I know what you’re thinking. What the f*ck Juli. It’s the second day you’ve posted something sweet AND something pumpkin…where the hell is the real food?? Where is the originality?? I know, I get it. BUT in my defense, I had to use up my leftover pumpkin from yesterday’s waffles. Leave no food behind. It’s an act. Like the law kind of act. Look it up. So to make sure I didn’t get in trouble with the law, I made pumpkin pie bars. CAN YOU SAY OMG?! I can!
I want to talk about some random stuff:
Like the murdered squirrel outside my house. Don’t worry, he was murdered by his own kind, so it was a fair fight. That sounds real bad. BUT he’s been run over prooooobably 256 times, been rained on, been snowed on, probably been stepped on, and well, he smells like legitimate hell. Like, I have to hold my breath while getting out of the car.
Facebook messaging. And chat. I despise both. Mostly because I never check my messages then I look like a real asshole when I don’t write back.
Dark chocolate. I’m having a real love-hate relationship with it right. I bought a little tiny 80% bar last week and now it’s all I’m thinking about. I hate how Whole Foods has the chocolate bars in the check out isle. I stare at them for probably 5 minutes while moving slowly through the line, going through an insanely obsessive internal battle on whether or not to buy one. I’ve stayed strong so far…but I’m leaving for Whole Foods in probably 5 minutes. Sh*t.
And I need to mention the fact that I drank wine two nights in a row over the weekend. Friday night was awesome because I was home by myself, so I poured myself a glass of chardonnay, ate a steak, then proceeded on to make brownie batter ice cream. I didn’t know that’s what I was making, but it worked out that way. Bomb Friday night. THEN Laura and I thought it was a good idea to drink some wine before we called a cab to go out on Saturday. Wellllll, turns out wine makes you sleepy. And that’s what we did. Me on the couch, her on the floor. What’s up with me drinking wine? So weird.
Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Yield: 6 1x
Ingredients
For the crust
- 6 dates, pits removed
- 1 cup almond butter
- 2 eggs
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
For the filling
- 1 (14oz) can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup canned coconut milk
- 1/4 cup coconut butter, melted to be just a bit soft
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil, melted
- 3 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/8 teaspoon allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/16 teaspoon ground cloves (don’t measure, just splash)
- pinch of salt
For the toppings
- 1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- pinch of salt
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- First we will make the crust. Add your dates and almond butter to a food processor and pulse until it breaks down together.
- Then add your 2 eggs, honey, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and salt and puree until smooth.
- Grease an 8×8 glass baking dish with some coconut oil and pour in your crush. Use a spoon to smooth off the surface and level out all over.
- Place in oven to bake for 12-15 minutes or until crust is firm and cooked through when you poke it with a toothpick. Then let cool.
- While your crust is baking, make your filling ingredients.
- Add your pumpkin puree along with all other ingredients and puree until completely smooth. Coconut butter should be incorporated in, not chunky.
- When your crust is cool, top it off with your pumpkin puree filling and smooth evenly through.
- Last but not least, make your topping.
- Add 2 tablespoons of coconut oil to a small skillet to heat under medium heat. Then add your chopped pecans.
- These will burn easily so be careful.
- While constantly mixing the pecasn, add your maple syrup, cinnamon, and a bit of salt and continue to stir until pecans have roasted a bit. About 3-4 minutes.
- Pour pecans on top of pumpkin puree filling.
- Set in freezer to cool for 20+ minutes.
- Cut and serve. Keep in fridge or freezer to keep intact and from melting.
About to make these scrumptious treats! Can’t wait for the fall aroma in my kitchen and of course the tasty aftermath 🙂 would
Cooking time differ if I use a dark baking pan vs glass dish?
No clue
Is there any way I could use sunbutter in place of the almond butter? (I’ll also have to skip the topping) BIG nut allergy in our family 🙁 This looks amazing.
absolutely!! it will taste a little different but still great im sure!
Maybe you could show that squirrel some respect and pick/scrape him up and bury him…
Just made these.. Half with pecans half without.
Also, I made your mango tilapia last night and used red kale. My boyfriend told me I could have the last piece because it was very clear I was in love… Then I made it for breakfast for him again. Don’t judge me. I might love you.
I hope these are delicious because they are not easy to make with a hungry toddler hanging off of you!!! 🙂
I must have did something wrong? because my crust did not come out as fluffy as yours, nor did it come out in nice little squares. I was pretty disappointed because I made this for a party and everyone used spoons to dig it out, despite the lines I cut prior.
With looks aside, it tasted great. No complaints there, but this was a slight hassle. I’d like to know how to improve because I did enjoy the taste of this recipe!
Is the pumpkin part supposed to be sort of mushy? I let it in the freezer for longer than 20 minutes but it not firm at all.
i don’t know if mushy is the right term for it, but it is definitely softer like pumpkin pie filling is
I made this, because we are traveling for Thanksgiving and I can’t make a paleo pumpkin pie. They turned out so good. Thank you.
i know the worst thing ever is when people are like “oh i made this recipe, except i added 12 ingredients and left out the pumpkin, but other than that it was great.” so i’m sorry in advance for this comment…..BUT i did do that. ha. i omitted the coconut butter/concentrate, added a couple tablespoons of coconut flour and 2 eggs to the filing then baked it like pumpkin pie. um YES. just yes all around.
I made my own coconut butter last night per your directions….I don’t even know who I am any more! Thanks for helping me believe I can do good things in the kitchen! Will be making these tonight, can’t wait.