Pumpkin Spice Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup cooked sugar pumpkin
- 1 cup almond meal
- ½ cup sliced banana (about 1/2 large banana)
- ¼ cup Date Honey
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ cup finely chopped walnuts
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place pumpkin, almond meal, banana, Date Honey, flaxseed meal, and pumpkin pie spice in a food processor or blender. Purée until smooth. Stir in walnuts, and pour into an 8 x 4 x 2 1/2-inch bread loaf pan (small size). Use a spatula to smooth mixture into an even layer.
- Bake 45-50 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool for about 5 minutes. Cut the loaf vertically down the middle, and then horizontally to make 16 bars (2 x 1-inch each).
- To bake a sugar pumpkin: Preheat oven to 375°F. Remove stem from pumpkin, and cut pumpkin in half. Scoop out pulp and seeds. Discard (or set aside if you want to keep the pumpkin seeds). Using a basting brush, rub olive oil across surface of pumpkin (use about ½ tablespoon total).
- Place halves on a baking sheet, cut sides up. Bake about 1 hour, or until pumpkin is tender when pierced with a fork. Remove from oven, and let sit on baking sheet until cool enough to handle, about 10-15 minutes.
- Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 2 bars)
Notes
- Use 1 cup canned pumpkin instead of 1 cup cooked sugar pumpkin.
- If you don’t have a food processor or blender, you can mix the ingredients by hand. Just make sure the pumpkin and banana are well mashed.
- You can also use an 8 x 8-inch pan. However, your bars will not be as thick, and the baking time will be 30-35 minutes.
- Substitute pecans for the walnuts.
- Add raisins or chopped dates.
Nutrition
Calories: 142kcalCarbohydrates: 11gProtein: 4gFat: 10gSugar: 5gCalcium: 4mg
Hello,
I am allergic to bananas. Can you recommend a replacement or do you think the recipe would be fine without it?
And thank you for all of the comments, modifications and general inspiration on this journey. Last year I did a modified fast because I wasn’t prepared and found this site. This year I prayed and prepared and this has be a savior for me!
You could probably get by without out it since you’ll have the Date Honey to add some sweetness to the pumpkin. Another idea is to add about 1/4 cup applesauce. I think I’d try it without the banana and see what you think. I’m thankful you’re doing the fast again this year. 🙂 May the Lord fill you with His power and peace as you trust Him!
I made this recipe tonight for our church women’s group that meets each month. I doubled the recipe. I used can pumpkin and coconut flour instead of almond meal. I mixed all the ingredients thoroughly except the coconut flour, I added the flour last. I put in one cup and incorporated it completely it was a little dry so I added 1/2 cup of unsweetened apple sauce, and did not use the other cup of flour. I also used 1 cup of pecans instead of 1/2 cup. Then I added a teaspoon of cinnamon. I baked it in an 8×8 glass pan on 325 for 50 minutes. It came out perfect and was a big hit. Thank you for the recipes on this site, I have made several they are wonderful.
Thanks for sharing your modification to the recipe! Sounds good. I appreciate your comments and pray the Lord will bless you abundantly as you seek Him!
I used my kitchen aid mixer with the whisk to mix it up. It is too much for the food processor
Please explain why it has to be date honey as opposed to other kinds of honey. We live in a small town and I can’t find date honey. Thanks,.
Date Honey is a recipe in my book (it’s also on my website) that’s made with dates and water. It’s not actually “honey” because there is no added sugar. The name just describes the texture and taste. Date Honey us a sweet, slightly thickened paste, similar to flavored honey I had in New Zealand years ago. If you don’t have access to dates where you live, you can substitute dried plums. They’re not as sweet, but they will work!
Thank you for the verse in Romans you posted. Friends and I had been having friendly debates after church about all the different minor ingredients in recipes (date honey, agave nectar, honey, etc.) and it got very complicated. We finally resolved that everyone should follow their own conviction, as the Spirit led us to reason together. It was so liberating. But now I’m joyous that I can share this scripture! This recipe looks great, by the way. Thank you again.
You’re welcome. Thank you for your comment. May God bless you richly as you press on to know Him!
Hello Kristen, I just made the Pumpkin Spice Bars and they smell amazing 🙂 The consistency is a bit soft and I wonder if it’s because I used canned pumpkin? Should I use less of the pumpkin since it’s canned? I tasted a little end and it’s yummy! Has the taste of creamy pumpkin pie 😀 Thank you~
Thank you for a great recipe 🙂
Hi, Jane! It could be due to the canned pumpkin, but I wouldn’t think it would be that different. I haven’t made the recipe with canned pumpkin yet, so I’m not sure. They might firm up a little more if you cook them longer.
I just took these out of the oven, yum! I made my own almond flour; first placed almonds in small food processor then added a little at a time to coffee grinder, a little extra time but worth it.
I love success stories! Thanks for sharing, Sally. 🙂
can you use whole wheat flour or oat flour instead?
I haven’t tried, but I don’t see why not. The almond meal adds a slight sweetness, which is nice. But I think regular flour would work just fine!
Hi Kristen! These look great. I’d like to make them tomorrow for a friend’s birthday. I have a bag of raw almonds and a Vitamix. Can you explain how to make the almond meal (or did you buy yours?)?
If you have a Vitamix, you should be able to grind those almonds up into a pretty fine powder. I don’t have a Vitamix (I’m too cheap!). My blender is a high-quality one, but it won’t do the job. I have to purchase almond meal at the store, which is convenient but expensive. Give it a try, and let me know how it comes out! If it doesn’t chop up fine enough, you can always use the almonds for smoothies or in other recipes.
Unfortunately you can’t grind up almonds in a Vitamix and get almond meal – if you grind almonds you’ll get almond butter. This has to be purchased, unless you have a way to extract the oil and moisture!
Aaah, yes, you are correct. I wasn’t thinking. You’d probably need to use a coffee grinder or something like that. I’ve never done it myself. Maybe someone else has a suggestion. Thanks, Catherine, for correcting me on that one!
Actually, I have both the wet and dry containers and I put 1 cup of almonds into the dry container and got a perfect almond meal in about 30 seconds! This recipe turned out pretty well. I added a few more tablespoons of date honey (so like a heaping 1/3 cup) because the mixture wasn’t hardly sweet at all. They turned out pretty well, but sort of fell apart (probably because I added extra date honey) so next time I would probably add in a little oat flour. The pumpkin pie spice seemed to get lost after baking, so next time I think I’ll add 1/4-1/2 teaspoon more. Over alll, this was just what I needed to satisfy my mid-fast sweet tooth!
I have a bullet. I ground almonds in it worked great. I used the small cup and ground about a cup at a time.
Can you use canned pure pumpkin & coconut flour?
Yes, you can use canned pumpkin and coconut flour. The texture will be slightly different (the coconut flour is more dense); however, the taste should be just as wonderful!
Is this allowed during the fast?
All of the recipes on this site are Daniel Fast friendly!
I would disagree….my personal conviction is no sweets….Daniel said nothing pleasant and for me the use of date honey would not allow it not be a Daniel Fast item. I think each person needs to pray and find out what the Holy Spirit would allow them to have. The point of the Daniel fast is to subdue and deny our flesh. I see many recipes and books out that miss the point of what the fast is all about. But again this is my conviction.
I agree with your position on being sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit as you fast. Not everyone’s fast is going to look the same, and that’s ok. I believe the Bible supports this perspective as well. Paul said in Romans 14:1, “I know and am perfectly sure on the authority of the Lord Jesus that no food, in and of itself, is wrong to eat. But if someone believes it is wrong, then for that person it is wrong.” There you go. 🙂
I understand your point Linda. This is my second time on the Daniel Fast, and I eat mostly from this website. I can attest that my flesh suffers greatly, and even though we eat dates (and date honey) that is no substitute for the ice cream, and cookies and milk that my flesh screams for. We eat pretty healthy when we’re off the fast, but even so, flesh is always going to want the really bad things..and the fact that this fast is so restricting, makes it a major denial of self. When I want an Oreo that is in my cabinet from Christmas, and I eat a “sweet” from this website, my flesh is screaming “This is not pleasing!”
Another perspective…when we make grilled vegetables, and beans and rice (on this fast) my flesh screams….”THIS IS AMAZING!” So…in order to make it 21 days with “nothing pleasant” you would have to be eating disgusting stuff the entire time…in order to adhere literally to that verse.
But, this is not about legalism…it is about denying self…and leaning on God. It is about being sensitive to the Holy Spirit for what he has for you. I believe any time you deny yourself, there is gain.
Well said, Rose. Thank you. 🙂
You are correct rose.we are denying ourselves. You could even argue the sugars from the fruits.if you wanted to be legalistic.
It is between us an God and he sees the heart.