Chewy Pumpkin Spice Granola Bars

In honor of fall arriving, I like to incorporate more pumpkin into my diet. I wanted something healthy, sweet and easy that also used pumpkin. I adapted this from this recipe, from here and it is super easy. Now I have breakfast for the whole week! These are also gluten free, so we will see if Anne likes them.

1 1/2 cups oats
1/2 cup oat flour (if you don't have oat flour, just put 1/2 cup of oats in a food processor and ground till fine)
1 tsp. cinnamon
1-1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves essentially)
1/4 tsp. salt
2/3 cup pumpkin (I gave the rest of the can to the dogs, they were appreciative)
1/3 cup agave nectar
3 tbsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. vanilla
1/3 cup slivered almonds
1/3 cup carob chips
1/3 cup dried cranberries

Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, and  salt. Toss the ingredients well mixed.

In another mixing bowl, combine pumpkin puree, agave nectar, maple syrup, and vanilla. Whisk until smooth and add to dry ingredients. Stir until dry ingredients are mixed into the wet ingredients.

Then fold in the carob, almonds, and dried cranberries. Grease a 9×9 pan and transfer the granola bar mixture into the pan. Press the granola mixture into the pan so it is even. Bake for twenty minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing them into bars.