Pumpkin Bars 1.0

This was an experiment I did today. I had made some pumpkin cookies using almond butter recently, and I liked the flavor, but they just didn’t do it for me. The texture wasn’t right for a cookie. So I decided to see if I could alter the recipe to turn them into bars. This recipe is not intended to make a super sweet dessert. Skip the chocolate chips, and use dried cranberries or raisins, and I think you’ll have a nice, healthy breakfast bar. The chocolate chips just make it a little more decadent and turn it into a dessert.

It’s a couple days later, so I’ve had some time to ruminate about the bars, and eat several servings to confirm my opinion. 🙂 They’re delicious enough that I don’t see the need to make any changes to the recipe at this point. Besides myself, I’ve had four other taste testers, and everyone seems to like them.

Ingredients:

The ingredients

1 cup creamy almond butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg
1/4 cup pure maple syrup (or you could use honey)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Either 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips or 1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 F and grease an 8 x 8 inch baking dish.

Combine all the ingredients except for chocolate chips in a medium bowl, mixing until a smooth thick batter is formed. Stir in the chocolate chips last.

Bake at 350 F for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Here are the wet ingredients: almond butter, pumpkin pure, egg

The verdict: The texture is great, nice and moist. We like them – Sweet Bee asked for a second one. If you feel like giving them a try, please let me know what you think, and what changes you made, if any.