Fall pumpkin baking!! November 12, 2014

So I posted the recipe for the Pumpkin Almond/Maple Muffins (find the recipe here) I made this weekend, and here is the recipe for the bars - 

Pumpkin Granola Bars

INGREDIENTS:

• 4 cups quick oats
• 1/2 cup olive oil (or coconut oil)
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup honey
• 1&1/2 tsp pumpkin spice
• 1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (or mini dark chips)
• 1/4 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 1/4 cup pumpkin seeds
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds
• 2 Tbsp ground flax seeds 
• 2 Tbsp hemp hearts
• 2 Tbsp chia seeds

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and line a square baking pan with parchment paper. 

2. In a large bowl, mix together your oats and oil. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, honey and mix thoroughly. Add the remaining ingredients and stir to combine.

3. Press the mixture tightly into your prepared pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

4. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before cutting up. As a special treat, you can ice it with cream cheese (I recommend apple cinnamon!) and store it in an airtight container. 

MY RESULTS:

Again, I doubled the recipe and got a HUGE pan (9x13) of the mixture. There was so much I just cut it into squares like a dessert rather than having the traditional thin rectangular granola bar. Next time I think I will do just a single recipe in the large pan so that it will be thinner, and more like a traditional granola bar. 

Fall pumpkin baking!! November 9, 2014

Okay confession.....I have never baked with pumpkin or done anything with pumpkin before.

So this weekend, I decided to make some fall bars and muffins with all the pumpkin I had baked Saturday afternoon after our grocery run and various other errands. 

Okay so after all was said and done, it was all DELICIOUS!!!

So of course I needed to share the recipes and my results!

Let's start with the muffins - 

Pumpkin Almond/Maple Muffins

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/3 cup melted coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
• 1/2 cup honey or maple syrup (if you want a maple flavour)
• 2 eggs, at room temperature 
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup milk of choice (I used almond milk)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp vanilla extract 
• 1 tsp almond extract (if going for the almond flavour)
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon, plus more for sprinkling on top
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp allspice or cloves
• 1&3/4 cup whole wheat flour (I used multigrain)
• 1/3 cup old-fashioned oats

ADDITIONAL MIX-INS:

• Mini chocolate chips (I recommend dark)
• Chopped dried cranberries
• Chopped nuts (almonds, pecans, walnuts)
• Hemp hearts
• Chia seeds
• Ground flax seeds
• Raw pumpkin seeds
• Sunflower seeds
• Etc.

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Line your muffin tin with muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, beat the oil and honey or maple syrup together with a whisk. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in the pumpkin puree and milk, followed by the baking soda, vanilla extract, almond extract, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice or cloves. 

3. Add the flour and oats to the bowl and mix with a large spoon, just until combined. If you'd like to add any additional mix-ins, fold them in now. 

4. Divide the batter evenly between your muffin cups. For these muffins, it's okay to fill the cups a little higher than you normally would. Sprinkle the tops of the muffins with a little cinnamon. Bake muffins for 23 to 26 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Place the muffin tin on a cooling rack. These muffins are delicate until they cool down so it's best to wait until they are cool to remove them from the tin. Enjoy muffins as is or with a spread of regular or nut butter. 

MY RESULTS:

I doubled the muffin recipe and got 3 dozen muffins, of medium size which I found to be the perfect portion. With the hemp hearts and coconut oil it helps keep you full while the honey/maple syrup keep your blood sugar from spiking suddenly. Perfect portion control, perfect for regulating blood sugar (great for me with PCOS!). 

Stay tuned for the bars recipe tomorrow:

Pumpkin Granola Bars!