Pumpkin oatmeal cookie bars - these easy vegan oat snack bars are flavoured with pumpkin spice and pumpkin puree and filled with chocolate chips and nuts for a filling, satisfying snack.
They are simple to make in just one bowl with basic ingredients and are incredibly moreish!
Based on my vegan oatmeal cookie bars recipe, this spiced pumpkin version is perfect for Autumn snacking!
They are quick and easy to make and they taste like Autumn in a bar! The oats and nuts make them very satisfying and filling so they are perfect for fueling a hike or workout, or just enjoy them with a cup of tea or coffee.
Ingredient Details:
Tinned pumpkin puree: You need to use pure pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling. It is available from many larger supermarkets in the UK, or online. See instructions below for how to make your own.
Oats: Use regular rolled porridge oats, not jumbo ones. I use supermarket own brand.
Plain flour: Just regular plain (all-purpose) flour is best here. I haven't tried making these gluten-free and suspect that they would be overly crumbly.
Vegan butter: Please, for the love of holy baking, use a block butter/margarine to make these cookie bars, not the spreadable kind in a tub.
The spreadable kind contains too much water and may make your cookies too cakey. You may be able to get away with using coconut oil instead, though bear in mind I haven't tested it.
Light brown sugar: Light brown soft sugar provides moisture and flavour. Muscovado will also work, as will dark brown soft sugar. I don't recommend using white sugar or a liquid sweetener (such as maple syrup) as that will affect the texture.
Pumpkin spice: In the UK this is readily available online and you can also make your own; alternatively you can use individual spices - I recommend cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
Chocolate chips: You can also use roughly chopped dark chocolate.
Pecans or walnuts: I think that pecans and/or walnuts work particularly well here but feel free to use any other kind of nut.
How To Make Pumpkin Puree:
I used tinned pumpkin puree to make these pumpkin streusel muffins which I get from Sainsbury’s; it can also be found in some Tesco’s, Waitrose and on Ocado and Amazon. In the supermarkets it is often hidden away in a little ‘American section’ in the world foods aisles.
If you can’t find it however it is also really easy to make your own; you just need to halve, de-seed and roast an eating pumpkin (NOT a carving one) or a butternut squash until it is tender then scoop the flesh out of the skin and puree it until smooth.
Roast it at around 200C/400F/gas mark 6. The time it takes will very much depend on how large the pumpkin/squash is so just cook it until the flesh can easily be pierced with a fork.
I don’t recommend boiling the pumpkin to cook it as that will make the puree too wet.
Top Tips:
USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
Tablespoon and teaspoon measurements are for standard measuring spoons, NOT regular kitchen spoons. A Tablespoon is 15ml and a teaspoon is 5ml.
I recommend chilling the baked bars in the fridge for a couple of hours before slicing them, this will help you to get neat slices.
Variations:
- Swap the chocolate chips for dried cranberries.
- Add in some pumpkin seeds
- Swap some of the pumpkin spice for ground ginger and add in some chopped crystallised ginger.
- Drizzle the baked bars with melted chocolate.
FAQ's:
Store these pumpkin oatmeal cookie bars in an airtight container in the fridge. While they will technically keep at room temperature they are quite crumbly, storing them in the fridge helps to keep them together. They will keep for about a week.
Yes. Wrap them well to avoid freezer burn and freeze for up to 3 months. Allow to defrost at room temperature or in the fridge to serve.
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Vegan Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 125 g (½ cup) pumpkin puree
- 120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter melted
- 175 g (1 cup) light brown soft sugar
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda)
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 150 g (1 + ⅔ cup) porridge oats/rolled oats
- 120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- 100 g (⅔ cup) chocolate chips
- 100 g (1 cup) roughly chopped pecans or walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 180°C/160°C fan/350°F/gas mark 4. Line a 20cm / 8in square cake tin with baking parchment, leaving some overhanging either side so that you can easily lift the bars out later.
- Whisk together the pumpkin puree, melted butter, light brown sugar and vanilla extract in a large bowl.125 g (½ cup) pumpkin puree, 120 g (½ cup) vegan block butter, 175 g (1 cup) light brown soft sugar, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- Stir in the baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, salt, pumpkin spice and oats, followed by the flour.1 teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda (baking soda), ¼ teaspoon salt, 1 Tablespoon pumpkin spice, 150 g (1 + ⅔ cup) porridge oats/rolled oats, 120 g (1 cup) plain (all-purpose) flour
- Fold in the chocolate chips and nuts.100 g (⅔ cup) chocolate chips, 100 g (1 cup) roughly chopped pecans or walnuts
- Transfer the mixture to the prepared tin and spread it level.
- Bake for about 25 minutes, until golden brown and set. They may still be a little soft in the middle but shouldn't jiggle.
- Leave the bars to cool completely in the tin. For neat slices, chill the bars in the fridge for a couple of hours once they have cooled before slicing them.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details, variations and storage instructions.
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
If you tried this recipe let me know how it went! Rate it, leave a comment or tag @domestic_gothess on Instagram and hashtag it #domesticgothess
Peg Oetjen
Hi Hannah,
The pumpkin bars look great and I am willing to "translate" from metric to try them! Can you make the recipe printable? Hope easy to do. Thanks!
All good wishes,
Peg
Hannah
Hi Peg, there is a print button at the top of the recipe card! I hope you enjoy them!