Pumpkin Crumb Bars with Roasted Hazelnuts and Oats

Healthy, sugar free, vegan pumpkin spice crumb bars made with oats and roasted hazelnuts. Perfect autumn breakfast or treat.

I am rather late to the pumpkin game this year, but I had to make a new pumpkin recipe before autumn ends and Christmas takes over with full blast. Talking about Christmas, I am so ready for Christmas to come around. It’s just around the corner and I can’t wait. My piano teacher even gave me two new Christmas songs yesterday to practise on for next Wednesday, so I am dancing around humming “Happy Christmas, War is Over”.

I could eat pumpkin all year round and I am so happy it’s perfectly acceptable for Christmas too. In additions, these bars are acceptable to eat all day round, even as breakfast. The base is made with the wonderful, wonderful thing we call oats. I added in some roasted hazelnuts which give the bars a lovely earthy taste. Complete with spices like cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger these bars are just perfect for an autumn breakfast or treat served with a big cup pot of tea or hot chocolate.

The crust in these bars a sweetened with sukrin (read my opinion on sukrin here), but you can easily swap any other erythritol or coconut sugar. The filling gets it’s sweetness from dates.

Pumpkin Crumb Bars with Roasted Hazelnuts and Oats

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Prep Time 15 mins

Cook Time 20 mins

Servings 12 bar

Ingredients

  

• 1 tbsp. chia seeds

• 3 tbsp. water

• 1 cup (110 g.) hazelnuts

• 2 cups (150 g.) oats

• ½ cup Sukrin gold or coconut sugar

• ¼ cup (60 mL) buckwheat flour

• ½ tsp. coarse salt

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• ¼ cup (60 mL) cold coconut oil

• ¼ cup + 2 tbsp. apple sauce

• 1 tbsp. maple syrup (or more Sukrin gold)

FILLING

• 1 cup (230 g.) pumpkin purée

• 1/3 cup soft dates (approx 4 medjool dates)

• 1 tsp. cinnamon

• ½ tsp. ginger

• ½ tsp. cardamom

• Dash nutmeg

Instructions

 

• Mix the chia seeds and the water and let it sit for 10-15 minutes until it turns into a gel.
• Preheat oven to 200° C / 390°F. Place the hazelnuts on a baking sheet with baking paper and put them in the oven while it heats until they are roasted. Time depends on, which oven you have, so look closely. The nuts are done when they smell nice and have turned slightly golden brown.
• Place roasted nuts, oats, sukrin gold (or coconut sugar), buckwheat flour, salt and cinnamon in a food processor. Pulse three times or so - just to mix it. Add in the cold coconut oil and applesauce and pulse to combine. Add in the maple syrup if needed – or a bit more apple sauce.
• Press 2/3 of the dough into a pan and leave the rest in a bowl.
• Wipe clan the food processor (no need for washing) and blend all the ingredients for the filing until completely smooth. Pour out into the filling in the pan.
• Sprinkle on the rest of the filling and bake for approx. 20 minutes – or until the crumble is nice and brown.
• Cut into squares and serve right away or store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 5 days – they make a great breakfast or evening snack.