These vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars are a healthy, fast snack that are only 215 calories each. They hold together beautifully for travel, lunchboxes, or just thrown in a gym bag as a pre or post workout snack. The bars are packed with fiber, protein and healthy fats. They are flavored with pumpkin puree and all the pumpkin pie spices for a healthy Fall snack.
Preheat oven to 350°F non-convection. The goal is not to brown the bars, so I do not use the convection function.
Line an 8-inch square baking dish with crisscrossed parchment paper. I secure the edges with binder clips to keep the paper in place while pressing the bars and during baking. Just be sure the binder clips have no plastic components.
In a food processor, process the rolled oats until finely ground. Add dates, ground flaxseeds, wheat bran spices, salt and coconut oil to the food processor. Process until finely ground. You want to make sure the dates are in small pieces.
Add maple syrup and pumpkin puree to food processor. Process until a smooth ball forms. It will make a paste and then come together in a ball.
Scrape from the food processor into a bowl. Stir in roasted, salted pumpkin seeds and raisins.
Press into prepared baking dish.
Bake in preheated oven for approximately 12-15 minutes or until the top of the bars looks matte. They will brown slightly. Be careful not to overbake or the bars will dry. Technically they do not need to be baked, so you could press them into the prepared baking dish and then chill to set prior to cutting into bars.
Cool completely and cut into bars. I slice one side in half and the rotate the bars a quarter turn. I slice each half into 5 bars. You can do whatever suits your fancy! I find it easier to remove them from the pan prior to cutting.