Last week, a friend of mine shared with me that she recently made these delicious banana oatmeal chocolate chip squares and loved them. I agree; they are a great snack and just sweet enough to be dessert.
I wanted to make them, but needed to make them more fit for fall. So, I subbed the banana out and replaced it with pumpkin. Everything is better with pumpkin! These are my new favorite. I hope they will be yours!
Pumpkin Oat Squares – Adapted from Finding Joy in My Kitchen
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 C pumpkin puree (or sweet potato puree)
- 1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
- 2 tsp. vanilla
- 1/8 C molasses
- 1/8 C maple syrup or brown sugar
- 4 1/2 C old fashioned oats
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 C chocolate chips, divided
Directions
Begin by pulsing the 4 1/2 C of oats in a blender or food processor until finely ground. Mix in 1 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. baking soda, 1 tsp. cinnamon and 1/2 tsp. salt.
Blend together the 2 1/2 C pumpkin, 1/2 C applesauce, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1/8 C molasses and 1/8 C brown sugar/maple syrup. Mix the wet and dry ingredients together. Stir until moist. The batter will be thick. If it is really stiff, add in a 1/4 C more pumpkin or applesauce.
Stir in 2/3 of the chocolate chips, reserving 1/3 of them for the top of the squares. 
Pour into a lightly greased 9x13 baking dish and top with the remaining chocolate chips.
Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes until the edges are lightly browned and the center is set.
Cool and slice into squares.
Serve and enjoy!
