If you’re the type of person who loves all things pumpkin, then you will love these pumpkin bars. Moist, tender, and perfectly spiced, these healthy pumpkin bars are a treat you can indulge in this season, guilt-free!
Even though these are gluten-free pumpkin bars, the pumpkin purée in this recipe keeps the bars super tender and moist. You don’t have to worry about any weird textures going on in this gluten-free treat. The almond flour in this recipe also ensures the pumpkin bars maintain a delicate crumb and their low-carb/gluten-free status.
These sugar-free pumpkin bars are sweetened with a sweetener called erythritol, a sugar alcohol that doesn’t cause blood sugar spikes like table sugar does. The erythritol has a granulated texture similar to table sugar, which helps maintain the structure of these pumpkin bars.
To give these pumpkin bars their irresistible appeal, the bars are topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting once they’ve cooled. The frosting is also sweetened with erythritol, to keep this dessert entirely sugar-free.
If you wanted, you could bake this pumpkin bar recipe in a cake pan and call it a cake since the crumb is just that tender. You could also bake the batter in a cupcake pan with paper liners for easy cleanup. Otherwise, baking the batter in a square dish and cutting it into squares will do just fine and make these the pumpkin “bars” they’re known to be.
Summary |
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Cook time: 20 minutes
Prep time: 10 minutes
Idle time:
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Level
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Servings:
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Ingredients
- For the bars:
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup coconut oil
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 cup almond flour
- 2/3 cup erythritol sweetener blend
- 2 tsp gluten-free baking powder
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- For the frosting:
- 6 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup powdered Erythritol
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp heavy cream optional
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9" by 9" square baking pan with parchment paper.
- Place the cream cheese and coconut oil in a microwave-safe bowl. Warm in the microwave until the oil has melted and you can easily stir the two together.
- To a large bowl, add the pumpkin purée, the coconut oil-cream cheese mixture, eggs, and vanilla extract. Beat everything together using a handheld mixer until its smooth.
- Add the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt to the wet ingredients. Use the mixer to blend everything together just until combined.
- Pour the batter into your prepared pan and even out the top with a rubber spatula. Bake the pumpkin bars for about 20 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Once the pumpkin bars have cooled, create the frosting. Beat the cream cheese, sweetener, and vanilla extract together in a clean bowl. If the frosting feels too stiff, you can loosen it up a bit with some heavy cream. Use a spatula to smear the frosting on the top of the pumpkin bars, then cut into 16 squares.
Additional information
Recipe adapted from wholesomeyum.com
