In the fall, thee is nothing better than curling up with a cozy drink and grabbing a (most likely pumpkin flavored) snack. And if fall season isn’t just one whole marketing stunt for Trader Joe’s than I am SORELY mistaken because literally all I do during the months of September to November is talk about Trader Joe’s products, buy them, love them and recreate them.
This was part of my Trader Joe’s Copycat Series and I am in loooove with this pumpkin granola bark recipe! It’s vegan, gluten free, dairy free, wholesome, easy, affordable and did I mention tasty af?
Here are a few tips as you embark on your bark-making journey:
- After you mix together all your bark ingredients, let them sit for a little. This helps the liquid ingredients soak into the oats, creating a more sturdy, flavorful and cohesive bark all-around (did I ever think I would use the word cohesive for a snack? Um, no no I did not)
- Spread out your bark corner-to-corner on your baking sheet if you can, this will give you the most even squares to cut from!
- Once it’s out of the oven, you don’t have to let your bark cool fully before adding chocolate, but afterwards you MUST let it cool all the way. Just trust me here, it’s what will get you the most delicious result!
- And I know it might be tempting to top with sea salt, but only do that if you plan on eating your bark right away or storing it outside of the fridge. If you add salt and then store in the fridge, a chemical reaction will occur that will turn the salt into little salt-puddles on the top of the chocolate. Still delish, just probably not what you are going for.
And that’s it for this one! Feel free to comment what Trader Joe’s remake you want to see next!
Watch the recipe video here:
Trader Joe’s Pumpkin Bark Remake
I look forward to this pumpkin bark every year, and this year I knew I HAD to make a copycat recipe to help with my cravings year round! With dark chocolate, rolled oats, pumpkin seeds and real pumpkin pureé, this is a pumpkin lover's delight.
Ingredients
- 3 cups gluten-free rolled oats
- ¼ cup chopped cashews walnuts or almonds, your choice!
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds save half for topping
- ⅔ cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- ½ tsp salt
- 7 tbsp maple syrup
- ¼ cup melted coconut oil
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup vegan dark chocolate morsels
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 375F
- Mix together the oats, nuts, half of the pumpkin seeds, salt and pumpkin pie spice. Give that a stir and add in the maple syrup, coconut oil and vanilla.
- Spread it out evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet, about 1 centimeter tall, and bake for 30-35 minutes or until golden brown on the edges.
- Make sure to let the bark cool in the pan so that it stick together.
- While the bark cools, microwave your chocolate chips in 30 second intervals, stirring each time, until all the chips are melted. Add a bit of coconut oil to help thin it out if you’d like.
- Pour the chocolate over the cooled bark and spread evenly.
- Top with the remaining pumpkin seeds and freeze for 1 hour before slicing.
