Recipe by @Pamelasalzman
In need of a healthy Thanksgiving dessert recipe? These Pumpkin Crumble Bars will blow your mind. The delicious bars taste like a perfect blend between a pumpkin pie and a gingersnap cookie. They would be dangerously addictive, but they’re made with healthier alternatives to typical dessert foods like Hu Gingersnap Cookies, gluten-free flour, monk fruit, and vegan butter. Trust me; they will be the hit of any dessert table at Thanksgiving.
Ingredients:
Crust:
8 ounces Hu Gingersnap Cookies
⅓ cup unrefined coconut oil, melted
Topping:
1 cup gluten free flour
¼ cup golden monkfruit
¼ cup monkfruit
½ tsp fine sea salt
8 T cold vegan butter
Filling:
½ (14-ounce) can sweetened coconut condensed milk or about 2/3 cup
½ (15-ounce can) pumpkin puree or about 3/4 cup
½ large egg
2 ¼ tsp pumpkin pie spice
Pinch of salt
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. 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.
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.
Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Prepare the topping: Pulse all the topping ingredients in a food processor or in a bowl. This can also be done by hand. 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. 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.
