Pumpkin Spice Steel Cut Oat Bars with Pumpkin Spice White Chocolate Glaze {Vegan}
Prep time: 
Cook time: 
Total time: 
Yield: 1 (9 by 9-inch) pan; 16 servings
 
These bars are moist and dense with a slight chewiness, somewhere between snack cake meets cookie, but in bar form. They have the perfect amount of sweetness, just enough to satisfy a dessert craving without being cloying oversweet, and they’re full of pumpkin spice goodness.
Ingredients
Bars:
  • 1 cup pitted Medjool dates (about 10 dates/185 g)
  • 1 cup (115 g) walnuts
  • ¾ cup (180 g) pumpkin puree (canned is fine, but not pumpkin pie filling)
  • 2 tablespoons flaxseed meal
  • 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil, melted and cooled slightly
  • 1½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • 6 pouches (about 1½ cups) Better Oats Classic Steel Cut Instant Oatmeal with Flax
Glaze:
  • 3 oz (85 g) cacao butter
  • ½ tablespoon pumpkin puree (canned is fine, but not pumpkin pie filling)
  • ½ tablespoon pure maple syrup
  • ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice mix
  • 1 pinch sea salt
Instructions
  1. Preheat the oven to 350F; line a 9 by 9-inch baking dish with 2 pieces of parchment paper so it hangs over all 4 sides and you can easily lift the bars out later. Lightly brush the parchment paper with coconut oil.
  2. If the dates are very hard, soak them in boiling water for 3 minutes; drain.
  3. Add the dates and walnuts to a food processor; pulse a few times and then continue processing until it first turns into a crumbly mix and then starts to stick together like a ball of dough. Pulse in the pumpkin puree, flaxseed meal, maple syrup, coconut oil, pumpkin pie spice mix, vanilla, and salt. Add the oats and process until it comes together as dough.
  4. Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared dish (it will be sticky; an oiled thin metal spatula will help). Bake until the bars are set, about 30 minutes. Cool completely before glazing.
  5. For the glaze, melt the cacao butter in the microwave or a double boiler. Whisk in all remaining ingredients until well-combined. Put it in the freezer briefly (about 5 to 10 minutes) until it thickens to a glaze-like consistency, taking it out to whisk it every couple minutes. Once the cacao butter starts to cool, you’ll notice that it’s easier to emulsify the ingredients.
  6. Once the glaze is cooled and thickened slightly, pour it on top of the cooled bars; let the glaze set before slicing the bars.
  7. Store covered at room temperature for up to 5 days.
Recipe by An Edible Mosaic™ at https://www.anediblemosaic.com/pumpkin-spice-steel-cut-oat-bars-with-pumpkin-spice-white-chocolate-glaze-vegan/