Tomorrow is November 1, and I am already starting to go into hibernation mode.  I wish I wasn’t but it’s almost uncontrollable.  It feels like the leaves disappear overnight, the cold air starts stirring around the property, and the sun shines less and less, and it feels overwhelming.  I have been wanting to try this recipe for chocolate chip pumpkin cookie bars for weeks now and finally got to do it today.  It made me forget about what is going on outside.

Before we get to the recipe, and speaking of hibernation, Deb and I just watched a TikTok of someone saying that we have all been lied to our entire childhood. Did you know that bears don’t actually sleep the entire time they hibernate?  I thought they just slept for three months without waking up… Ha.  It actually just means that their metabolism slows down and they don’t have to eat or drink.  They can get up and walk around or they can lay in their dens.. but they don’t physically sleep all that time. Why did we think that?  Unless the people on TikTok are lying… .I think we have been deceived.  Ha!

Let’s get on to the recipe.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.

Add all of the dry ingredients to a bowl and stir.  And then add all of the wet ingredients to another large bowl and stir until mixed.

Dry Ingredients

• 2 cups gluten free flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp allspice

Wet Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar, packed – We used Swerve
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted and cooled
• 1/4 cup smooth almond butter
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Add ins – 1 cup Chocolate Chips – We used sugar free for this.

Instructions:

Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix with a large utensil.  This will be like cookie dough consistency.  Add in the cup of chocolate chips and stir.  

Bake in an 8×8 baking dish for roughly 35 minutes.  It took about 38 in our oven.  Deb ate hers with whipped topping, but I just devoured mine right from the pan. 

They are SO DELICIOUS.  And, this recipe is definitely a keeper for special holiday gatherings.

Have you tried any of our other recipes.  I keep them all in one location so you can find them here. Also, we shared these gluten free pumpkin bars a few weeks back and they are another great recipe for the upcoming seasons.