Vegan Pumpkin Almond Oat Cookies or Bars- Recipe ReDux Post # 6

I was very excited when I saw that the Recipe ReDux challenge for October called for recipes incorporating orange antioxidant foods in season this Fall.  My cupboard had just been stocked with cans of organic pumpkin that I was waiting to use and here was the perfect opportunity! I have created pumpkin cookies  in the past which I enjoyed. This time I decided to do a pumpkin cookie with a twist- vegan, gluten free and using almond butter as a healthy source of unsaturated fat. This is a very easy dessert recipe with the flavors of fall but no eggs or dairy needed! Using almond butter a part of the base adds subtle flavor and provides a moist but also dense and hearty result. You can make these as drop cookies or bars, either way they will not be around for long! So get baking and make these awesome cookies/bars plus check out some of these other great “Fall Orange” recipes by the talented bloggers from the Recipe ReDux Clan!

Ingredients:

½ cup creamy or crunchy unsalted natural almond butter (I used Trader Joes Raw Unsalted Crunchy)
½ cup pure maple syrup  
3/4 cup canned or fresh cooked pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie type)

1 ¼  cup oats (old fashioned, not quick)(*use a gluten-free oats such as Bob's Red Mill if you are on a gluten-free diet)
1 teaspoon vanilla 

¼  teaspoon cinnamon

½  teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

2 tablespoon raisins 

Cooking spray

Directions:

For Cookies :

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Drop the dough in rounded spoonfuls onto a baking pan coated with cooking spray. The dough will spread out a bit, like the size of a finished cookie, don’t worry because they keep their shape and will not spread mush more when baked. Bake for 15-18 minutes until set and lightly browned on the edges. 

For Bars:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Meanwhile combine all the ingredients in a medium sized bowl and mix well. Press mixture into an 8 by 8 inch pan lined the pan generously coated with cooking spray. Bake for 20-25 minutes until set and lightly browned on top. Cut into squares and serve. 

Note : These cookies/bars are very moist, almost cake like. So you can store them in an airtight container in the fridge to keep longer and pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds or so to warm them up for a nice treat!

Makes 16 cookies or bar squares

Serving size: 1 bar/cookie  Calories 100  Protein 3 g Carb 13 g Fiber 2 g Sugars 7 g Fat 5 g Saturated fat 0  g Sodium  0 mg

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