So it’s Easter, Passover, Earth Day – so many holidays to choose from, and I decide to make…pumpkin bars. What can I say, I’m visiting my mother and sister-in-law in Buffalo, NY and it’s cold and wintry and they had a can of pumpkin puree. It was a natural progression.
I actually had a good amount of help with this one – my sister-in-law and I were talking about desserts I could make “my way” (meaning obnoxiously healthy) and she got out a cookbook with some bars and suggested I could use pumpkin. And oats. And pecans. So, yeah, basically she invented this recipe and I’m taking all the credit. I did figure out how to make the stuff work without butter or gluten or sugar or condensed milk, so that’s something, right?
She also showed me their awesome little hand grinder, which we used to chop up the pecans for the crust – you just put whatever you are grinding in the top and crank it and it falls into the bottom. Eco friendly and a good arm workout!
These pumpkin bars are pretty fun – they have a delicious chewy crust that still manages to hold together, and a subtle pumpkin flavor that’s not too sweet. (You could always add more sweetener or spices to make it a bit stronger if you like – the batter tastes similar to the final product so taste it and get it where you like it before you bake it)
They come together pretty quickly – just combine your oatmeal crust ingredients in a bowl until you get a nice dough:
Then spread it evenly out into a 9×13 pan:
Then mix up your pumpkin batter and spread it out in an even layer on top of the oatmeal – both of these come together very quickly, and you don’t need a mixer or anything.
Once that’s all spread out, just pop it into a 350 degree oven and bake for about 30-45 minutes, or until a fork comes out mostly clean when you stick it into the middle. You can then put the whole thing in the fridge for a few minutes to let it set and you’ll be good to go! These would be great topped with some chopped pecans (like the sweetened ones in my butter pecan recipe!) or coconut whipped cream – anyone else have any other ideas for toppings? These things feel like they could work with a lot of stuff!
What’s your favorite easy treat to whip up? Anyone have a recipe they invented with a friend or family member?
Oatmeal Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
For the oatmeal crust:
For the pumpkin filling: (very lightly adapted from Pure2Raw)
Instructions
Omg. I finally found this recipe again! Made it first time over 3 years ago. The crust is so amazing. I’ve tried other pumpkin bars and the filling is amazing but the crust has never compared! I sub coconut nectar in for agave btw. I wonder what the arrowroot is for. Because I’ve been following a similar recipe and there’s none in the filling.
Oh and I used to make a caramel sauce with coconut sugar and butter for the top of these because my husband loves caramel.
These look delicious! Is there any way to make these without nuts?
I think you could use pretty much any pie crust with these, as long as it’s not too crumbly.
I think you could use pretty much any pie crust/dough with these, as long as it’s not too crumbly.
I had to laugh when you asked where you could get a grinder. It is called a nut chopper and they’re available on many websites for under $10 (if you can’t find one in your local kitchen supply store). Here’s a site: http://kitchenkaboodle.com/product_detail2.php?sku=GFNC-1%2125
Once you have one, they never seem to wear out. I’ve had one for over 30 years.
Sweet potatoes and marshmallows is genius!!!
All I would have to do is make the refined sugar free marshmallows I pinned … Sounds like an amazon thanksgiving dessert!
So I made these tonight – YUM! I made a few changes based on what I had on hand and it worked well so I wanted to share for other people’s reference.
Crust: Instead of agave in the crust I put 1/2 cup maple syrup and about 1/4 cup of raw honey (I didn’t measure the honey, but it was close!) I also used walnuts instead of pecans (again, what I had on hand) and hazelnut flour/meal for the gluten free flour. Oh, I also used coconut butter melted in place of the oil.
Filling: I used 1 cup homemade pumpkin puree and 1 cup homemade butternut puree. I also subbed brown sugar for the agave (I’m out of agave right now!). I had coconut milk for the milk, added about 1 Tablespoon of creamy goat cheese (because I love it, and because I needed to use it up, and to add some moisture since I took out the agave – obviously not vegan, so don’t sub this if you’re vegan). i also added pumpkin pie spice instead of the spice combo mentioned here, and had cornstarch for the starch part….
Whew, I didn’t realize how much I changed. Jessica, I LOVE what I’m seeing on your blog – don’t take the changes personally I’m a flexible cook especially when I’m determined to make something that looks delicious and don’t have everything I need on hand! 🙂 I learned it from my Mom! I’m not Vegan, but we are dairy-free, gluten-free and for now peanut, tree nut, and egg-free (our son has to be tested soon – he’s only 1 so he won’t be eating this either way!), so these recipes fit us nicely!
I made these yesterday for Mother’s day and I botched the recipes up by accidentally adding 1/2 cup arrowroot (whoops). It made it a bit too starchy. My mom tried it (I warned her about the extra starchiness) and she hated it! I guess she’s too used to super sugary pumpkin pie. I think for next time I will make sure the starch is right, add a bit brown sugar to help maintain the true taste of pumpkin pie, and I think it would be perfect. I loved the crust though!
Yeah, that’s a bit too much arrowroot 🙂 I agree with adding more sweetener, the recipe is definitely on the low end of sweet because I tend to prefer things that way, but a bit more would be great!
I made these last night and they were AWESOME! I used WW flour instead of amaranth, added an egg to the pumpkin mix, and a bit of allspice and cloves. I will be making this again for sure!
I have a grinder just like that from my mom! It’s at least as old as the 70’s. I’ve never seen them in stores. It’s too bad, they work really well and cut to just about the perfect size for a good morsel of nut. Maybe people think it’s redundant with food processors so common.
I made these pumpkin bars for Thanksgiving and they were a huge hit with me and my boyfriend. We just recently had to go gluten/wheat/sugar free since I discovered those things trigger my migraines. These bars definitely hit the spot and didn’t make us feel disappointed we couldn’t eat pies that our other family members were eating.
Thanks so much! keep blogging!
These look great! Do you think I can use brown rice flour instead of the amaranth?
Thank you – This is the kind of recipe I have been searching the web for – I don’t have those specialty flours though – Do you think I would use the same measurements for graham flour?? Is it okay to just skip the pecans? – nut allergy.
Also, I will need to sub maple syrup for the agave. Can’t wait to try it.
Hi! I just made these for a party and featured them on my blog! So yummy!
So we all agreed that this tastes like pumpkin pie on top of an oatmeal cookie. Um, yum?!?! This is so unique and SO delicious. Thanks so much, now we have another gluten free pumpkin pie option! I’ll be making this often.
CAUTION ON THE OATS!!
make sure the oats are gluten-free!! If you buy any regular old oats they will have gluten in them because oats are harvested on wheat fields and there is cross contamination! This is very important if you have celiac disease or if you are allergic to gluten!!!!!!!
My daughter has nut allergies. Is there anything I could use in place of the pecans? Thanks!
These were amazing…I added rice whip to the top! Perfection and better day two and three….
They are delicious and also very easy to make. Great recipe! Thanks!
Those are so pretty looking! I am usually not baking sweets, but those might be an exception:)
Can you use almond milk?
Oh, I’m sure that would be fine!
This looks way too good–I have to make these bars!
The pumpkin bars did come out very well 🙂 Had also thought it could be done with Sweet Potatoes and a marshmallow middle with the granola type base – for anyone who has a problem with finding pumpkin or wanted to try something different 🙂
Now I did find a site that caries that same nut grinder tho I can’t vouch for the site as I’ve never used it.
http://www.etsy.com/listing/69139163/vintage-federal-glass-grinder-white-hand
Thanks Jess for all the great food made this week here in chilly western new york!! will be making much of it again :)) xx
Those bars look amazing, and pumpkin is good any time of year! 🙂
I was wondering though, where did you get the hand grinder? And also, do you know if it would do coffee beans?
The hand grinder I pictured is really old so I don’t know where they got it, but I found this grinder on Amazon that looks pretty cool. It does coffee beans for sure, not sure if it does other things or not, but I wouldn’t be surprised if it works for nuts and things.
Wow. Those sound AMAZING!!! Pumpkin + Pecan is the BEST! 😀
I keep canned pumpkin in the house all year long for just this type of thing–I love the combination of oatmeal and pumpkin in my breakfast bowl, and I bet these are just heavenly!
I love the idea of pumpkin as the filling … I’m finding it difficult to find canned pumpkin puree in Perth though. Do you have any tips for creating pumpkin puree from scratch?
Yeah, it’s actually really easy – take a good eating pumpkin, slice it in half, and put the halves face down on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for about an hour (until the whole thing is really soft when you poke it)
Then scoop out the seeds and stuff, and then scoop out the flesh and puree it in the food processor until smooth. Aside from the hour in the oven it is super fast & easy. Let me know if you try it!
In my experience a pumpkin about 10 inches in diameter will usually get you around 15oz (but measure anyway! 🙂 )
That grinder thing is awesome. Where is it from?
The 1950’s I think 🙂
you are my best friend <3 i cant wait to make these!
Yum! I love pumpkin any time of the year! These look so delicious!
these look heavenly!!! craving pumpkin now 🙂
YUM! If only I had a can of pumpkin in my pantry. With a piping hot cup of coffee – these would be the perfect snack on a rainy day like today. Do you deliver…?
woo hoo!! I vouch for these….they are great!!
Um.. YUM! This is a great use for some of the pumpkin I’ve got in the cabinet! =)