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Sweet, dense pumpkin bars topped with a decadent cinnamon spiced cream cheese frosting. This recipe is low carb, sugar free, and a Trim Healthy Mama S Recipe.
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Ah, pumpkin spice. I am one of those people that loves pumpkin enough to eat it all year long. But for some reason many people have relegated pumpkin to the Autumn season. I'm sure it is because that is when pumpkins are harvested. But, thanks to canned pumpkin, I can still enjoy my pumpkin treats all year long.
Even I admit, though, that my pumpkin cravings kick up a notch when we edge towards fall. I was going to say "when the weather turns cooler," but in Montana, it is pretty much cool every morning. Even when it gets to 95 degrees during the day, it will usually cool off to at least 60 overnight. One of the many joys of living in the Rocky Mountains! I love it!
My husband, who does NOT love pumpkin, forbade me last year to post any pumpkin recipes until September 1. (He was only joking!) I did wait until September 1 last year to post my first ever pumpkin recipe - Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffin in a Mug. But I figured this year that August 31 was pretty close to September 1! (Shhhh . . . don't tell him! Wink, wink!)
But back to the recipe at hand - these wonderful Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting. These bars passed a teenage (dorm) son test, and the test of my (almost) 10 year old and 8 year old. That alone should tell you something!
If you are not big on spice, you can omit the cinnamon from the cream cheese frosting, but I think it gives it a nice touch. Also, if you do not have Baking Blend, you can use an equal blend of almond flour, flax meal, and coconut flour. And if you do not have Gentle Sweet, you can use your favorite powdered sweetener, or use half the amount of Pyure (available at most Walmarts).
So, what do you need for these delicious bars?
1 Cup Baking Blend
¾ Teaspoon Aluminum Free Baking Powder
¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
⅛ Teaspoon Ginger
1 Teaspoon Vanilla
⅓ Cup Gentle Sweet
2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil, Melted
2 eggs
½ Cup Pumpkin Puree (Canned Pumpkin)
¼ Cup Water
Frosting:
(1) 8 Ounce Cream Cheese, Softened
3 Tablespoons Gentle Sweet
3 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
9 Pecan Halves, if Desired
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Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting (Low Carb, Sugar Free, THM-S)
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Baking Blend
- ¾ Teaspoon Aluminum Free Baking Powder
- ¼ Teaspoon Baking Soda
- 2 Teaspoons Cinnamon
- ¼ Teaspoon Nutmeg
- ⅛ Teaspoon Ginger
- 1 Teaspoon Vanilla
- ⅓ Cup Gentle Sweet
- 2 Tablespoons Coconut Oil Melted
- 2 eggs
- ½ Cup Pumpkin Puree Canned Pumpkin
- ¼ Cup Water
Frosting:
- 1 8 Ounce Cream Cheese Softened
- 3 Tablespoons Gentle Sweet
- 3 Tablespoons Heavy Whipping Cream
- ¼ Teaspoon Cinnamon
- 9 Pecan Halves if Desired
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350.
For the Bars:
- In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.
- Add remaining ingredients and stir well.
- Pour into a greased 8x8 glass dish. (Batter may be thick - just spread it out.)
- Bake for 20 minutes.
- Allow to cool completely.
For the Frosting:
- Beat softened cream cheese until fluffy.
- Add Gentle Sweet and heavy whipping cream and beat for 1-2 minutes.
- Spread frosting onto cooled bars.
- Place in the refrigerator for 1 hour to help frosting to "set."
- Cut into 9 pieces.
- Top each piece with 1 pecan half, if desired.
- Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Nutrition
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| Nutrition Facts |
| Amount Per Serving |
|
Calories 215
|
|
% Daily Value
|
|
Total Fat 15g
24%
|
|
Saturated Fat 10g
50%
|
|
Trans Fat 0g
|
|
Cholesterol 79mg
26%
|
|
Sodium 157mg
7%
|
|
Total Carbohydrates 15g
5%
|
|
Dietary Fiber 9g
37%
|
|
Sugars 3g
|
|
Protein 6g
|
|
Vitamin A 30%
Vitamin C undefined%
|
|
Calcium 11%
Iron undefined%
|
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[…] Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting […]
Christine Viehland
Mine is in the oven, smells yummy! Doubled it to take some to potluck Bible study this weekend. First pumpkin treat since adding grain free/sugar free to my gluten free way of eating. Miss my pumkin bread (IT'S CAKE, REALLY!). The real question is if I can keep from eating the icing before the bars cool, lol! Thanks for the recipe!!!!!!!
Sarah Hardy
So awesome! I hope you enjoyed it! (I love that frosting, too!)
Megan
These were delicious. But how can this be an S when it has 15g of fat and 15g of carbs? Wouldn't that be a XO? I'm new to THM. Just curious. Thanks for the recipe!
Sarah Hardy
Hi Megan! There are only 6 Net Carbs per serving. To get net carbs, you subtract the fiber, and any sugar alcohols. I hope this helps. 🙂
Linda
These look amazing! I do not have any Baking Blend but see that baking blend is specially formulated with oat fiber, almond and coconut flour. I do have these 3 ingredients though. Do you know the amounts of each that would make up the correct formula? Thank you!
Sarah Hardy
Hi Linda! If you do not have the baking blend, I recommend that you use 1/3 cup each of coconut flour, almond flour, and flax meal. 🙂
Leigh
These were AMAZING! I actually ate 2 servings for breakfast. The cream cheese frosting is addictive!! I will be making these again! Thank you for the recipe.
Sarah Hardy
So glad you loved them! Perfect for breakfast! 🙂
Jenni F.
Made this for Breakfast today and not only did I like it but both of my kids had seconds. So yummy (even without the cream cheese topping)
Sarah Hardy
Wonderful!!! I'm so thrilled that you enjoyed them!!
Erin
These are amazing! They are perfect for breakfast. Do you think coconut flour vs. baking blend would be ok?
Sarah Hardy
No, coconut flour is very thirsty and you would have to adjust the liquids as well. If you do not have baking blend, I recommend using equal parts coconut flour, almond flour, and flax meal. 🙂
Erin
Thank you!
Laura Lane of Harvest Lane Cottage
Hi, These look great. I'm sharing a link to your recipe on my blog Friday September 22, 2017.
If you'd like me to remove it, I will be happy to. Please either email me or leave a comment on the blog post. It's called "Digging Into the Archives". I am recovering from chemotherapy, so instead of writing my regular Friday feature, I'm sharing some of my old blog posts and linking to a couple recipes that look yummy including yours.
Thanks so much for sharing this. I look forward to trying them.
Tracey
If you don’t have baking blend can you use Carbquik?
Sarah Hardy
I have never used Carbquick, so I cannot give a definite answer. Baking Blend has oat fiber and coconut flour, which are both very thirsty. You may need to adjust the eggs/liquid ratio.
Wendy
There are different sizes of canned pumpkin, please tell me the size can you are using. Thanks.
Sarah Hardy
I usually buy 15 ounce cans of pumpkin. But this recipe only uses 1/2 cup. 🙂
Tiffanie
Mine was not done in 20 mins... I had to cook it several more minutes,! What did I do wrong ??
Sarah Hardy
All ovens are different, and may require adjustments to the baking times. 🙂
Carrie
I don’t have all the spices. Could I just use pumpkin pie spice? If so, how much would you recommend? Thanks!
Amber
Can you use honey or maple as the sweetener for this?
Sarah Hardy
I would think so, but I would not know the amounts.
Shelly
These are SO good! I made two batches and then doubled the recipe and made another batch My husband even liked them! Thank you! They save me when I come home from work late.
Nicole Tolosa
Is there a gentle sweet substitute? How much pyure would I use for a sweetener?
Sarah Hardy
When using Pyure in place of Gentle Sweet, I usually use half the amount.
Jo
Delicious! I love the dense texture. I only had 1/2 the amount of ingredients for the frosting, but the thinner layer of frosting was still enough.
Cindy
I made these, I did have to cook longer than 20 min. But they are delicious. I forced my husband to taste and he said hey these aren’t bad, does it have all that funny stuff in them? I said yes honey it does. He said not bad...he hates all the sweets I make. But this was a hit. Now to go hide them.
Saralyn B.
These taste ever so naughty!!! It cures the craving for my mom’s pumpkin bars (which are amazing, but full of sugar). I doubled the recipe and made a double layer. I also subbed part of the cream cheese for Greek yogurt, and it was really good. 🙂 my mom gave these bars a thumbs up as well. Thank you for the recipe!
Cindy S. in Indiana
These are excellent. I made one batch as is, and they were super. The second batch, I doubled the recipe and added unsweetened coconut and walnuts to the batter before baking. Also very good. And that icing.....wow...fantastic. Thank you for a great go-to fall recipe. This is definitely a keeper and will probably be on the Thanksgiving menu.
Sarah Hardy
So glad you liked it! Love the additions!
Brianna
Has anyone tried it with 1/3 fat cream cheese?
Sarah Hardy
I have not, but I think it would work just fine.
Susan Holder
Assigned to bake a church ladies worthy dessert I nearly caved under the pressure of wanting my dessert to be enjoyed and admired. I mean I seriously downloaded two different possibilities of recipes which were based on traditional cooking and full of junk, not food. I have been a THM for almost three years. I have gradually converted most of my family and some of my friends. And I am very comfortable taking a THM treat to our group meetings as an alternative to fattening treats. But, when this assignment came, I nearly buckled. I am so thankful my daughter who has been THM for only 1 year evaluated my so called "best" recipes I had chosen and said, "No mom, you cannot serve that stuff!" So I looked for a similar recipe following THM and I found this one. I did try it with just the original recipe first and it was everything I wanted. Pretty, tasty, and not diet-like. So after reading the comments here I decided to triple the batch for the amount I needed to take to the function. They turned out beautiful! Thank you so much! The only reason I wrote this was because I was so surprised by my own lack of confidence in cooking this way even after three years but the support of another THM gal (my own daughter and convert) helped me get to exactly where I wanted to be. The event is tomorrow and I am sure the ladies will enjoy the dessert and think they are eating "sinfully" at church. LOL
I am not sure yet, if I will tell the secret to this awesome recipe. Some things are meant to be kept secret.
Sarah Hardy
Awe, thank you so much for sharing! I am so glad it passed the test - and I hope it was a hit!
Carol
I know this post is old, and you may not see this, but I feel compelled to comment anyway. I often see THMamas comment about not telling others that something is THM-compliant. I understand wanting to keep it a ‘secret’ (people might not eat it, after all, if they find out it’s ‘diet food’), but I must ask you to consider allergies that people may have. My dil is deathly allergic to coconut, of all things, so this recipe would be a huge issue for her! Please let people know ingredients and let them decide what they can safely eat. If I were to make something like this that is ‘out of the ordinary’ for most people, I would make a copy of the recipe and place it next to the dish.
Cindy
Has anyone froze these frosting and all? Do they turn out well frozen they sound very good.
Christine
I made a double batch today to bring to a party tonight. So good! I did sub the baking blend like mentioned before with the 1/3 of almond/coconut/flax since that's all I had in the house. I also subbed 1/2 cup swerve and a squeeze of stevia for the pumpkin bars and 2/3 cup of confectioners swerve in the icing because that's what I had on hand. This is a keeper!
Julie
Should these be refrigerated or can they be left out?
Sarah Hardy
They should be refrigerated.
Heather
made as directed but tripled and put into a 9x13. frosting was amazing, but the bars were not sweet enough by far and it was very dry. 😪 Was going to take to a church banquet but not anymore. I love pumpkin bars but unfortunately this one didn't work for me.