Harvest Monday 3/21/2011

PUMPKIN BARS

Crust:

4 cups rolled oats

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup maple syrup

3/4 cup butter

Blend together oats and flour.  Cut in butter.  Add maple syrup and mix well.

Filling:

1 2/3 cup mashed pumpkin

3/4 cup cream

1/2 cup honey

1 t. vanilla

1/4 t. nutmeg

2 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. ginger

1/8 t. ground cloves

Combine .

Spread 1/2 crust in an 8 x 12 pan.  Spread filling over crust and then crumble rest of crust mix over filling.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 - 40 minutes.

Pumpkin Bread

(this recipe was in one of my books - hand written by a friend)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 t. salt

1 t. baking soda

1 cup pumpkin puree

1/2 c. safflower oil

2 eggs

1/4 t. nutmeg

1 t. cinnamon 

1/4 t. allspice 

Walnuts

Combine all.  Bake in a bread pan at 350 degrees for 60 minutes.

Pumpkin Swirl Bars (GF, DF option)

Yield: 12 bars

Ingredients

• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 2/3 cup pure maple syrup
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/4 cup blanched almond flour
• 1/2 tsp celtic sea salt
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Cream Cheese Swirl (for dairy-free option, see *note below)
• 3 oz organic cream cheese, room temp
• 1 tbsp raw honey
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 egg white (save yolk for another use)

Instructions

1. First make the swirl topping: Using an electric hand mixer, blend together all of the Cream Cheese Swirl topping ingredients, except for the egg white, until smooth and creamy. Then, mix in the egg white, until well combined. Set aside.(*If you're dairy-free, skip this step.)
2. Next make the batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 9x9-inch baking dish (I use coconut oil).
3. In a small bowl, combine the almond flour, baking soda, salt and pumpkin spice. Set aside.
4. Using an electric hand mixer, blend (on low speed) pumpkin, maple syrup, eggs and vanilla for 1- 2 minutes, until well combined.
5. Slowly add the dry ingredients into the wet and continue mixing for a full minute, until smooth and well blended.
6. Reserve 1/2 cup of the batter. Then pour the rest of the batter into prepared baking dish, using a rubber spatula to help. (Be sure to even-out the top of the batter.)
7. Use a rubber spatula to add the cream cheese swirl topping to the top of the pumpkin batter. Be sure to evenly distribute it across the top without completely covering the pumpkin batter. (If DF, skip this step.)
8. Then drop small spoonfuls of the 1/2 cup of remaining pumpkin batter over some of the cream cheese swirl topping.
9. Next, use your index finger to swirl the cream cheese mixture and pumpkin batter together to create a pretty swirl pattern across the top, as shown in photo above. (Don't swirl too much or the two will blend together instead of swirling separately.)
10. Bake for approximately 28-30 minutes, until a toothpick insert in center comes out clean. Allow to cool for at least 10-15 minutes, before cutting into bars. Yum!