Healthy Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting (Low Carb)

Photo from Wholesome
Yum

This recipe I had such high hopes for. The ingredients, the blogger, the photo, all of it. Made me really want to like this recipe. 

It was not great. The first part was the weird part of mixing coconut oil and cream cheese together. Melting it together rather. Turned out I didn't have coconut oil so I used regular veg oil. In hindsight I wish I would have used melted butter. 

Almond flour is never going to win me over. Janet told me at book club about an almond CAKE flour she uses that she really likes. I'm going to check that out and maybe that would make this better. I really want to like this recipe. The texture was very much pumpkin pie esk and I think that was part of what I didn't like.

Healthy Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting (Low Carb)

Recipe from WholesomeYum

Makes 16 bars

• 1 c Pumpkin puree
• 1/4 c Coconut oil
• 2 oz Cream cheese
• 2 large Egg
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 c Blanched almond flour
• 2/3 c Besti Monk Fruit Erythritol Blend
• 2 tsp Gluten-free baking powder
• 1 tsp Pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 tsp Sea salt

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 6 oz Cream cheese (softened, cubed)
• 1/2 c Powdered erythritol
• 1 tsp Vanilla extract
• 1 T Heavy cream (optional, for easier frosting)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (177 degrees C). Line a 9x9 in (23x23 cm) baking pan with parchment paper.

Using a bowl in the microwave or a double boiler on the stove, melt together the cream cheese and coconut oil, until you can stir them together easily.

In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, melted coconut oil/cream cheese mixture, eggs and vanilla. Beat with a hand mixer at medium speed, until smooth.

In another bowl, stir together the almond flour, sweetener, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt.

Add the dry flour mixture to the wet ingredients. Beat with the hand mixer at low speed, until just combined.

Transfer the batter to the lined baking pan and smooth the top. Bake for 20-30 minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely.

To make the frosting, use a hand mixer to beat together the cream cheese, sweetener, and vanilla, until smooth. (You can thin it out with a little milk or cream if you'd like.) Let the bars cool completely before frosting and cutting.