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You guys, I am sorry.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

Sorry for posting a pumpkin recipe on September 10th.

I truly had every intention of waiting. To wait until at least the first day of fall, September 22. I wanted to live out every last bit of summer and flood your brains with apple recipes.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

But then I opened a can of pumpkin.  Which I have  been stockpiling all year. I have a total of eighteen cans of pumpkin delivered to me from Amazon. It’s kind of an awesome thing.

It was all down hill from there. Pumpkin is one of my favorites and once the can was opened (so to speak) it is almost impossible for me to resist!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

I haven’t gotten to the point where pumpkin has taken over my kitchen, but believe me it will be coming.

Besides, there is no room in the kitchen for pumpkin right now because lately I have been going apple crazy. It’s insane…..

And also very delicious.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

But back to these cookies.

They just happened. If there is one dessert I am asked to make over and over and over again it’s chocolate chip cookies. I know, I mean I have made so many desserts and yet everyone still favors chocolate chip cookies?!? It’s crazy, but they do. So finally over the weekend I just gave in. Except just as I was grabbing the flour for the cookies, those orange cans of pumpkin caught the corner of my eye.

Oh yeah, I did not even need to think another millisecond about it.

It. Was. Happening.

I was going to trick them all.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

And I did…

Until little Asher decided to blurt out that we added pumpkin and the boys basically spit out their cookies right then and there. Cookies that not two minutes earlier they had said were awesome. I mean seriously? Such losers.

The rest of us agree, the cookies are incredible and so doughy. Almost cookie dough, but not, it’s awesome. My goal was to not have a cakey cookie. I hate cakey cookies, which is why I went for a cookie bar. They are much easier to keep doughy and not cakey. . The key to these is to not over bake, if they get even the slightest bit over baked you’ll get some cakeiness.

The best part about these is that they are truly a trickster cookie. You will fool everyone that tucked into these tasty little tidbits are a totally healthy fruit (yes pumpkins are a fruit). That is as long as you guys don’t have a little blabber-mouth on your hands!

Plus, not only do they taste awesome (just like you favorite cookies), but by adding the pumpkin you can cut down on the sugar. Couple that with the whole wheat pastry flour and you get a much healthier version of the traditional chocolate chip cookie. Which is always a win for everyone!

Unless of course, you are teenage boys who could care less about whether food is healthy or not – sneak it in!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 20 Bars
Calories Per Serving: 313 kcal

Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.

Ingredients

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan or line with parchment paper.
  • Combine the whole wheat pastry flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl. Beat the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy, about 3 to five minutes. Add in the pumpkin, beat well. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each egg. Gradually beat in the flour mixture and the 2 teaspoons of water. Stir in 2 cups of chocolate chips and then ad more to your liking.
  • Spread the dough out into the prepared pan. Bake for 18 to 25 minutes, just until set in the center. Don't over-bake because bars will firm up as they cool, if anything undercook. If the cookies get too cooked they will become cakey. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
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Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Cookie Bars | halfbakedharvest.com

Let the fall baking begin!

Oh and if you’re looking to find out a little more about me head on over to Rachel Cooks and check out my Day in the Life Interview!

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