Granola bar day today. The verdict on last week’s bars was a little divided. Adriano thought they were too hard and gave him a belly ache. Dario just grunted. You’d think after 21 years, I would be able to interpret his grunts but I guess a chap has to keep a little mystery. The bars agreed with me – no belly ache – but I have to scratch them from all future menus for the sake of my husband’s stomach.
Today I was determined to add plenty of moisture along with the goodness. Somewhere I saw that a recipe used pumpkin puree along with apple sauce as the liquid and I used that base. I added all the nuts, seeds and dried fruit to make a true granola bar and threw in some healthy wheatgerm for good measure. This was a triumph, even if I do say so myself. They are moist and delicious. No salt or fat either. That has to be good. I am looking forward to morning teas this week. I don’t know how to top this recipe.
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Recipe: Pumpkin, Almond, Chocolate Granola Bars
Ingredients 
- 5 cups old fashioned oats (for gluten-free check on the packet it hasn’t been prepared with equipment which makes products containing gluten)
- ¾ teaspoon cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup almond slivers
- ½ cup wheatgerm (leave out for gluten-free bars)
- 1 cup dried fruit (I used apricots and cranberries)
- ½ 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.
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- ¼ cup honey
- 1½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1½ cup chocolate chips
Method
- 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.
Preparation time: 20 minute(s)
Cooking time: 30 minute(s)
Number of servings (yield): 16
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Hi Suzanne,
I love that you make your own granola bars. They are on my list to make, one day hopefully:) Loving the flavors you combined in this one. I’m going to bookmark it for pumpkin season.
They are so easy to make and good for you while allowing that sweet indulgence. Easy unless you have to chop up and boil a pumpkin that is. But that is probably what helped make them so good.
Suzanne
Nice recipe. I’d be tempted to use the canned pumpkin puree for this. Super picture – really very good. Enjoyed the post – thank you.
I would be tempted too if I could find some. I asked in the supermarket and they said that pumpkin puree was an American thing. LOL. I hate trying to cut through pumpkin. My knife gets stuck and I throw a tantrum. If anyone knows any tips on how to do it easliy, please do let me know.
Suzanne
These are amazing looking bars. What a great treat to have in lunch boxes. And these are so healthy and delicious. I hope they were well appreciated xx
They have been well appreciated. This quantity made 16 bars so I am hoping they will last us to the end of the week this time. They are super moist and full of goodness so I would say they are a success.
Suzanne
Oh, I didn’t know canned pumpkin was an American thing. You must have really worked hard to cook that whole pumpkin! These look delicious for another road trip we are about to take. These could make for nice “car food”! Thank you, I pinned it.
It’s possible pumpkin puree exists in a larger supermarket perhaps but I decided to struggle with the beast instead of driving around. Once the cutting part is over, it’s a breeze. I boiled it and put the flesh in a food processor and voila – pumpkin puree. They would be great on a road trip.
Suzanne
These look great! Love the addition of apple and pumpkin puree. Although I would have to leave the wheat-germ out to make them gluten-free.
Oh, of course you would have to leave it out. Thanks, I must amend that above. The wheatgerm was an afterthought.
Suzanne
Oh I love anything pumpkin! These granola bars look perfect (and not dry at all, like some I’ve seen). I’d love to try these!
They are definitely not dry – very moist in fact. There’s really no reason for granola bars to be dry when there are such wonderful binders as applesauce, bananas, pureed dates and pumpkin. Do try them.
Suzanne
I would love to make my own granola bars since I have stopped buying the commercial brands because of all of the yucky stuff in them. Thanks for sharing.
Here’s an easy way to make the puree:
https://cookingripe.wordpress.com/2012/09/26/homemade-pumpkin-puree/
Granola bars are so easy to put together and well worth the little effort, Betsie. I think you will be pleased with the results of this recipe.
Suzanne
This is just the snack I was looking for! I will make a double batch today for mine and the kids snacks next week.
Thanks so much for sharing.
Gwen, this is a great base for a variety of different bars depending on the nuts and fruit you use. Enjoy the bars.
Suzanne
Hello!
I was wondering if there might be a substitute for the brown sugar (just trying to keep it low sugar/no added sugar). Is it something that can be left out? Or could I use unsweetened coconut?
Thanks!
Megan
Absolutely. I changed to refined sugar-free three months ago and now all my baking uses natural sweeteners. I would leave out the brown sugar and add a few tablespoonfuls of honey or date puree. Add it according to your own personal taste until it seems right for you. To make the date puree, soak some dates in hot water for a few hours and then process them to a paste in a mini food processor. It’s a brilliant sweetener. Definitely use unsweetened coconut. We don’t have the sweetened version here in New Zealand. Good luck!