And……the pumpkin fun continues with a healthy pumpkin bar recipe. I adapted this recipe from one I found on FitSugar. These bars can easily be made vegan by using an egg substitute and dairy free chocolate chips. Of course, I couldn’t wait for the bars to cool before I sampled them, and I wasn’t disappointed. They were bursting with a wonderful blend of pumpkin, chocolate, and coconut flavors. What a delicious combination!!

Pumpkin Coconut Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients

2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 egg or vegan egg substitute equivalent
1 can pumpkin
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup rolled oats
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
1/4 – 1/2 cup shredded coconut

Directions

1. Mix sugar, applesauce, egg, and pumpkin until well blended.
2. Stir in flour, oats, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and chocolate chips.
3. Pour into a prepared 13 x 9 inch pan. Spread it out evenly with a spatula. Sprinkle on the coconut.
4. Bake at 350° for 25 to 35 minutes. Cool in pan completely before cutting into bars. Enjoy!

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Chocolate chips, oats, and caramel…is there any better combination? These cookie bars are so decadent and delicious! I recently received a cookbook filled with Pillsbury Bake-Off recipes. When I saw these Chocolate Chip, Oats ‘n Caramel Cookie Squares on the front, I knew I had to make them. These layered bars are so simple to make and require few ingredients. If you can’t see the walnuts in the pictures, it is because I didn’t add any. I am sure they taste just as wonderful with them. Be sure to let the bars cool completely before cutting, or they will fall apart. When cutting the bars, use a knife dipped in warm water for a clean cut. Enjoy!!!!

Chocolate Chip, Oats ‘n Caramel Cookie Squares

Ingredients:

1 roll (16.5 oz) refrigerated chocolate chip cookies

1 cup quick-cooking oats

2/3 cup cup caramel ice cream topping

5 tbsps all purpose flour

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 cup walnuts

1 cup chocolate chips

Directions:

1. Heat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, break up cookie dough. Stir or knead in oats and salt. Reserve 1/2 cup dough for topping. In ungreased 9-inch square pan, press remaining dough mixture evenly in bottom to form crust.
2. Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until dough puffs and appears dry.
3. In small bowl, mix caramel topping, flour and vanilla until well blended. Sprinkle walnuts and baking chips evenly over crust. Drizzle evenly with caramel mixture. Crumble reserved 1/2 cup dough mixture over caramel.
4. Bake 20 to 25 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool 10 minutes. Run knife around sides of pan to loosen bars. Cool completely, about 1 hour, 30 minutes. For bars, cut into 4 rows by 4 rows. Store tightly covered.

First off, I want to congratulate Megan on celebrating her one-year blogoversary!  That’s an amazing milestone to achieve, and I want to express how much I’ve enjoyed reading her blog and to confess how much my mouth has watered when reading her posts.  I can’t wait to see what the next year will bring for Megan and Megan’s Munchies!

When Megan advertised the need for guest bloggers on Twitter last week, I immediately jumped at the chance to write a post for her, as I’ve never done so before.  Seeing as my own blog, Taste As You Go, will be turning one on August 19, I thought it would be a good idea to get some experience as a guest blogger.  It took some time to figure out what I wanted to write about, so I thought about Megan and her favorite posts.  Then it occurred to me — cookies!

Recently, I made a ginormous batch (over 4 dozen!) of Montana Whoppers, which I’ve described to friends and fellow food bloggers as “oatmeal cookies on steroids.”  I received the recipe from a coworker’s mother, and after looking it over, I was really surprised to see that the cookies did not call for flour.  In fact, my friend Kerrie over at Gluten-Free in the Shaolin ran with the fact that the cookies had no flour and made her version called Lake Michigan Whoppers!  The cookies are simple and chock-full of chocolate bits and M&Ms.  I hope you enjoy them!

Montana Whoppers

Recipe courtesy of Michelle at Taste As You Go
Ingredients:

2/3 cup butter
1 1/4 cups dark brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups chunky peanut butter
3, eggs (organic, if possible), beaten
5 1/2 cups old fashioned oatmeal
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 cup milk chocolate chips
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
6 ounces M&M Minis

Directions:

Melt the butter in a small pan over low heat. Once the butter has melted, pour it into the largest bowl you can find. With a large wooden spoon, blend in the brown sugar, granulated sugar, and peanut butter. When the temperature of the mixture has dropped enough so it won’t cook the beaten eggs, add the eggs and stir until the batter is just mixed. Then, in order, stir in the baking soda, the white chocolate chips, the milk chocolate chips, and the M&Ms. Add the oatmeal, one cup at a time, stirring after each addition. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and chill for at least two hours.

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Drop dough on parchment-lined baking sheets with a large spoon, making sure the dough is fairly well packed. Flatten slightly. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Watch the cookies carefully, as they have a tendency to burn easily.

The Banana Caramel Oat Bars I took to work last week were a hit! One of my co-workers made me promise to make her a batch for her birthday. The girls at work and I sat around talking about various flavor combinations that would taste good using the oat bar recipe. This is the combination I came up with for the 4th of July. The recipe is so easy and the result is a delicious berry filled oat bar that would taste wonderful paired with some vanilla ice cream! Enjoy!

Very Berry Crumble Bars

Ingredients:

1 pkg. yellow cake mix

2 cups oats

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 cup canola oil

1 egg

3/4 cup strawberry ice cream topping

3/4 cup blueberries

Directions:

1. Mix the cake mix, brown sugar and oats together.
2. Add the oil and the egg and mix well.
3. Pat half of the dough into a prepared 13 x 9-inch pan.
4. Spoon the strawberry topping over the dough, and top with the blueberries.
5. Crumble the rest of the dough over the topping and blueberries.
6. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.
7. Cool and cut into bars.