Gooey Protein Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Ingredients:

• 1 cup oats

• ¾ cup flour (any flour, I used a paleo mix of almond and coconut)

• 1 1/4 cup Vanilla protein powder

• 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

• 1 tsp baking powder

• ½ tsp baking soda

• ¼ tsp salt

• 1 cup pumpkin puree

• ⅓ cup sugar-free maple syrup

• 2 tsp vanilla

• ⅓ cup unsweetened applesauce (one container is ⅓ cup roughly)

• ½ cup chocolate chips

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place parchment paper in a 9X9 baking dish.

2. Mix the oats, flour, protein powder, baking powder, baking soda, salt & pumpkin pie spice together.

3. In a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.

4. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry until combined. Then add the chocolate chips.

5. Pour into the baking dish. Place into oven and watch closely- with the protein powder, they cook quickly in 10-12min.

6. Check that they are slightly firm. Once they are, remove them from the baking dish and place them on a cooling rack.

7. Allow them to cool completely before cutting.