Okay.  PUMPKIN.  I heard last week that there may be a shortage of canned pumpkin across the US- NOOOOOOOOOO!!  We haven’t even hit November yet people!!  I mean…national CRISIS.  I’m going to keep my fingers crossed that that doesn’t happen.  (And I’ll also keep hoarding the pumpkin every time I go to the store.)  If need be I can sell it on the black pumpkin market.

So far these bars have been a HIT.  I found this cranberry/seed/coconut mix at Trader Joe’s and decided to throw some into the batter as well as on top, and let me tell you – that was a GOOD decision.   I decided to name them Power bars because of the “super” seed element I added in.  Hehehe.  Super bars just sounds weird. 🙂

I found the original recipe on Ambitious Kitchen and adapted it from there, and I’m really loving this super seed blend! It’s great on smoothie bowls as well and just gives a little nutritious crunch to things.

So, hurry to the store and stock up on pumpkin!!  Next weekend I want to work on some pumpkin chili!  🙂

• 3 cups of gluten free oats
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
• pinch of ground cloves
• 1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil melted
• 1/4 cup cranberry seed mixture and 1/4 cup for sprinkling on top
• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips, plus 2 tablespoons for sprinkling on top

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray 8×11 or 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Make oat flour: Place oatmeal into blender or food processor and blend for 1-2 minutes until oatmeal resembles flour. You may need to stop blender and stir oats a couple of times to ensure that all oats have been blended.
3. Measure out just 2 1/2 cups of the oat flour and place in a medium bowl. Whisk in  baking soda, salt and spices; set aside.
4. In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin, sugar, vanilla extract, oil, and applesauce for 1-2 minutes until the consistency is smooth and creamy. Slowly add in oat flour mixture and mix until just combined.
5. Gently fold in 1/3 cup of chocolate chips and the cranberry nut mixture. Make sure to SPRAY the pan or the cupcake holders so that they don’t stick.  Pour batter into prepared pan and sprinkle remaining 2 tablespoons of chocolate chips on top.  NOTE – I actually waited to sprinkle both the mixture and the chocolate chips on until AFTER they were done.  Then they got a little melty and gorgeous while they were still hot and cooling, so you may try that. Bake for 15-25 minutes or until knife inserted into center comes out clean or with just a few crumbs.