Nothing speaks to the holidays more than pumpkin pie. I am a sucker for a good pumpkin pie. And now that I don’t really do gluten flour or refined sugar I have struggled. What to do when one does not want to bake a pie? When one craves a grab and go pumpkin pie kind of situation? A sweet treat days before Thanksgiving? Well you bake pumpkin pie bars.

These pie bars were tested so many times because we wanted to get them just right. Super happy with the texture and flavor. Adding the arrowroot made them set just right I won’t go into my health benefits because I am not certain as to what they are but I can tell you this,  these bars are gluten-free, grain-free, refined sugar-free and dairy free goodness.  And always made with love. Can’t get much better than that. Even my teenage daughter who pretty much has an aversion to anything gluten-free, thought these tasted great and darned closed to the real thing. See for yourself.

Makes 12 bars/ prep time 15/ bake time 40-50 minutes/ wait time 45-60 minutes/ total time about 2 hours

Gather

For the crust

6 tablespoons / 85.05 g vegan butter (I use Melt), slightly softened and cut into cubes

1/3 cup/43 g coconut sugar

2/3 cup/86 g paleo flour (I use King Arthur)

1/3 cup / 43 g toasted pecan meal*

1 egg white (save the yolk for the filling)

*for the pecan meal, toast a heaping 1/3 cup/ 86 grams pecan pieces in a pan on medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. 

Let cool then transfer to the bowl of a food processor and pulse until you have a fine meal, almost flour like consistency

For the filling

1/4 cup / 32 g coconut sugar

1/4 cup / 59 ml monk fruit sweetener

2 teaspoons/ 11.8 g pumpkin pie spice

1/2 teaspoon / 2.84 g ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon/ 2.84 g salt

15 oz can pumpkin puree

2 large eggs

1 egg yolk

1 cup / 236.6 ml nut milk (I used almond)

1 teaspoon / 4.929 ml vanilla extract 

2 tablespoons/ 28.3 g arrowroot

Make 

The crust

Preheat oven to 350°F/177 F . Line an 9”x 9” square pan with parchment paper, leaving overhang on two sides so that the bars can be easily removed. Lightly grease with nonstick spray. I use coconut oil spray. Use a hand mixer to beat butter and sweetener until creamy and well combined. 

Add flour, pecan meal and egg white and beat until combined. Pour mixture into prepared pan and flatten with a spatula. 

Refrigerate for 10 minutes. Remove from fridge and then bake for 15 minutes. While the crust is baking, prepare the filling.

The filling

Beat coconut sugar, monk fruit sweetener, pumpkin spice, salt, pumpkin puree, eggs, saved egg yolk, nut milk, vanilla and arrowroot, until well combined. Pour the filling into the crust and return to the oven.

The bars should bake until the filling is mostly set, but the very center still jiggles just a bit. Bake 40-50 minutes. Bake time will vary based on your oven, so check it frequently once you are nearing the end of bake time.

Place the pan on a wire rack to cool to room temperature, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill completely about 45-60 minutes.

Once cooled, cut into square bars. Serve with coconut whip cream, and pomegranate seeds if you want to add a pop of color.

Recipe Developed by Kat Howell and Anna Getty

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