Pumpkin, Cranberry, Pistachio & Coconut, Granola Bars

There’s a game we play in this house. It’s called, “What’s in Griffy’s mouth?”. It’s pretty much on-going. You see, even when the floor looks free of debris, he finds something. It could be a post-it, a piece of hair, dryer lint, tissue, etc. We just never know. Literally, sometimes we never know.

There’s no “5 second” rule. Even if he’s in the other room, his super-keen awareness that something “edible” has hit the floor propels him full-speed. At the present moment, he’s “digging” in my bed. Probably looking for crumbs. Or the M&M’s he hid under my pillow last week.

Bottom line is: Griffy approves of these bars. Which means absolutely nothing considering the list of things he’s eaten in his short lifetime. But when he hears the crinkle of the plastic wrap being removed, he comes running and watches intently for crumbs to drop. It’s actually a win-win because we don’t own a broom.

This recipe was inspired by Hangry Pants. But the recipe I followed came from Smitten Kitchen.

A list of the ingredients I used:

• 1 2/3 cups Old Fashioned Oats
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/3 cup oat flour (1/3 cup of oats processed in food processor)
• 1/2 tsp ginger salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree
• 1 cup dried cranberries, 2/3 cup unsweetened shredded coconut, 1/3 cup chopped pistachios
• 5 tbsp melted butter
• 1/4 cup honey
• 2 tbsp pure maple syrup
• 1 tbsp water

I’d recommend using corn-syrup somewhere in there as in the original recipe, but I didn’t have it on hand. Enjoy!