It’s the time of year when all-things-pumpkin start to appear out of the woodwork, including a variety of sweet treats such as pumpkin pie bars. And this seasonal change is always welcome in my kitchen! Fall is a season that marks a major shift in the availability of some glorious starchy vegetables. Bumpy, smooth, colorful, varied-in-size winter squashes make their appearance in floral decorations adorned with mums, exquisite displays at local farmers markets, centerpieces with colorful fall foliage, and even as a a focal point in large scale grocery stores. There is no disputing the plentiful abundance and versatility of the winter squash and pumpkin family!
One of my favorite ways to use winter squash is in creamy soups like this Winter Squash Sweet Potato Soup. I also have a great recipe for a cardamom butternut squash soup that I need to get loaded onto the blog before all of these amazing fresh vegetables have once again retreated into hibernation for the spring and summer.
The one deterrent to using winter squash or pumpkins is that you have to wrestle open a rock hard fruit using a knife (that never feels sharp enough), scrape out the insides, bake (or pressure cook) the flesh, and then turn the meat into a culinary masterpiece. Most of the time, this multi-step process feels totally manageable, but I found myself popping open a can of organic pumpkin puree to make these pumpkin pie bars and I have to say that it was awfully satisfying.
I’m all about getting the kids in the kitchen and this recipe lent well to their assistance. Kids are more inclined to try new foods when they’re involved in the cooking process, so I like to incorporate them as often as I can stand (no, they’re not always helpful; they’re often a hindrance, but I request their help knowing that I’m raising competent, useful humans). My six year old made the filling almost entirely by himself and my three year old daughter helped with the crust.
These bars turned out wonderful and I love that there’s no added sugar – the sweetness from the bananas is enough to satisfy the kids and they’re giddy over eating “treats” throughout the day. I may have even served these at breakfast this week. This healthy treat is so simple to prepare and I love having a healthy fall treat to offer to kids whenever they want something sweet, creamy, and delicious.
- 2 cups almond flour
- 2 tablespoons melted coconut oil
- 1 egg white (reserve yolk for filling)
- pinch of salt
- 1, 15 ounce can pumpkin puree
- 2 ripe bananas (see note below)
- 2, 5.4 ounce cans coconut cream
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg yolk (reserved from crust)
- 1/4 cup gelatin (or 1/3 cup collagen)
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- pinch of salt
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Place all of the crust ingredients into a medium-sized bowl and mix with a spoon until everything is well combined. The crust will be crumbly, but will pack together when pressed into a pan.
- Line the bottom (and sides, if desired) of a 7 x 11 inch baking dish with a piece of parchment paper by cutting the parchment paper to fit into the pan. Use coconut oil to grease any surfaces of the pan that are not covered with parchment paper.
- Pour the crust mixture into the pan and press it evenly into the bottom of the pan to form a bottom crust. Bake the crust for 10 minutes while you prepare the filling.
- Place all filling ingredients into a blender and blend on high till a smooth batter forms, about 30 seconds to one minute.
- Pour the filling onto the warm crust and bake for 50 minutes.
- Allow the bars to cool for a minimum of 2 hours before slicing into 15 even squares. (See note below about flavor.)
- These bars are best when prepared 24 hours in advance. They can be eaten immediately, but you'll mostly taste banana when they're eaten soon after being cooked. The pumpkin flavor improves while the banana flavor fades after about 24 hours. You can avoid the banana flavor altogether by using 1 1/2 ripe plantains in the place of bananas.
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