Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
It’s officially fall, meaning pumpkin season has arrived. I’m an equal opportunity pumpkin consumer – entrees, desserts, I love them all. There’s something so rich and creamy about pumpkin and once you add the right spices or herbs, it shines. Imagine the filling of a pumpkin pie, but denser with chocolate chips, and that’s what these bars taste like. They’re moist, sweet, but not too sweet, and very flavorful courtesy of all the great spices. The bars have no grains, no gluten, no refined flour, no dairy and no added sugar (other than the chocolate chips, but you can use a darker chocolate and really limit the sugar.) If you need to avoid nuts, you could consider using sunflower butter instead of the almond butter.It’s pretty amazing all they don’t contain when they’re so delicious! If you want to avoid chocolate altogether, after all not everyone is a chocolate lover, you can substitute a combination of chopped walnuts and raisins or dried cranberries. Since there is no added sugar, they are a pretty safe snack because they won’t spike your blood sugar, especially if you change out the chocolate. They are very quick to put together and you can be enjoying them in about half an hour. Please let me know how you like them plus any alterations you make that you enjoy. Buon Appetito!
Ingredients
- 1 cup canned or boxed organic pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/4 cup organic almond butter you could use sunflower butter if you’re avoiding nuts
- 1 tablespoon unsweetened organic almond milk
- Energ-E egg replacement powder use the equivalent for 2 eggs. [Note: One egg = 1 ½ teaspoons Energ-E egg replacer plus 2 Tablespoons warm water.]
- 1/2 cup organic coconut flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/8 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
- Scant 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/2 cup dairy-free dark chocolate chips, divided in half. You can also make your own sugar free chocolate. Lily’s chocolate chips is sweetened with stevia.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line an 8×8 inch baking pan with parchment paper and grease with a little avocado or almond oil.
- Add pumpkin puree, maple syrup, vanilla extract, almond butter, almond milk and egg replacement flour to a large bowl and mix until well combined, smooth and creamy.
- Add in coconut flour, baking soda, salt and the remaining spices.
- Gently fold in 1/4 cup of chocolate chips into the batter. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean in the middle. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
- Place remaining ¼ cup of chocolate chips over the top of the cooked bars as a topping. Another option is to melt remaining 1/4 cup of chocolate chip in a double boiler over low heat. Once completely melted, drizzle the chocolate over the cooked bars with a spoon to make a nice drizzle pattern.
- Cool completely, cut into bars.
Notes
Is Your Health At Its Optimum?If you are suffering from any of the problems listed above—contact us for a consultation. Call (727) 335-0400 to schedule. Our medical clinic is located in Clearwater, FL. If you are not local to us, our medical team treats patients from across the country and internationally via telemedicine consultations. We help you find the underlying root cause of your health issues. To your health,
Dr. Vikki Petersen
DC, CCN
IFM Certified Practitioner
Founder of Root Cause Medical Clinic
Author of the books:
“The Gluten Effect”
"Hiatal Hernia Syndrome",
and of the e-book “Gluten Intolerance – What You Don’t Know May Be Killing You!”
Notes
These bars were inspired by Monique at Ambitious Kitchen (ambitiouskitchen.com). I changed them up a little, making them fully plant-based, but she is the true author of these beauties.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
