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One thing that many people enjoy about fall is pumpkin flavored everything. From pumpkin spice lattes to pumpkin donuts and gnocchi, this rich and homey flavor defines the season.
This evening I happily tried a new pumpkin recipe, adapted from litecravings.com. These easy to prepare bars are full of pumpkin flavor and spices. They do not contain gluten, eggs, oil, grains or refined sugar.
Vegan and Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars
I used organic canned pumpkin puree for this recipe. The rest of my ingredients were organic as well and non GMO. Make sure you are using pumpkin puree, rather than pumpkin pie filling, which is loaded with sugar. I found non GMO peanut butter powder at my local Natural Grocers, in the refrigerator section of the bulk foods aisle. I located the almond meal, which gives the bars a nice texture, in the same section. You can use almond flour instead, if desired.
The original recipe required two eggs. I used “flax eggs” instead. Check out this post, for four egg substitutes, including flax eggs, that work well for baking.
Vegan & Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, organic if possible
- 1/4 cup powdered peanut butter
- 1/4 cup coconut sugar
- 1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce, organic if possible
- 2 flax eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder, aluminum free
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 cup almond meal or almond flour
- 1/2 tsp sea salt
- 1/4 cup walnut pieces optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a large bowl, combine all ingredients except for the almond meal.
- Fold in almond meal, just until combined. Pour mixture into an 8x8 cooking pan, lightly greased with coconut oil.
- Top with walnut pieces, if desired. Dark chocolate chips would be good too.
- Bake 20 - 30 minutes, until toothpick inserted in middle comes out with just a bit of batter clinging to it. It's okay to slightly undercook the bars. Begin testing for doneness at 20 minutes.
- Let cool completely, at least one hour. Bars do even better chilled for several hours in the fridge so that they set. Cut into 9 bars,
Pumpkin Bars that Taste Like Fall
I admit, I rushed the cooling process so I could finish up photos and complete my blog post! However, these vegan and gluten free bars are so good! The bars are slightly sweet and loaded with spiced pumpkin goodness. Because my bars were still warm, they tasted like a delightful cross between pumpkin pie and pumpkin brownies.
The remainder of the bars will chill in the refrigerator overnight. I baked them for about 25 minutes. I think next time…and there will be a next time…I’ll leave them in two minutes longer.
I enjoyed a couple of vegan and gluten free pumpkin bars with a cup of hot peppermint tea. They were perfection…and the taste of fall….in every yummy bite.
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