Creamy Pumpkin Bars with Orange-Oat Crust

Swap traditional pumpkin pie for these pumpkin bars with a gluten-free crust. They’ll be a hit throughout the fall and winter holidays.

Ingredients

FOR THE CRUST

1¼ cups gluten-free rolled oats
½ cup pecan pieces
¼ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
¼ tsp.  fine salt
5 ounces medjool dates, pitted and chopped (about ¾ cup)
3 Tbs. coconut oil, room temperature
1 Tbs. maple syrup
½ tsp. grated orange zest

FOR THE FILLING

½ cup maple syrup
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin purée
⅓ cup whole-milk plain yogurt
2 eggs (beaten)
1¾ tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1½ tsp. vanilla extract
¼ t tsp. grated orange zest
¼ t tsp. fine salt

Directions

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan. In a food processor, combine oats, pecan pieces, ¼ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice and ¼ teaspoon salt; pulse until mixture resembles coarse sand. Add dates, coconut oil, 1 tablespoon maple syrup and ½ teaspoon orange zest. Process until mixture comes together, scraping down sides as needed. (TIP: Mixture should stick together when pressed between your fingers.) Transfer to prepared pan, and press evenly into bottom. Bake until lightly golden, about 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and set aside. Keep oven on.

1. In a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, bring ½ cup syrup to a boil. Reduce heat to keep syrup at a simmer for 5 minutes. Continue to reduce until about 6 tablespoons of thickened syrup remain.
2. While syrup is reducing, place pumpkin purée in a medium bowl. When syrup has reduced, measure ¼ cup and add to pumpkin; mix well and let cool slightly. Then, stir in yogurt, eggs, 1¾ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, ¼ teaspoon orange zest and salt. Whisk gently until smooth.
3. Pour filling over crust, and smooth top with a spatula. Bake until filling is set, just beginning to pull from sides of pan and slightly browning on top, 25–30 minutes. Remove pan from oven, and place on a wire rack to cool; then transfer to refrigerator to chill at least 2 hours before cutting. (TIP: It’s important to chill bars completely before cutting to help them release from the baking dish.) Garnish with more orange zest or chopped pecans.

PER SERVING (1 bar): 85 cal, 3g fat (1g mono, 0g poly, 2g sat), 23mg chol, 85mg sodium, 14g carb (1g fiber, 11g sugars), 2g protein

SOURCE: The recipe by Carsen Snyder is posted by permission of Delicious Living (and its parent company New Hope Network), a trusted voice in the natural living community for 30 years. Photo by Jennifer Olson.