Pumpkin Seed Granola Bars for #PumpkinWeek 2015

Welcome to #PumpkinWeek day 5! Last day. Hosted by Terri from Love and Confections, nineteen bloggers will be sharing nearly seventy pumpkin-filled recipes over the course of the week. Be sure to come back every day to see all the delicious creations - from muffins to cakes, cocktails, breakfast baked goods, savory pastas and stews, and gluten-free recipes, too. You can also find these great recipes and more on Love and Confections' #PumpkinWeek Pinterest Board!

#PumpkinWeek day 5 recipes:

• Gluten Free Pumpkin Brownies from Gluten Free Crumbley
• No Bake Pumpkin Cheesecake Parfait from {i love} my disorganized life
• Pumpkin Bread from My Catholic Kitchen
• Pumpkin Cake with Salted Caramel Icing from The Redhead Baker
• Pumpkin Cheesecake Mousse from Recipes Food and Cooking
• Pumpkin Chicken Pot Pie from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Pumpkin Focaccia Bread from Making Miracles
• Pumpkin Fudge from Feeding Big and more
• Pumpkin Magic Custard Cake from Love and Confections
• Pumpkin Pie Pots de Creme with Maple Cinnamon Whipped Cream from The Crumby Cupcake
• Pumpkin Seed Granola Bars from Culinary Adventures with Camilla
• Pumpkin Spice Latte Overnight Oats from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
• Reeses Pieces Pumpkin Cheesecake from Kudos Kitchen by Renee

I vowed to stop buying granola bars this school year. I was tired of the wrappers and they are so, so easy to make. Every Sunday night, the Enthusiastic Kitchen Elf and I whip up a batch of granola bars for the week. This week, in honor of #PumpkinWeek2015, we decided to add some pumpkin flair to the batch. Yum, yum, yum.

Ingredients

• 2 C old-fashioned rolled oats
• 1/2 C pumpkin seeds
• 1 C sliced almonds
• 1/2 C flaxseed meal
• 1 T chia seeds
• 1 T hemp seeds
• 1/2 C ginger syrup
• 1/4 C organic coconut sugar
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T pumpkin puree (how to make pumpkin puree: version 1, version 2)
• 1/2 t ground cinnamon
• 1/4 t ground nutmeg
• 1/4 t ground cardamom
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 t kosher salt
• 1-1/2 C mixed dried fruits (we used dried cranberries, golden raisins, shredded coconut, and chopped dried figs)

Procedure

Grease a square baking dish and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. On a parchment-lined baking sheet, spread the oats, pumpkin seeds, almonds, flaxseed, chia seeds, and hemp seeds. Place in the oven and toast for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes so nothing burns.

In the meantime, combine the ginger syrup, sugar, olive oil, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract, spices, and salt in a medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until the sugar has completely dissolved.

Once the oat mixture is nicely toasted, remove it from the oven and reduce the heat to 300 degrees F. Add the oat mixture to the ginger syrup mixture, fold in the dried fruit, and stir to combine. 

Scoop mixture out into the prepared baking dish and press down with the bottom of another baking dish, with your hands, or with a spatula.

Place in the oven to bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely. Cut into squares. These will keep for about a week in an airtight container.