Pumpkin Crumble Bars
Ingredients
- Crust:
- 8 ounces gingersnap cookies I use the ones from Trader Joe’s
- ⅓ cup unrefined virgin coconut oil melted
- Topping:
- 1 cup whole grain flour such as whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, einkorn, spelt, GF flour blend, and/or oat flour (or combine any of these)
- ¼ cup maple sugar brown sugar, or coconut sugar (my preference is maple or brown)
- ¼ cup unbleached organic cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cold vegan butter or cold coconut oil, cut into pieces
- Filling:
- ½ 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk or coconut condensed milk*, just under ⅔ cup
- ½ 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, about a heaping ¾ cup
- ½ large egg** about 1 ½ Tablespoons or 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot powder
- 2 ¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Position oven rack to the middle position of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease an 8 x 8 baking dish with coconut oil and line with unbleached parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the sides. The parchment will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan.
- Prepare the crust: process cookies and coconut oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it resembles wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, you can smash the cookies into crumbs in a disposable bag and combine with the coconut oil in a large bowl. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish and press crumbs firmly into the bottom of the dish making an even layer. The crust should be about ¼-inch thick. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to do this. The better you press the crust, the better it will hold together.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. This can be done a day in advance.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the topping: Pulse all the topping ingredients in a food processor or in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. This can also be done by hand or with a pastry blender. The goal is to get the mixture to be moist, not dry, and in pea-size clumps. Squeeze with your hands to create small clumps. Place in the fridge to keep cold while you make the filling.
- Blend all filling ingredients in a blender or whisk in a bowl and pour onto the prebaked crust.
- Crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake until filling is set and the topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Can be made up to 3 days in advance. When ready to serve, run a thin knife around the perimeter of the baking dish and use the parchment overhang to lift out the bars.
Notes
*Or use ½ (13.5 ounce) can coconut cream OR 1/2 can whole fat coconut milk + 2 Tablespoons cane sugar or honey
**To measure half an egg, I crack a whole egg in a small jar, shake, and use half of it. Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs* (about 14 standard crackers pulverized in a food processor)
6 Tablespoons unrefined virgin coconut oil, melted
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
Pinch sea salt Process all crust ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it resembles wet sand. Follow the same steps in the recipe.
**To measure half an egg, I crack a whole egg in a small jar, shake, and use half of it. Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs* (about 14 standard crackers pulverized in a food processor)
6 Tablespoons unrefined virgin coconut oil, melted
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
Pinch sea salt Process all crust ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it resembles wet sand. Follow the same steps in the recipe.