Pumpkin Bars
And BOGO30 at Eat Happy Kitchen to ring in Thanksgiving like proper consumers!!
Please press play on the above video, and I will show you how to make one of my most popular recipes: Pumpkin Bars from my second cookbook Eat Happy Too.
As I’m writing this post, Thanksgiving is tomorrow, and I probably should’ve posted this recipe back in October.
Beating myself up for not adhering to deadlines I’ve created in my head is my superpower. I’ll work on that for 2026.
BUT FOR NOW…
Make sure you grab some Eat Happy Kitchen deliciousness while the BOGO30 sale is active for the consumerist monstrosity that is Black Friday/Small Business Saturday/Cyber Monday!!
It’s our deepest dive ever—but only through December 2nd. But go over to the site and stock up before you forget and get distracted and spend your money some place else.
OK, let’s make some Pumpkin Bars.
If you have a leftover can of pumpkin puree from Thanksgiving, you can whip these up pretty quickly. I bet you have most of the spices on hand, and you probably have almond butter and a brick of cream cheese, right?
I provided two kinds of frosting: Maple Walnut Glaze (dairy free) and Cream Cheese Frosting (dairy full).
As always, here’s the downloadable printable PDF of these recipes:
Happy Thanksgiving, you Turkeys.
XO
PUMPKIN BARS
(Yields 9-12 bars)
1/2 cup almond flour
3 tablespoons coconut flour
One (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree (check the label for no sugar added)
1/2 cup almond butter (I use smooth, but if you like nuts in your baked goods, use crunchy almond butter)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 eggs
1/2 cup date syrup, honey, or coconut nectar
Avocado oil spray or coconut oil spray to grease the pan
Maple Walnut Glaze (see recipe below) OR Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe below)
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, coconut flour, pumpkin puree, almond butter, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, cloves, nutmeg, salt, baking soda, and eggs and using a hand mixer, combine until well mixed. Then add the date syrup or preferred sweetener, and combine again with the hand mixer until the batter is smooth. Spray the surface of an 8”x8” baking pan and pour the batter into the pan.
If using the Maple Walnut Glaze, bake for 30-35 minutes, remove the baking dish from the oven, evenly pour on the Maple Walnut Glaze, put back in the oven and bake for 10 more minutes. Removing from the oven and let cool completely before cutting and serving the bars.
If using the Cream Cheese Frosting, bake for 40-45 minutes, remove from the oven and let it cool completely before spreading the Cream Cheese Frosting evenly on top. Cut into bars and serve.
MAPLE WALNUT GLAZE (dairy free)
1 teaspoon coconut oil, melted
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch of salt
1 cup walnut pieces or pecan pieces
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the coconut oil, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt. Add in the nut pieces, stirring to coat with them with the syrup-oil mixture. Pour over the pumpkin bars 30-35 minutes into cooking them, then bake for 10 more minutes. Let the dish cool completely, then cut into bars and serve.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING (dairy-full!)
8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Whisk all ingredients with a hand mixer or whisk until blended into a creamy frosting. After the pumpkin bar baking dish has cooked and cooled completely, spread the cream cheese frosting on top, cut into bars and serve.
*Recipe originally published in Eat Happy Too
These recipes look great! Thank you for sharing them! I love that they are low in carbs. Could I use monkfruit-erythritol sweetener instead of some of the sugar?