Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars

These bars are sure to get you in the mood for fall. The sweet pumpkin is balanced well by the bittersweet chocolate, leading to an overall delicious finish! Plus, they are vegan!

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I went through a stage in my life where I wanted to completely cut out processed foods. I slowly realized that it wasn’t going to work for me because it wasn’t my top priority in life. I didn’t have time to prepare enough food for all my meals and snacks. I decided to pick and choose what I could make myself and what was fine to buy “processed” and still remain healthy. I decided snacks were okay to buy processed since they weren't a majority of my diet.

Snacks are the ultimate money sucker because we usually are on the go and just want something small to satisfy us. At the time I was a typical broke college student and looking at the prices of the “healthy” bars that were available, I said forget it! So, I decided to create my own bars from minimal and affordable ingredients. It happened to be fall at the time and pumpkin puree was a steal, so I developed these delicious Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oat Bars to satisfy my snack and sweet cravings!

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Here’s the 411 for those not familiar with the stars of this recipe:

• Flaxseed Egg - Flaxseed meal comes from ground/blended up flaxseeds. When combined with water, it creates a consistency similar to egg. Therefore, it serves as a great replacer for eggs when making baked goods. You can buy Flaxseed seeds and grind/blend it up to make flaxseed meal yourself or buy flaxseed meal. These both are available at most grocery stores.
• Rolled Oat Flour - To avoid using processed flours, rolled oats are commonly blended/ground to create a flour. You can simply buy rolled oats and blend/grind them yourself or you can pay for oat flour in health food stores. I recommend blending/grinding it up yourself because any blender can do the job and Rolled Oats are inexpensive to buy. You can find this at most grocery stores in the flour/grains section.
• Agave - This is a great liquid sweetener to use in replacement of processed sugar. There are many other types of sweeteners you can use instead such as Maple Syrup or Stevia. I prefer using Agave because it has a very neutral taste.
• Vegan Chocolate Chips - The three brands of vegan chocolate chips that I use depending on what I find available or on sale are Enjoy Life, Lily’s, and Chatfield’s.
• Pan - I use a loaf pan (8.5”x4.5”) with straight edges to create one batch of bars. This is equivalent to using a square pan (8”x8”) to create 2 batches of bars.

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Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings: 12 1"x1" bars

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INGREDIENTS

• 1 c Rolled Oats
• ½ c Rolled Oat Flour (blended up Rolled Oats)
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• 1 Flaxseed Egg (1 Tbsp Flaxseed Meal + 2.5 Tbsp Water)
• ½ c Pumpkin Puree
• 2 Tbsp Agave
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 tsp Cinnamon (2 tsp if you choose not to add nutmeg or ginger)
• ¼ tsp Nutmeg (optional)
• ¼ tsp Ginger (optional)
• ¼ c Chocolate Chips (optional)

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INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and prepare baking pan. Use butter or oil to greasy the pan to prevent any sticking and then optionally add a piece of parchment paper one direction (helps to get the bars out later).
2. Create flaxseed egg by combining flaxseed meal with water in a small bowl. Stir and let sit for 5 minutes to thicken.
3. Combine dry ingredients (rolled oats, rolled oat flour, baking powder) into a medium bowl.
4. Combine wet ingredients (pumpkin puree, agave, vanilla extract), then add spices (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger).
5. Once flaxseed egg has thickened (see process picture), add to wet ingredients mixture.
6. Slowly mix in dry ingredient mixture into wet ingredient mixture by adding about a portion of dry ingredients at a time between mixing. Before fully incorporated add in chocolate chips.
7. Transfer mixture into pan and use a spatula to flatten and pack down.
8. Bake for 20-25 minutes until top is lightly browned.
9. Allow bars to cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack. Cool completely (about 45 minutes) before slicing bars.

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I still continue to make these bars regularly and have never grown sick of them. I can now whip these up very fast and are perfect to grab and go. I hope you ENJOY these easy, fun, and delicious bars and the extra cash you have in your wallet from not having to buy overpriced, processed bars!
- Nutti Nelli

PROCESS SHOTS (Click to enlarge)

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