Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars Packed for Later

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars Packed for Later keeps the shopping list focused on dates, rolled oats ground in a food processor, and ground flaxseed. It serves 10 bars.

Count on 8 minutes of prep, 15 minutes of cooking, about 23 minutes from the first measurement to the plate.

Ingredients Method

What goes in the bowl

• 12 dates
• 2 ½ cups rolled oats ground in a food processor
• ¼ cup ground flaxseed
• ¼ cup wheat bran
• 2 ½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
• 3 tablespoons maple syrup
• ½ cup pumpkin puree
• ⅓ cup pumpkin seeds roasted, salted
• ½ cup raisins or dried cherries
• 2 tablespoons water

How the cooking goes

1. Heat the oven to 350°F non-convection. The goal is not to brown the bars, so you do not use the convection function.
2. Line an 8-inch square baking dish with crisscrossed baking paper. You secure the edges with binder clips to keep the paper in place while pressing the bars and during baking. Just be sure the binder clips have no plastic components.
3. In a food processor, process the rolled oats until finely ground. Add dates, ground flaxseeds, wheat bran spices, salt and coconut oil to the food processor. Process until finely ground. You want to make sure the dates are in small pieces.
4. Put maple syrup and pumpkin puree to food processor. Process until a smooth ball forms. It will make a paste and then come together in a ball.
5. Scrape from the food processor into a bowl. Stir in roasted, salted pumpkin seeds and raisins.
6. Press into prepared baking dish.
7. Bake in preheated oven for approximately 12-15 minutes or until the top of the bars looks matte. They will brown slightly. Be careful not to overbake or the bars will dry. Technically they do not need to be baked, so you could press them into the prepared baking dish then then chill to set prior to cutting into bars.
8. Cool completely and cut into bars. You slice one side in half and the rotate the bars a quarter turn. You slice each half into 5 bars. You can do whatever suits your fancy! You find it easier to remove them from the pan prior to cutting.

After it comes off the heat

Give the plate the rest the method asks for. Cover leftovers and refrigerate them when the dish includes meat, eggs, or dairy.

If you want another plate from Pumpkin, open Pumpkin Desserts with a Clear Method and Pumpkin Spice for the Baking Jar.