Making Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Bars

When I plan my breakfast (honestly, it's usually more of a brunch), I like to have something savory and something sweet to make the meal satisfying. Today I'm making Pumpkin Oat Breakfast Bars to be the sweet part of my morning meal this week.

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The Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/2 c old-fashioned oats, divided

1 cup milk

1/2 c canned pumpkin puree

1/2 c maple syrup or honey

1/4 c melted coconut oil

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla extract

2 TBSP chia seeds

3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 salt

1/3 cup pecan or walnut pieces

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Oil a metal 8x8 baking pan.

2. Process 1 cup oatmeal in a food processor until it forms oat flour. Set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine milk, pumpkin, maple syrup, oil, egg, and vanilla. Whisk to combine.

4. Add oat flour, remaining oatmeal, chia seeds, spices, baking powder & soda, and salt to the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.

5. Stir in chopped nuts.

6. Pour batter into the oiled baking pan.

7. Bake for 40-45 minutes until the edges are golden and the center has set. If the edges brown before the center sets, cover with foil until the center is done.

8. Cool completely, then cut into 9 bars.

Add-in Ideas

• The pecans are delicious, but you can omit them or use another nut, or use pepitas.

• Add additional sweetness with chips - semi-sweet, milk chocolate, white chocolate, butterscotch, toffee, cinnamon, etc. I can't think of a cookie chip that wouldn't be delicious!

• If you want something sweet but want to keep the bars healthier, add in dried fruit. Raisins, craisins, chopped dates, chopped prunes, and chopped apricots would all be tasty.

• If you like coconut, 1/2 cup of shredded coconut would be yummy.

• Or, consider adding some streusel topping to the pan before baking. I did this in the video above, and it was delicious. I have decided that streusel topping makes everything better.

Streusel Topping: 1/4 cup butter, 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1/4 cup oatmeal, 1 tsp cinnamon

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