chewy pumpkin granola bars

granola bars and their recipes keep popping up everywhere i look.  and so, last night, i made my first ever batch, and they're pretty good.  odin, after much convincing, is happily having one currently.  it took some strenuous conversation about how they might even be tastier than a store-bought cereal bar.  the texture could use some fine-tuning, as they're a little delicate, but that seems entirely workable to me.  pumpkin is such a fall flavor, but i really love it, so it seems a shame to ignore it the rest of the year.

recipe:


3 c rolled oats
2/3 c ground flax seeds (i used my coffee grinder)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp ginger
handfuls of: chopped raw almonds, chopped dried apricots, and semi-sweet chocolate chips
3/4 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c honey
1/3 c brown sugar

in a large bowl, mix oats, flax seeds, spices, almonds, apricots, and chocolate chips.  in another bowl, mis pumpkin, honey, and brown sugar, then pour over dry ingredients.  mix well and then pour into a greased 9x9 baking pan (or a 9x13 for thinner bars).  press the mixture down firmly into the pan.  bake at 325/350 for 30-40 min.  let cool on a wire rack for a few minutes, then score into bars.  when completely cool, finish cutting and remove from pan.

they're quite thick and dense bars, so can be cut even smaller than what i did.  here's where i need to refine the recipe, so they hold together better when cut into small bars.  i think they could also have more stuff in them, more nuts and seeds and dry fruit.  but, good first effort, i think!