I love granola. I do not, however, love hugging trees. I like to look at them and have them in my yard, but I don’t enjoy wrapping my arms around them. They’re pokey. So, the moral of the story is…you can love granola without hugging a tree. Amen.
If you love granola, you have to love granola bars. It’s just the natural progression of things. It makes sense. If you love pumpkin AND you love granola bars then it also makes sense that you would love pumpkin granola bars. See how it works? If you love pumpkin and you love fried pickles, chances are you would love pumpkin fried pickles. No, wait – that does not work. Just cancel out my entire train of logical thinking.
I whipped these up using some pumpkin I had in the refrigerator. I used part of the can to make Pumpkin Syrup and one should never let the rest of the can go to waste. The batter is stiff and a bit hard to stir but persevere…oh, and you might accidentally stir some out onto the counter. Pick it up when no one is looking and put it back into the bowl. *Cough*
You’ll have to pack the mixture down into the pan. Trying to use a stirring spoon isn’t really helpful. I just wet down my washed hands a bit and use them to pack it into the pan. Worked like a charm.
The pecans are a nice touch in this recipe, but if you hate pecans then leave them out…or substitute a nut you do like. We’re equal opportunity nut lovers in this house.
Also, if your husband is fasting chocolate as a sacrifice while he prays over our country, then you might not want to add chocolate chips to the recipe…or you can “accidentally” forget and add them anyway so that you can eat the whole pan by yourself. *Cough* Sorry, God.
Since this recipe uses flour, the texture of the bars is a bit more like a dense Baked Oatmeal or an Oatmeal Raisin Cookie…and really, how can you go wrong with something like that?
Put them on one of your pretty china plates while you eat them…enjoy your coffee. And pray for forgiveness for using chocolate. I said I was sorry. Sheesh.
Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars
- 2 cups rolled oats
- 1 cup white wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup raisins
- ¼ cup chopped pecans
- ½ cup sucanat/brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 tablespoon vanilla
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1 egg
- ½ cup sour cream
- Grease a 9×13 baking pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a mixing bowl, combine oats, flour, baking powder, chocolate chips, raisins, nuts, sucanat/brown sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Stir.
- Add egg, sour cream, pumpkin, and vanilla. Stir until combined. It will be stiff.
- Pack down into pan using damp hands.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes or until browned to your desire.
Great recipe. I actually ‘doctored’ it a bit.
First, I don’t tend to keep sour cream in my kitchen so I used plain yoghurt instead.
Second, I have a preference for a granola bar more like a kind bar than the cake texture so I completely omitted the flour. I did however grind up a 1/2 cup of the listed rolled oats though. Also to keep it from being crumbly I wanted to use a liquid sweetener instead of the dry so I used maple syrup instead of sugar.
I will definitely make it again
So, you just made your own recipe! 🙂 Way to go! Glad I helped inspire you.
Hi Stacy
I tried these and they are great…my 8-year-old and I made them together. I substituted yoghurt for the sour cream and used flax seed instead of using egg (1tbsp flax + 3 tbsp water). I also steamed and then crushed pumpkin instead of using the canned type.
I love using flax! 🙂 It’s super yummy.
It was a cold summer day today, and I NEEDED pumpkin spice, but had no pumpkin.
I boiled a sweet potato and mashed it up instead. After the dry ingredients were mixed, I noticed that I was out of eggs. Then it started raining harder and I decided against running to the store.
As I pulled them from the oven, I realized that I had forgotten to add the sugar.
Even with these scatterbrain errors of mine, they were delicious.
Next time I’ll try to follow the recipe accurately!
Hi Stacy, these look delicious. Do you have any idea what the calorie count is per bar? Thanks
No – I don’t do calorie counting…but I have some friends who calculate easily using My Fitness Pal. 🙂 Hope that helps!
Stacey, I’d like to try this, but what can you use for a substitute for sour cream? I have to do dairy free in my home. Thanks!
I would try almond milk or soy yogurt.
Can you omit or substitute the eggs? I’d like to make these vegan.
I have never tried that.
Can quick oats be used?
Sure!
Just took them out of the oven! How long do we have to wait to EAT them??? Haha. It smells delicious in here!
Dig in!
I substituted sour cream with non-fat plain greek yogurt, omitted the chocolate chips and raisins, and added cinnamon and clove to the recipe. It’s great!
I’m so glad!
Could you use greek yogurt in place of the sour cream?
Sure! That’s a fabulous sub. 🙂
I made these yesterday and my boyfriend who is not a pumpkin fan asked for a second batch. Thanks 🙂
SCORE! 🙂 Homemade for the win!
My 9 year old who says the only thing good about pumpkin is pie tried one last night and said they are delicious! Thanks again for the recipe I will be making these a lot around here 🙂 I froze my batches as although they are good we don’t need to eat the whole pan at once 🙂 they taste just as good that way!
Wow….we must eat a lot more than y’all. LOL One pan doesn’t last long here. 🙂
If I don’t freeze them the whole pan would get eaten in one day. I freeze them to make sure they last a little longer. And my boyfriend says they taste just as good frozen 🙂
I should try that same method with chocolate syrup.
How do you store them? On the counter or fridge? Also, do they freeze well? I made a double batch, but my 2 yr old and 5 yr old ate half a pan already! 🙂 Giving some to a friend to share the love, and wanna freeze the rest. YUM!
I’ve never frozen granola bars. I’ve always just kept mine out at room temperature…that being said, they never last long here. I would refrigerate before I would freeze. 🙂
Yes Stacy, you are right, the flours are not the same between countries. My granola bars, now look like yours do in your picture. It was the addition of baking powder that made me think it must be plain flour. When I looked on the net, at baking sites with this information, it’s not the same between countries.
If the girls in Oz, stick to SR Flour, it will turn out for them. They may not need to add the additonal baking powder, but I did when I made it.
That is SO strange. You’d think flour would be universal. Oh well…I’m glad you figured it out and shared it here! 🙂
Hi Thanks Helen, I am a Texan living in Oz and I figured the flour would be the same, so thank you for your comment and help
Hi Stacy,
We adore these. Thank you so much for a great recipe. You may wish to note for Australian readers that the best flour to use is Self Raising Flour. The first time I made them, I used plain. We still ate them, as the flavour was delicious.
Today I made them again and used Self Raising Flour, and they are fabulous.
They are also lovely with some dried apricot added if you don’t have enough of other fruit!
Love the new look to your site. Congratulations!
I didn’t use self rising flour in them. 😉 I’m glad you like them!!! I just used white wheat flour and that’s why I have the addition of baking powder. Self-rising flour already has baking powder in it…at least here in the States. Maybe it’s different there?
I am an avid fan of home-made granola bars and I can’t wait to try your variation!! Can I leave the office and pretend to be sick for the rest of the afternoon?? [Insert “Sorry Lord”] – seeee… we all need to say Sorry every now and again…
You are sick…sick for granola bars! It totally works.
One way to make this recipe GLUTEN FREE: For the 1 C. of flour use one cup of all purpose gluten free flour. I used 1 C. of Bob’s Redmill All Purpose because that is what I had on hand. But I think millet or sourghum would work well too. Try whatever you have on hand. Except do not use Tapioca all by it self or it might be like rubber. 🙂 Also, add 1/2 teaspoon of xanthum gum. I actually just pulled ours out of the oven and they turn out great. They are staying together well which is one of the major problems you have to over come when trying gluten free. I hope this helps!
Thanks Brooke!!!
Stacey I made a double batch! I am going to freeze half of it, I can not wait to try it. I also modified the recipe to be gluten free…we shall see. 🙂 Thank you for sharing this!
If you don’t mind, could you come back and leave your gluten free notes here in the comments so that everyone can see them? Thanks! 🙂 It’s a big help to my readers and I appreciate it!
oh, I have a pumpkin to roast and puree today and I was thinking I’d make these instead of our typical granola bars since pumpkin is one of the 3 fruits my husband can have (I guess it’s a gourd though actually, huh?),- until I got to the line about there being flour in it. I may have to try it with rice flour instead.
Let us know how it works out, Loni! I always love your experiments! 🙂
Yummy!
In the tummy…
I will be making these this week! They look amazing!
Thank you Stacy for another wonderful dish…(we are making the Moroccan Chicken tonight)…=)
I hope you love them both! 🙂
I have these in the oven as I type this! I had to use white chocolate chips though because I’m out of regular. I’m looking forward to tasting it. I’m about to find me a pumpkin latte recipe to make for me to drink with it.
Dude…I’m nervous. Did you like them?
So really, last night I was thinking that I really wanted some baked oatmeal then I get up this moning and read this post!! It was definitely God saying that I should have some! 🙂 You said that the consistency was similar to baked oatmeal…soooo…I HAD to try it! I LOVED it!! The white chocolate chips were wonderful in it but I’ll have to make more when I get some regular ones! My pumpkin latte was a flop (I was too lazy to get the blender out like a lot of recipes said) so I just ate more of the bars to make up for it!
That’s my kind of mess up…when you mess up and it involves MORE granola bars – well, I think that wasn’t a mess up at all. 😉
This sounds delicious! I’ve never made granola, but am wondering if there is a way to make it without flour, or is that like the ‘glue’ that holds it together?
It just makes these a different consistency. You could try it without the flour, but they’re likely to be crumbly…but then just sock it into a bowl with some yogurt and magic will happen! 🙂