Prayers… and Pumpkin Bars w/Chocolate Chips and Hazelnuts

As I sat in the dentist’s chair, I prayed emphatically to God.

It was one of my most.sincere.prayers.ever.

“God, when I die, please, please, please let it feel like this. This shit feels amazing.”

Y’all, nitrous oxide is the truth. The whole truth. And nothing but the truth. So help me God.

I have never done drugs. Peace and light to my spirits for swaying me away, because they obviously knew from jump that anything that could make me feel good good, I would not be able to shake. My life’s goals quite seriously impeded; no children had; no focus but the good good.

I looked at my dental hygientist, with all seriousness, and said, “What is this gas called again? What’s the spelling? If I sold this instead of cupcakes and cookies, I would be rich.”

See, the thing about prayer is that it works.

What are you praying for?

I pray all day long. Some of you may think that praying to feel as though being taken over by nitrous oxide when death comes a’knocking is ridiculous. But I ask you, how do you want to feel when dying? Think about that as you judge my prayers, with yo’ judgy self.

I pray that I will have the energy to get through all my tasks of the day–and I do.

I pray that my children stay safe from harm, regardless of being swayed by friends or the environment, and thus far–they have been.

I pray that I move in ways that keep me aligned to the destiny God has chosen for me–regardless of my own desires/thoughts/needs. And thus far, I guess I am on the right track. I’ll find out if I completely failed my tasks when my time here is up.

I pray to have a red wine that makes me say God is real, y’all after every sip, every Saturday night. And something fried, salty and delicious–every now and then. Thus far, that prayer has worked too.

At one time, I prayed to create something with pumpkin that didn’t make me want to throw it in the trash–as I am not a pumpkin fan, y’all. But a couple of weeks ago, I created these bars out of pure boredom and excess pumpkin puree.

You see how God works?

These Pumpkin Bars with Chocolate Chips and Hazelnuts are perfect with coffee or tea on a Fall evening. Or morning. Or midnight snack. They are not overly sweet, so if you’d like a little extra sweetness, up the sugar amount by a 1/4-1/3 cup more. But don’t do that. But you can…but don’t. No judgment. But I’ll be judging you.

‘Til next time. Reine

Pumpkin Bars with Chocolate Chips and Hazelnuts

Dry Mix

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

Wet mix

• 1 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup maple syrup (or more brown sugar, use what you have)
• 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup coconut oil, melted if solidified (or olive oil)
• 3 TBSP flax seed meal + 6TBSP water
• zest of one orange

Add-ins

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
• 1 cup toasted hazelnuts

You will need a 9×13 pan, sprayed with baker’s spray or rubbed down with fat of choice and dusted with flour. 

Directions (set your oven to 350 degrees):

1.  Whisk together your dry ingredients and set aside.
2. With your hands (yay! no mixer needed), stir together your oil, sugar and maple syrup (if using), pumpkin puree, flax and water mixture and orange zest until well combined.
3. Fold in your dry ingredients.
4. Pour the batter into a prepared pan, evenly sprinkle top with chocolate chips and hazelnuts, and bake for 25-30 minutes (or until a butter knife comes out clean) at 350 degrees.
5. Cool, slice and enjoy!