Food, Fun, Frugality, & Farming

Pumpkin Cranberry Breakfast Bars

Breakfast at our house is a never-ending Tolkein tribute. Liam, who leaves for Mordor at 3:30 am, requires breakfast when he leaves and second-breakfast about 10:00 am. The boys are the Orcs of our domain. They’ll eat anything but consistently scream for meat. Grace is our resident elf. She eats less than the others and prefers Lembas or lettuce over gluttony. As for me…I’m the realm’s cave troll. As an insomniac night nurse, breakfast can be morning, noon, or 02:00 am. Upon galumphing from my cave and staring blearily around, I eat whatever appears with little thought for nutrition or portion control.

To promote peace and health in Middle Earth, we try to have healthy, tasty, and frugal options ready to fuel labor in the Shire or be packed into Mordor. Demands for cooked flesh notwithstanding, these baked oatmeal bars keep everyone happy. We actually make several versions including Apple Cake, Banana Nut, and of course, Pumpkin Cranberry.

For our family of five adults, we make two 9×13″ pans a week. Both are sliced, and one pan is immediately frozen. The bars microwave well, are filling, and taste like dessert for breakfast. As a bonus, they have no added fat, little sugar, and lots of heart-healthy oats!

Pumpkin Cranberry Breakfast Bars

Anne In The Kitchen
Tasty, Healthy, and Filling! We bake double batches and freeze to enjoy all week.
Prep Time 10 mins
Cook Time 45 mins
Course Breakfast
Cuisine Healthy
Servings 15 bars

Ingredients
  

  • 2 cups rolled oats
  • 1 cup quick oats
  • 1 cup flour
  • 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ½ tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 2 Tbsp cinnamon
  • 1 cup milk any kind
  • 1/2 29 oz can pumpkin not pie filling
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 handfulls Craisins
  • 1/2 cup walnuts

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350'.
  • Mix all ingredients except Craisins and Walnuts.
  • Fold in Craisins and walnuts.
  • Pour into a greased 9×13" pan.
  • Bake for 45 minutes or until done.

Notes

These can easily be made gluten-free!  To convert them, I simply use gluten-free oats and flour.  Then, I add 1 tsp xanthan gum.
 
Occasionally, when the flock is on strike, I omit the eggs.  The texture is a little different, but they’re still tasty!
Keyword Gluten-Free, Pumpkin

I hope you’ll give these a try! What do the inhabitants of your realm feast upon for breakfast? We’re always on the lookout for easy and healthy options! (Please, ignore any bellowing of “Bacon!” or “Ham!” that may echo to neighboring Kingdoms!)

This post has been shared at some of our favorite blog hops! Please take a moment and click the links below to check out some of the great things folks are sharing there!

The Homestead Blog Hop #291

The Simple Homestead Blog Hop #262

You’re The Star Blog Hop

Encouraging Hearts and Home Blog Hop

To Grandma’s House We Go Blog Hop

Over the Moon Linky Party #228

Love Your Creativity Link Party #48

Wonderful Wednesday Blog Hop

6 thoughts on “Pumpkin Cranberry Breakfast Bars”

Comments are closed.