My Toffee Cinnamon Oatmeal Cookie Bar recipe seems to be the hit of the season so far on the blog. I’ve had quite a few questions about how to make the bars oil-free, so I figured it was a good opportunity to play around with the recipe. Pumpkin naturally lends moisture to baked goods and I’m happy to say it worked well as an oil replacement in this recipe. I’m also guessing the same amount of mashed banana might work too, but when in pumpkin season…#pumpkinallthethings! I added some pumpkin pie spices to enhance the pumpkin flavour. The result is a much lighter and softer/cake-y bar compared to the original recipe, but the upshot is that these feel light enough for a morning snack. Or at least I sure hope so because I’ve been nibbling away at them each morning when I try to decide what to make for my actual breakfast.
I know some of you also asked about a nut-free option, so I tried a couple versions subbing the almond flour. I didn’t create anything worthy of sharing yet (my trials using oat flour + arrowroot powder and sorghum flour were both drier than I would have liked). Maybe I would have better luck adapting the original recipe with coconut oil? Be sure to leave a comment and let us know if you had any success. I’ll also let you know if I test a nut-free version worth sharing!
My favourite way to enjoy these pumpkin bars is to spread some vegan butter on top (similar to how I love freshly baked muffins!). I guess that defeats the whole oil-free thing, but it sure is tasty. They would also be awesome with my Lightened Up Pecan Pumpkin Butter. I stashed a bunch of the squares in the freezer and found that they freeze well too.
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Pumpkin Oatmeal Anytime Squares
Yield
9-12 squares
Prep time
Cook time
Total time
Soft and muffin-like in texture, these oil-free pumpkin oatmeal bars are light enough for breakfast and all your snacking needs.
Ingredients
- 1 flax egg: (1 tablespoon ground flax mixed with 3 tablespoons water)
- 1/2 cup unsweetened canned pumpkin purée
- 3/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt or pink Himalayan sea salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats, ground into a flour (Or use 3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon oat flour)
- 3/4 cup gluten-free rolled oats
- 3/4 cup almond flour (not almond meal)
- 1 tablespoon arrowroot powder (for enhanced binding)
- 1/2 cup pecan halves, chopped
- 2 tablespoons mini non-dairy chocolate chips, for garnish
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350F and line an 8-inch square pan with parchment paper.
- Mix flax egg in a small bowl or mug and set aside to thicken for about 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, beat the pumpkin and sugar with electric beaters until combined.
- Pour in the flax egg and vanilla extract and beat until combined.
- Add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and beat again.
- Finally add in the oat flour, rolled oats, almond flour, arrowroot flour, and pecans. Beat until combined.
- Spoon dough into prepared pan and spread out until smooth and even. The dough will be very sticky, but this is normal. I like to cover the dough with a piece of parchment paper and roll it with a pastry roller. Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top and press down.
- Bake for 15-19 minutes (I baked for 18 minutes), until lightly golden and firm to the touch. Be sure not to overbake.
- Place pan on a cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then, lift out and place square directly on cooling rack for another 10-20 minutes, until cool. Slice and enjoy! The bars will crumble slightly if sliced warm, but they firm up nicely when cooled.
Tip:
Tips: 1) Instead of coconut sugar, you can try using Sucanat or natural cane sugar. Also, if you'd like a less sweet square you can try reducing the sugar a bit. 2) To make the freshly ground oat flour, add 3/4 cup rolled oats into a high speed blender. Blend on high until a fine flour forms. You can also simply use store-bought oat flour (3/4 cup + 1 tablespoon should do it).
Nutrition Information
(click to expand)
These look absolutely amazing and sound like the most perfect fall treat. Can’t wait to eat these anytime and all the time! Thanks for another awesome recipe!
They are the perfect Fall treat! So much better than all that Halloween candy. Should I be handing these out instead of Halloween treats? Part of me says yes yes yes! And perhaps I should add a toothbrush to the goody bags. At least I’d be popular with the parents…..
They look like the perfect treat to snack on…and so healthy! SoI can have extra :) Pinned!
Super YUMMAY! I love your toffee-oat-chocolate-chip-amazing bars. I’ve made them a few times now and they seem to taste better each time I make them!
I will definitely have to add these ones to my “to make” list, too. They sound delish! I think I like your idea of spreading pumpkin butter on top, too.
*drool*
Hey Cassie, So happy you are enjoying the toffee bars! Thanks for your feedback.
This look great! I love all things made into bars. Thank you for sharing. I haven’t tried your toffee bars yet but from what I hear, they are a hit!
Ha! Loving the name of these AND they sound delicious. Great recipe.
these sound awesome!
I don’t like the GI of coconut sugar, how much date sugar do you think would need to be used?
Can you replace sugar with maple syrup, if so how much? Can coconut flour be used instead of almond flour? These look delicious, I love pumpkin season!!
These look delicious, thank you for all your posts, Angela…it makes my day to read new ones!
And, great question, Ann re: maple syrup replacing sugar. I would definitely be interested on hearing if anyone tries that. Will post if I do.
Happy Fall.
I made these squares with 1/2 cup maple syrup and no sugar and they turned out great. Maybe a little like bread pudding until refrigerated. Thank you, Angela!
I just made these with coconut flour instead of the almond flour because that was what I had on-hand. Seems to have been an even substitution. Tasty!
Im glad it worked out for you! :)
Hi ANn,
Did you try them with coconut flour? I would like to do the same thing. Thanks!
Hi Ann
You can replace some of the sugar with maple syrup! I would suggest swapping 25% of the sugar for Maple syrup. The extra moisture in the dough will be removed once baked with the added benefit of a subtle fall maple flavor. Maple syrup is less sweet than sugar so you will end up with a healthier square as well.
Chef Del Cook
Hi there,
It’s so funny that you posted this because I’d been loving your toffee bars, but wanted a pumpkin version, so actually mixed your toffee bar recipe with Chocolate Covered Katie’s pumpkin chocolate chip bar recipe – I used your almond/oat flour instead of her spelt flour, and they came out alright – but now that you have it down without coconut oil, they’ll probably taste great. A suggestion then for those who want a nut-free recipe is to use spelt flour – 1 1/2 cups. I made that recipe, too, to test the differences, and it came out nicely.
Thanks so much for the nut-free suggestion. So you double the spelt flour in place of almond flour or do you use 3/4 spelt (in place of her 3/4 almond) and then her recommended oat flour? OR do you just use the 1.5c spelt and don’t use oat/almond flour. Thanks for clarifying!!
Oh wow, these look amazing! Pumpkin + oatmeal always = delicious!
I’m allergic to nuts, can something else be used instead of the pecans?
Pumpkin seeds!! :)
Okay, literally, I was JUST looking for a pumpkin granola bar-ish recipe yesterday. I kept thinking to myself “Should I ask Angela to invent one? No, I don’t want to bother her – she’s a new mom.”
Lo and behold….!! You read my mind!
I’m so excited! Thank you so much for this recipe. I cannot get enough pumpkin or Fall smells/flavors. Love it! Thank you again!
These look wonderful, Angela!
You had me at pumpkin! I immediately drawn to ANY recipe this time of year that involves pumpkin! Hope the baby’s doing well!
I have 4 cans of pumpkin puree waiting to be used and recipes marked… I’ll just add this one to the list!
I think the oil is the best part, actually! I’d like to see a low carb version of it. :)
Yes, #pumpkininallthings is right up my alley! I can’t keep my hands off any pumpkin around autumn. These look delicious and are definitely on my to do list now! What is it about fresh pumpkin puree that is so irresistable that you simply want to eat it all day long? I bet it would be amazing baby food as well whenever small Adriana is ready to eat :D Lots of love!
I bought a pumkpin some days ago and I didnt know what to do with it..now I know! :D delicious!
btw, I also post some recipes in my Blog, maybe someone would also be interested on them ;) thanks
Mmm, these look amazing! I made your toffee squares and subbed buckwheat flour (which is gluten-free) for the almond flour and used a mashed banana to cut down on the coconut oil.
Here is the modified recipe: http://talesofa30somethingnothing2010.blogspot.ca/2014/09/lunchbox-friendly-chocolate-chip-toffee.html