I’ve never been a huge fan of pumpkin pie. I think it’s mainly because it’s such a heavy dessert and always made me feel super weighed down after eating it. Might also have something to do with the fact I usually ate it after a huge Thanksgiving meal 🙂 but even so it just wasn’t my favorite. I’ve always liked pumpkin flavored treats though like cookies and cupcakes so last year I decided to test out making my own pumpkin sweet treat. Since whoopie pies were such a trend last year I decided to give those a pumpkin twist…yumm! I brought them to a football tailgate, huge hit!

Although these whoopie pies are a lot lighter than a piece of pumpkin pie they still weren’t quite light enough. This year I wanted something even lighter and more of an eat any time of day kinda sweet treat. So with that I went with my trusty ole  oats and created a pumpkin bar filled with traditional spices and sweet chocolate chips (cacao nibs in my case).

Light pumpkin sweet treat perfection has been accomplished! These little bars are packed full of flavor and can easily be consumed any time of day, even breakfast. And the very best part, they’re pretty darn low in calories! A must try for fall whether you’re looking for an afternoon snack or dessert for a Halloween party (or Thanksgiving).

Ingredients 
3 cups oats
2 teaspoons baking powder
12 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 nutmeg
1 cup organic canned pumpkin
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
12 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon coconut oil
13 cup cacao nibs plus some for sprinkling on top

Modify
you can use olive oil in place of coconut oil and semi-sweet or dark
chocolate chips in place of cacao nibs

Directions 
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Place oats in a food processor or blender and blend until oats resemble flour
Place oat flour in a medium bowl
Whisk in baking powder, soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg, set this bowl off to the side
In a large bowl whisk together pumpkin, sugar, vanilla extract, oil, and unsweetened applesauce until there are no lumps and mixture is smooth
Slowly add in oat flour mixture and mix until well blended
Mix in 1/3 cup of cacao nibs
Pour batter into a 8×11 or 9 inch baking dish
Bake 15 – 18 minutes
Cool on wire rack for 10-15 minutes
Cut into 20 slices
Enjoy!

Each bar has about 127 calories, as always depends on the ingredients you use