PUMPKIN-OAT BARS (GLUTEN FREE)

Steps:

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8x11, or two 9 inch round, baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
• Make oat flour: Place oatmeal in blender or food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles coarse flour. You may need to stop blender and stir oats a couple of times to ensure that all oats have been blended. NOTE: oats are measured before you processes them.
• In a large bowl mix oats, brown sugar, salt, spices, baking powder, and baking soda. Make a well in the dry ingredients and add the pumpkin, apple sauce, oil, and vanilla. Combine until mixed well. NOTE: the batter should be looser than cookie dough but thicker than cake batter. If your batter is too thick add a little water 1/4 cup at a time until it looks right.
• Gently fold in chocolate chips, raisins, and/or nuts.
• Pour batter into prepared pans and gently smooth top. Bake for 35-45 minutes, or until knife inserted into center comes out clean. Timing will depend on what size pan you use, but definitely check around 30 minutes.
• Once out of the oven drizzle the top with maple syrup (optional). It soaks in so they wont be super sticky.
• NOTES:.
• You can use "old fashioned" or "quick" rolled oats. Use Gluten-free oats only if you want to avoid gluten.
• Try white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips, cinnamon chips, or even butterscotch chips.
• On occasion I've substituted part of the oats with granola cereal (processed into flour) with good results.
• Next I want to experiment with using pureed butternut or zucchini squash in place of the pumpkin because pumpkin is more difficult to find outside the holidays.