Pumpkin Oats Bars

Pumpkin Oats Bars

Oat bars are a delicious go-to snack that can be enjoyed any time of the day. They make for a great post-workout treat or quick breakfast and serve as a quick energy boost between meals. It's sure to be a tasty pick-me-up whenever you choose to enjoy an oat bar and when made at home, they're easy to customize to your taste preferences. Eager to create a homemade oat bar loaded with all of the health benefits you want? This guide will show you how to make our favorite Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars. All you have to do is follow the steps below.

Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars

If pumpkin oat bars sound like something your family would enjoy, we encourage you to try out the recipe below. Easy to make and loaded with good-for-you ingredients, they're the ideal snack to munch on. These bars are also gluten free making them a Celiac-friendly treat.

Pumpkin Pie Oat Bar Topping Ingredients

Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars Ingredients

  • 2 cups Water
  • 2 cups Skim Milk
  • 1/2 cup Brown Sugar
  • 2 Tbsp Pumpkin Pie Spice
  • 1 -1/4 cups Steel Cut Oats
  • 15 oz canned Pumpkin Pie Filling

Instructions

How to Make Pumpkin Pie Oat Bar Topping
  1. Combine Steel Cut Oats, pumpkin seeds and salt into a skillet.
  2. Toast the mixture over low heat until it is slightly browned.
  3. Sprinkle the topping over the bars.
  4. Cut immediately and serve.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars
  1. Spray the inside of a 9 x 9-inch pan with cooking spray and set to the side.
  2. Combine the milk, water, brown sugar and pumpkin pie in a saucepan and cook over high heat.
  3. Bring the mixture to a boil.
  4. Once boiling, lower the heat to medium and add the steel cut oats. Stir well.
  5. After 15-20 minutes, the oats will take on a creamy texture. Add the pumpkin pie filling and mix.
  6. Freeze the bars for 10 minutes until all of the ingredients have set.
  7. Add the crunchy topping and enjoy.

Tips for Making Homemade Oat Bars

If this recipe has inspired you to start making more homemade oat bars, then we've done our job! To help you create even more wholesome and healthy oat bars, we've rounded up a list of our most requested tips. Ensure that all of your future oat bar recipes are the ideal flavor and texture by following the list of tips below.

Use Correct Ratios

When making oat bars, there aren't many rules to follow. You can play around with the ingredients, the size and the flavor. However, there is one step that you should follow carefully: ratios. Most oat bars are built with wet and dry ingredients, and if the balance is off even slightly, you could end up with an oat soup or a crispy, flaky mess. Wondering what the correct ratio is? The percentage of wet to dry ingredients will vary based on the recipe, be sure to follow the recipe you've chosen and note any elements you're swapping in/out so that the ratio remains the same.

Used Rolled Oats

Granola bars are made with various ingredients, and those ingredients are ever-changing. However, there's one ingredient that we believe is always a part of a good granola bar recipe: rolled oats. Oats, a fundamental component of granola, are an ingredient that helps bind all of the other ingredients together. Their subtle nutty flavor works well with sweet and salty ingredients, and their chewy texture is tough enough to create a bar that will stay together during handling. When choosing the type of oats to use, make sure that you pick the right ones. While most oats can be used to make granola bars successfully, quick-cooking oats should be avoided. Because of their quick-cooking nature and unique milling process, they won't bind the ingredients together as well as rolled oats. Homemade toasted granola with oats, honey, walnuts, raisins, flax and sesame seeds in a wooden bowl

Toast the Ingredients Beforehand

To create an oat bar overflowing with flavor, try toasting the ingredients beforehand. It might not make sense to toast ingredients like chocolate or dried fruit. But, oats, seeds and nuts can always be toasted before mixing them into your bars. This will help dry them out and support the wet to dry ingredient ratio, and bring out their flavor, adding more depth to your oat bars. To toast the ingredients of your next bar, Spread the toastable ingredients onto a single layer baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350F. Once the oven has reached the correct temperature, place the ingredients into the oven for 10-15 minutes until they begin to brown and dry out.

Choose a Binder

A crucial step in the granola bar making process is choosing an ingredient that will help bind the rest together. The proper binder will ensure that your oat bars hold their shape until you're ready to use them. Plus, it will assist in the mixture of flavors and textures. When searching for the proper binder, you'll want to turn to wet ingredients. Though maple syrup will introduce a great taste to your bars, it doesn't hold up as well compared to other binding agents. Honey is another ingredient that will add a sweet stickiness to your bars, allowing them to remain sturdy during handling. Lastly, brown rice syrup is often used to create a bar that is sturdy enough to pack on the go. After choosing from the many different types of binders, toast any ingredients that require toasting and place all of your dry ingredients into a bowl. Then, for best results, add the binder and mix everything thoroughly to create a light coating over all ingredients.

Pay Attention to How You Pack Oat Bars

Choosing the right binding ingredient is the first step in creating oat bars that will stay together, but it's not the only one. Oat bars also require tight packing to ensure that the ingredients properly bind. Once all of the ingredients have been mixed, you'll need to pack them firmly into a dish or pan. When doing so, be sure to line the dish with parchment paper before adding all ingredients. This will ensure they don't stick once you try to pull them out. Once the parchment paper is on, spread the ingredients over the surface and start pressing into them firmly, guaranteeing that you get every inch. Though a tedious process, this step is undoubtedly worth the effort. Tip: If you find that the ingredients stick to your hands when packing down your bars, try wetting your hands a bit. This will help the ingredients release from them as you press and create evenly packed bars. A spatula or the bottom of a measuring cup can also be used to pack the ingredients down tightly.

Achieving the Right Oat Bar Texture

Tropical Fruit No Bake Granola Bar Choosing whether to make crunchy or chewy oat bars is a matter of preference. To ensure that you're successful in each, review the tips below.

For Crunchy Bars, Choose a Baked Recipe

The method you choose to create your oat bars will drastically affect the final texture. We recommend selecting a baked oat bar recipe if you're searching for a more crunchy result. Baking all the ingredients together helps them bind and produces that desired crunch. While the amount of baking time required will vary depending on the ingredients, most bars will begin to turn golden brown once they're done. Try out these delicious Whole Grain Cereal Bars for a crunchy oat bar recipe.

For Chewy Oat Bars, Choose a No-Bake Recipe

While baked recipes are notorious for adding a delicious crunch to oat bars, no-bake recipes will provide an equally desired chewiness. Most no-bake oat bars require time to set in the refrigerator for at least a few hours. This setting time allows the flavors to mix as the ingredients bind to each other. Placing the bars in the fridge will also enable the honey or chosen binder to firm up, ensuring that your bars remain intact once you slice them. Make these Tropical Fruit No-Bake Granola Bars for a chewy oat bar that doesn't require baking. If, after making these delicious Pumpkin Pie Oat Bars, you're inspired to make another batch, you're in luck. At Bob's Red Mill, oat bars have quickly become one of our favorite snacks, and we have the recipe book to prove it. Visit our online recipe book at bobsredmill.com to find more sweet oat bar recipes that your friends and family will go crazy for. From the Bob's Red Mill family to yours, happy baking! Do you enjoy making homemade oat bars? We'd love to hear about the delicious oat bar recipes you make regularly. Share your favorites with us in the comments below. We can't wait to hear from you.
Bob's Red Mill
April 30 2022

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