Pumpkin Spice Bars

In honor of having my 500th hit today, I've decided to do a new bar recipe! My Everything Energy Bars have gotten the most page views of all my recipes, so I figure you guys might like some variety! I'm pretty proud of this one because I didn't look at another recipe as I created this. It was completely improvisational! The whole kitchen smelled like pumpkin as these were baking, and the taste is pumpkin pie-ish. I will say, if you prefer sweeter flavors, I would add some sugar or maple syrup to the mixture.

Pumpkin Pie Spice Bars
By Caroline Mac
Ingredients:
1 15-0z can pumpkin puree
2 cups quick cooking rolled oats
1/2 cup almond flour
1/2 cup original soy milk
1/4 cup pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
1/2 cup pecans
1/4 cup dried cranberries
1.5 t pie spice
1 t vanilla extract
Dash of salt

Step 1: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all wet ingredients and spices in a large mixing bowl and mix thoroughly.

Step 2: Add oats, almond flour, and spices, followed by the dried fruit and nuts. Stir until mixture forms a moist dough.

Step 3: Line a medium sized, square baking pan with parchment paper. Transfer mixture to pan and spread evenly across bottom with a spatula.

Step 4: Bake for 30 minutes or until golden and crispy on top. Remove to cooling rack.

Step 5: Once cool, cut slab into bars of desired size.

Enjoy!

Hey guys! I have a little update on the pumpkin bars. As I learned the hard way today, these bars need to be refrigerated immediately after they cool. They have a shorter shelf life than my other bars, and consequently went bad in a few days when out of the fridge.

Thanks!
Caroline