heritage, and our son-in-law and daughter-in-law are both Hispanic. We've traveled extensively to many countries abroad (we lived in Germany), and have traveled and lived in several states here in the U.S.A. Many of the recipes I post here are influenced by our combined heritage or from our travels, or they are old family favorites that I want to share with you. I hope you enjoy! Have been to culinary school with many years of cooking (mostly for my family) under my belt, so know my way around a kitchen. And I'm very lucky to have the best sous chef in the world, dddddh! One of my favorite chefs of all time is Jacques Pepin! I have several of his cookbooks, and enjoy watching his television cooking show Fast Food My Way. Another top favorite is Julia Child (of course!). A few other chefs I read/enjoy watching on t.v. are: Giada At Home, Ina Garten's The Barefoot Contessa, Nigella Lawson's Nigella Bites, and Patti's Mexican Kitchen, and many more. On my bucket list is dining at Thomas Keller's establishment The French Laundry in Napa Valley, California... as well as Alice Waters' Chez Panisse in Berkeley, and the James Beard award winning Tartine Bakery and Cafe in San Francisco. One day!! &nbsp; Hobbies/Interests: Decorating with fresh flowers and herbs from the garden is my passion, and brings me deep joy! It's really hard to beat!! I love connecting with others who enjoy the same. Gardening, decorating, sewing, music, dancing, film, and reading are also up there. Spending quality time with my grandchildren, family, and friends (and cooking holiday meals!). Currently, a newfound passion has been so richly rewarding for me: genealogical research. I heart ancestry dot com. And last but certainly not least, I absolutely LOVE cats--we have two half-Siamese fur babies (cats) that allow us to live here!!&nbsp; &nbsp; A Note of Thanks~ I try to personally thank everyone who kindly makes and reviews my recipes, but sometimes I am busy, late, or may forget. Please know that I am always humbled that you would try one of my recipes, and I enjoy reading the reviews and seeing all the pretty photographs. Thanks so much!&nbsp;</p>
 
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