pepitas – The Pajama Chef

This post for #Choctoberfest is sponsored by Barlean’s. I have received sample products for writing this post. All content and opinions are mine. These Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites are a healthy sweet treat… and they pretty much taste like a brownie, so there’s that too.

Another day, another #Choctoberfest recipe! This one slightly healthier than the delectable cake from Monday. 🙂 Energy bites, granola bites, energy balls… whatever you call them… are SO tasty and SO fun to make. Just mix, roll, and chill, pretty much. They’re great to have on hand for a healthy yet filling snack option or even a quick breakfast on the go for busy mornings. Most recipes use nut butter as the base, so I was excited to find a version that used PUMPKIN as the binder. I always gotta do something different, haha.

Since we’re smack-dab in the midst of #Choctoberfest, I decided to try to make an uber chocolately energy bite recipe. Thanks to a healthy dose of dark chocolate cocoa powder AND dark chocolate chips, these Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites pretty much taste like a brownie. I’ve been keeping some in the fridge at work, and they are perfect for a mid-afternoon snack. Healthy, yet satisfying.

I’m so thankful that Barlean’s is a sponsor again this year for #Choctoberfest! They sent me a great package filled with Chocolate Silk Greens (think chocolate protein powder, but powdered greens instead–this stuff is great for smoothies!), Essential Women Omega-Swirl Chocolate Mint (mint-chocolate syrup that just so happens to be full of Omega-3s), and Butter-Flavored Coconut Oil, which I used in this recipe. It’s the perfect butter substitute with all the health benefits of coconut oil. I don’t use coconut oil for everything but I really like it in granola bars/energy bites. You can find out more about Barlean’s by following them on Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, or YouTube.

One of the best parts about these Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites (besides how chocolately they are!) is that it only uses 3 tablespoons pumpkin puree. Sooo it’s a perfect recipe to have on hand to when you have a little pumpkin puree to use up! Waste not, want not. And how could you not want these yummy chocolate energy bites??! Enjoy!

Find more chocolate recipes here today at the #Chocotoberfest linky! And don’t forget to enter this great giveaway before Saturday!

one year ago: Pumpkin & Sausage Pizza
three years ago: Banana Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins
four years ago: Funfetti Cookies
five years ago: Chicken Enchiladas with Green Chili Sour Cream Sauce
six years ago: Roasted Vegetable Soup
seven years ago: Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Mini Muffins

Double Chocolate Pumpkin Energy Bites

Servings: 32 bites
Time: 2 hours, including chilling
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slightly adapted from A Kitchen Addiction

Ingredients:

2 1/4 cup old-fashioned oats
1/3 cup ground flaxseed
1/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
3/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons Barlean’s Butter Flavored Organic Coconut Oil
generous 1/4 cup pepitas
generous 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips

Directions:

In a large bowl, stir together oats, flaxseed, cocoa, and pumpkin pie spice. In a small saucepan set over medium heat, whisk together honey, maple syrup, pumpkin puree, and coconut oil. Bring to a boil, and allow to boil for 4 minutes. Stir constantly so it doesn’t burn! Remove from heat.

Pour honey mixture over oats and stir until combined. At this point, you can stir in the pepitas and chocolate chips so the chocolate melts and gets all gooey OR you can wait for 5 minutes before stirring in the mixins. I stirred everything together right away.

Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes for mixture to cool and chocolate to harden, then remove and roll into 1 1/2 inch balls. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate for at least an hour before transferring to an air-tight container. Store in the refrigerator or freezer. Enjoy!

Disclosure: Though I received products for free as part of my participation in #Choctoberfest, I was not compensated in any other way and was not asked to provide positive feedback.

With these pumpkin bagels, it’s like you’re eating pumpkin pie for breakfast!

Ever since I made bagels earlier this year I’ve been obsessed with the idea of making as many different kinds of bagels as I can. Problem is… I always come back to the same old recipe because it’s tried and true and so freaking delicious! I’ve seriously made plain bagels more times than I can count. But now… NOW I have the perfect bagel for fall: PUMPKIN bagels. Betcha didn’t see that one coming, did you? 🙂 Just kidding, it’s pretty obvious. Not only do these bagels taste absolutely incredible, but on the day you make them you won’t be able to think about anything else besides pumpkin spice goodness because your house will smell like fall just walked in to stay. Oh goodness, they’re divine!!

I know it may sound a bit crazy [and conceited] to say that these are the best bagels that I’ve ever had, but I really think it might be true. My bagel litmus test is whether or not I can eat them plain, untoasted, naked. Normally I’m very particular about how I eat bagels. They need to be toasted and covered with butter or cream cheese. For good bagels I can tolerate them at room temperature with cream cheese, but that’s rare. This all stems back to college cross country and track, when often the only thing available to eat during long days of meets and traveling was bagels, bagels, and more bagels, with some broken pretzels, brown spotted bananas, bruised apples, and smooshed bread thrown in there for good measure. All this food was stored in a huge plastic tote that was utterly nasty inside. For topping the bagels we had giant jars of peanut butter with broken plastic knives for spreading, along with a cooler full of Sam’s Club sized sliced deli meat. So hygienic, I know. And appetizing, yes? <sarcasm> But when you’re hungry, you do what you gotta do! After four years of this every. single. Saturday, I became a littttle tired of cold bagels. And bagels with peanut butter? Absolutely no way. It’s been seven [yikes] years since these days and still, the thought of sandwiches without condiments or peanut butter bagels churns my stomach a little. But these bagels… there’s something different about them! Something incredible, because the passed the test! When I was down to the last one, on a whim I threw it in a sandwich bag and tossed it in my lunchbox. Around 10:30 am I found a really great snack. 🙂 Woohoo!

These bagels taste like pumpkin pie, seriously. They’re sweet but not too sweet, have so much pumpkin spice that it’s a little ridiculous, AND they have the best crunchy sugar-spice topping. I didn’t do a great job chopping the pepitas on top but you definitely should so they spread out a little more evenly. They’re so good, and so easy! Hope you make them this weekend!

one year ago: Funfetti Cookies
two years ago: Apple Peanut Butter Oatmeal Cookies
three years ago: Pumpkin Brownies
four years ago: Crispy Crunchy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Pumpkin Bagels

Servings: 8
Time: 2 1/2 hours
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from Taste of Home

Ingredients:

for bagels

2/3 cup warm water
1 package [1/4 ounce… 2 1/4 teaspoons] active dry yeast
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
3 cups bread flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 cup canned pumpkin

for topping

2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon pepitas, chopped
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Directions:

In a small bowl, combine water, yeast, and brown sugar. I don’t have an exact temperature for you, just that it should be like bathwater–warm enough you can comfortably put your fingers in but not too hot. Stir and let rest for 5 minutes. At the end of this time, water should be somewhat bubbly.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. Pour yeast mixture into the flour, then add pumpkin and stir together with a fork until a shaggy dough is formed. At this point, you can knead by hand on a flour-dusted countertop for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic OR you can place in a stand mixer and knead with a dough hook until smooth and elastic, about 6-7 minutes. I recommend the second option if possible because the pumpkin makes the dough sticky.

Place dough in a well-oiled bowl and turn once to coat. Cover with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place for an hour.

After an hour, punch dough down and let rest for 10 minutes. Then divide dough into eight pieces [if you are obsessive and weigh them like me, mine were approximately 120 grams each]. Shape into a ball and with a flour-covered finger, punch a hole through the center [there’s a lot of punching in bagel making, obviously]. The hole should be about 1 inch in diameter. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat, and cover with a damp towel. Let rest for 10 minutes.

During this time, preheat oven to 400 degrees and bring a large pot of water to a boil. When water is boiling, place bagels in boiling water, two or three at a time. Poach for 2 minutes per side, then remove to baking sheet with a slotted spoon to drain excess water.

Prepare topping by combining brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, pepitas, and melted butter in a small bowl. Divide between bagels, pressing down gently so it sticks.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Broil for 1-2 minutes at the end if desired for extra texture/chewiness [I skipped this step].

Store in an airtight container after cooling completely.

linked up with: Weekend Potluck