Healthy Pumpkin Bars
User Reviews
4.9
Healthy Pumpkin Bars
Description
These Healthy Pumpkin Bars start with a batter blending pumpkin puree, almond butter, honey, eggs, and warm pumpkin pie spice for characteristic autumnal flavors. Baking soda combined with apple cider vinegar produces carbon dioxide to leaven the bars subtly while neutralizing any baking soda taste. The batter is baked until set and no longer jiggly, resulting in a moist yet structured bar. The optional Maple Pecan Glaze is a creamy blend of pecans, maple syrup, melted coconut oil, water or coffee, vanilla extract, and a pinch of salt, which provides a richly sweet and nutty topping that complements the spice in the bars.
The bars serve well sliced and can be enjoyed as a morning treat or afternoon snack, with a flavor profile revolving around pumpkin, warm spices, and nutty almond butter. They accommodate substitutions for those avoiding grains or animal products by tweaking ingredients accordingly.
Nutrition info is estimated per bar and can be reduced by slicing into smaller pieces. When pumpkin pie spice is unavailable, a mix of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves can substitute. The recipe suggests that these bars hold their form well to be sliced and served easily.
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup almond butter
- 1/3 cup honey
- 2 egg
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon salt sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
Maple Pecan Glaze
- 3/4 cup pecans , plus extra chopped for serving
- 1/4 cup maple syrup
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil melted
- 1/4 cup water (or coffee)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- salt pinch
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin, almond butter, honey, eggs, pumpkin pie spice, salt, and baking soda, and stir until very smooth.
- Add the vinegar into the batter, and stir again. The batter will have lighter swirls in it, from the baking soda reacting to the vinegar. This will help the bars rise and remove any baking soda flavor in the final bars, so keep stirring until the batter looks uniform. Pour into a greased 8-inch baking dish, lined with parchment paper for easy removal later.
- Bake at 350ºF for about 35 minutes, until the bars rise in the center and don't jiggle when you shake the pan. Cool completely, then slice and serve.
- To make the optional Maple Pecan Glaze, combine the pecans, maple syrup, coconut oil, water, vanilla, and salt. Blend until very smooth, scraping down the blender as needed. You can add a tablespoon of water, as needed, to help it blend. Pour the glaze over the bars, and serve right away with chopped pecans on top.
Notes
- Nutrition details are estimated per bar; slicing into smaller pieces reduces calories.
- If you lack pumpkin pie spice, substitute with cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves in specified ratios.
- For vegan or gluten-free versions, almond butter and flour can be substituted as indicated.
Nutrition Information
Show DetailsNutrition Facts
Serving: 9Serving
Amount Per Serving
Calories 147 kcal
% Daily Value*
| Calories | 147kcal | 7% |
| Carbohydrates | 14g | 5% |
| Protein | 5g | 10% |
| Fat | 9g | 14% |
| Saturated Fat | 1g | 5% |
| Polyunsaturated Fat | 2g | 12% |
| Monounsaturated Fat | 5g | 25% |
| Cholesterol | 41mg | 14% |
| Sodium | 142mg | 6% |
| Potassium | 156mg | 3% |
| Fiber | 2g | 8% |
| Sugar | 12g | 24% |
| Vitamin A | 2177IU | 44% |
| Vitamin C | 1mg | 1% |
| Calcium | 61mg | 6% |
| Iron | 1mg | 6% |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
User Reviews
Overall Rating
4.9
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