Gluten-Free Pumpkin Spice Bars with Coconut Cream

Full disclosure, I was thinking to make pumpkin spice blondies, but these turned out as more of a chewy bar than a brownie/blondie consistency, so I just went with it. They still look and taste amazing!

This delicious holiday treat is perfect for your Halloween party or holiday snack. Every year I make some sort of pumpkin something because, why not? So this year It’s pumpkin spice bars! For previous pumpkin recipes, see my Bulletproof Pumpkin Pie Latte, Pumpkin Spice Bowl, or Pumpkin Pie protein smoothie!

As usual, you need to start prepping this a day in advance, so make sure to put two cans of full fat coconut cream in the fridge so the cream will separate and harden in the cold temperature. You will only need 1 can, but it’s always good to put two in because sometimes the cream won’t separate or harden properly, so it’s always good to have a backup.

I use a lot of spice in this recipe, but if you only have pumpkin pie spice, feel free to use that as well and just put one tablespoon in. As always, I encourage my viewers to be creative with their recipes, as I am with mine.

So without further ado…let us begin!

For the pumpkin bars you will need:

2 cups gluten free flour
1 cup melted butter
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 can pumpkin puree
1 egg
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp cloves

For the coconut cream you will need:

1 cup hardened coconut cream
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tbsp maple syrup
2 tbsp coconut milk powder
extra pumpkin pie spice for topping

Step 1:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Be sure that your coconut cream was chilled in the fridge for at least a day prior so that you can separate the fat from the leftover coconut water.

Step 2:

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients

In a slightly smaller bowl, melt the butter in a pot or microwave, then add the sugar, vanilla and maple syrup. Make sure the butter is fully cooled before adding in the egg. Beat all together.

Step 3:

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix thoroughly. Grease a rectangular pan and spread the mixture thin. Put in the oven and bake for about 30 to 35 minutes.

Step 4:

As the bars are cooking, make the coconut cream.

Take one can out of the fridge and open. Scoop the coconut cream out of the can and into a bowl, making sure not to scoop out too much of the liquid that’s separated.

Put the liquid back into the fridge to use for another time (it works great in coffee!)

With a whisk or electric mixture, beat in the maple syrup, coconut milk powder and pumpkin pie spice. Put back in the fridge to cool.

Step 5:

After the bars have cooked set aside to cool. Once they are cool, slice into equal square parts, about 1 to 2 inches in diameter. Spread a generous layer of the coconut cream on top of a bar, and place another bar on top of that. Finish with a second layer of coconut cream and a sprinkle of pumpkin pie spice.