Pumpkin Bars

I love to grow pie pumpkins in my garden.  After harvesting, I bake them, scoop out the pulp and freeze it in two cup increments.  I wrap the refrigerator cooled pulp in a square of plastic wrap and then place these in large Ziploc bags.  Of course, pumpkin pie around Thanksgiving is our favorite, but we enjoy other dishes such as this year round.

 



 

Ingredients:

 

1/2 cup walnuts pieces

1/2 cup dates with oat flour or pitted date pieces

1 1/4 cup whole grain flour(s)  or 1 cup berries, ground to pastry 

 (I use 1/3 spelt, 1/3 buckwheat, 1/3  whole wheat)

1 Tbl sunflower seeds, ground in flax grinder

1 tsp yellow sesame seeds, ground in flax grinder

1 tsp black sesame seeds, ground in flax grinder

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

pinch nutmeg

1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into pieces

1 cup rolled oats

 

Filling:

 

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp ginger

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp all spice

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/4 tsp sea salt

2 cups pumpkin pulp, pureed or 1 can pumpkin

2/3 cup cream

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 range free egg, fork beaten

 

Preheat oven to 375 °F.  Place date pieces and walnuts in food processor and process until chopped and mixed.  Next, place sunflower seeds, and both sesame seeds in your 'flax' coffee grinder and process.  Add ground nuts to food processor mix.  Add the flour, sea salt, and baking soda to mix also.  Process until mixed together.  Then cut butter into chunks and add to the food processor.  Process until mixture is crumbly.  Add the rolled oats and process briefly until mixed in.  Reserve about a cup for the  crumb topping.

 

Grease a large 9 x 13" glass baking pan with butter. Gently press the remainder of the crumbly mix into the pan and bake for 10 minutes at 375 °F.  Don't clean the food processor yet, you will use it again.

 

While crust is baking, prepare filling.  Place spices and sea salt into clean bowl, mix together.  Place the pumpkin pulp into the food processor and process briefly until smooth.  (I have found it is much better to process right before using, rather than before freezing.  If you process before freezing, the processed pumpkin becomes a watery mess when you thaw it.)

 

Add pumpkin puree to spices and stir well into evenly mixed.  Measure out cream and maple syrup and add to pumpkin mix.  Fork beat an egg and add it also.  With a spatula, mix all wet ingredients together until smooth.

 

Pour wet ingredients onto crust, and then sprinkle the crumb mixture on top.  Return to oven and bake for an additional 25 to 30 minutes, or until pumpkin layer is set.  Cool and enjoy.