Well, the weather here is officially the worst. I haven’t been outside in three days now… but on the plus side, my stir-craziness has me baking up a storm. Yesterday it was banana muffins and potato-crusted quiche. Today I’ve made another quiche and these pumpkin oatmeal bars–so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share the recipe with you!
Like my applesauce spice bars, this is a recipe from one of my old (now defunct blogs). It’s been one of our favorite fall and winter breakfasts for quite a while. Is there any better way to start a cold day than with a cozy, pumpkin-spiced breakfast? And it’s healthy, too, with fiber from the oats, a whole cup of pumpkin, and just a touch of maple syrup.
We usually like to top these oats with plain yogurt and walnuts or pecans. However, they’re also good with flavored yogurt, nut butter, raisins, and lots of other toppings!
This recipe was originally adapted from Southern In-Law’s recipe for banana bread baked oatmeal. However, you definitely don’t want to skip the sweetener in this version as pumpkin isn’t naturally sweet like banana.
But let’s get onto the recipe!
Healthy Baked Pumpkin Oatmeal
Makes 9 gluten-free snack bars or 6 breakfast slices
Ingredients:
- 1 c. pumpkin puree
- 1 1/4 c. milk*
- 1 egg
- 1/3 c. maple syrup or honey**
- 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla
- 1 1/2 c. oats
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
Instructions:
- Preheat your oven to 350F and grease or line an 8″x8″ or 9″x9″ square baking tin.
- Mix pumpkin, milk, egg, syrup or honey, and vanilla in a large bowl.
- Then, add the oats, baking soda, powder, and pumpkin pie spice. Add all of the dry ingredients at the same time, then mix, to ensure even incorporation into the batter.
- Let sit for 15 minutes to allow the oats to absorb some liquid.
- Pour into the tin and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Pumpkin oatmeal keeps for 4-5 days in the fridge. Bars or slices can be individually frozen.
Notes:
*I usually use lactose-free dairy milk, however non-dairy milks will also work.
**If the honey you’re working with is very thick, melt it in the microwave first to make mixing easier.
I’d love to know, what have you been cooking lately? And how do you deal when you can’t go outside, for whatever reason?
This evening I’m planning to organize the office, do some yoga, and maybe watch a few nature documentaries of tropical, faraway places… at least I can be there in my dreams! 😛