Pumpkin, pumpkin, pumpkin… Sure it’s fall. Soft, moist pumpkin bars, literally naturally gluten-free, sugar-free and low-carb. Frosted and decorated for Halloween or just a quick grab-and-go snack. You choose.
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| Nutrition information | Protein | Fat | Net carbs | kcal |
| In total: | 49.3 g | 38.3 g | 20.9 g | 635 kcal |
| Per bar if 12 bars in total: | 4.1 g | 3.2 g | 1.7 g | 53 kcal |
| Per bar if 16 bars in total: | 3.1 g | 2.4 g | 1.3 g | 40 kcal |
| Per bar if 20 bars in total: | 2.5 g | 1.9 g | 1.0 g | 32 kcal |
Tips for making these pumpkin bars
My favorite coconut flour from Edward & Sons has been a slight disappointment lately. The latest shipment was too coarse, and I could taste and feel the flaky coconut in my baked goods. And that wasn’t a nice taste and feel at all. It’s a pity that the quality differs so often and so much even within the same brand. I recommend to use as fine coconut flour as you can find. I found nice organic coconut flour from a German manufacturer from my nearest grocery store. Well, the coconut flour itself is from the Philippines.
These pumpkin bars are extremely simple to make. No vigorous beating, no time-consuming maneuvers. Just quickly mix the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients and combine everything together. Pour into a greased baking dish, put in the oven and that’s it!
My experiments with these pumpkin bars
Since I’ve been lately so much into pumpkin (hey, it’s fall…), I wanted to develop another recipe using pumpkin. In a need of a quick grab-and-go snack, I was thinking of pumpkin bars.
The first thing was to consider whether to use almond flour or coconut flour as a base ingredient. Since coconut flour becomes cheaper than almond flour, I chose that. You need only a tiny amount of coconut flour compared to almond flour, since it expands greatly, or actually absorbs enormous amounts of liquid-like substances, in this case pumpkin and eggs.
First I used 1/2 cup (120 ml) pumpkin and 1 tablespoon spices. The bars were soft and moist, but they could have been more tasty and more richly colored. 1/3 cup + 2 tablespoons (110 ml) erythritol was also a bit too much for my taste.
I also tried 6 eggs but the texture was a bit too soggy and eggy. For sweetening, 1/3 cup (80 ml) erythritol was a bit too little. In the end I increased the amount of pumpkin to 2/3 cup (160 ml) and spices to 1 1/2 tablespoons. 1/3 cup + 1 tablespoon (95 ml) erythritol was just perfect for my taste.
I tried also different spice mixes. Pure cinnamon was nice, but a bit too bland. Pumpkin pie spice was very nice, but my taste buds really started singing when I used apple pie spice. It’s heavenly with pumpkin too!
First I baked the bars too short time and at a too low temperature. I used 300 °F (150 °C) at first, and something white appeared on the surface of the ready bars after few hours. Too much moisture? I increased the oven temperature and the baking time, and the bars were just perfect. Moist, but not soggy and no white stuff on top.
For me the two most important lessons learnt when baking with coconut flour are 1) Use high enough temperature and 2) Bake long enough.
Tips for variation
I’ve used apple pie spice because it’s one of my all-time favorite spice mixes. However, please feel free to use for example pumpkin pie spice instead of apple pie spice, or your favorite spice mix. I guess everybody has a favorite spice mix when it comes to pumpkin… Or, keep it simple and use just Ceylon cinnamon.
Serve the pumpkin bars as such, or frost with cream cheese frosting. Below is a recipe for a simple and delicious frosting which I developed especially to go with these pumpkin bars:
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This frosting is spreadable, not pipeable. If you would like to pipe the frosting I recommend my Buttery Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing. It’s so firm that you can pipe detailed decorations.
Low-Carb Pumpkin Whoopie Pies: Bake the batter in a greased whoopie pie pan for approximately 30 minutes. Let cool completely. Fill the whoopies with the Quick Low-Carb Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe above), or with Buttery Vanilla Cream Cheese Icing.
Finally, some spooky Halloween photos featuring the Moist Low-Carb Pumpkin Bars 🙂
Hi Elviira. I have tried quite a few of your recipes and have really enjoyed everything so far. Thanks for sharing the story of each one, too.
I just made these bars, and I have a suggestion for you. I saw the the baking dish size was in the comments – but I didn’t see this until AFTER I made the bars. Maybe you could update the recipe itself so the pan size is there?
Also, I baked them in an 11 x 7 pan, but mine were done at about 27 minutes. I wonder if the 50 minute bake time in the recipe is a typo? If I had left them in the oven for 23 more minutes they would have been pumpkin hockey pucks.
Anyway, I’m a cook and baker, and I knew to check when I questioned the length of the baking time, but – as you know – people who don’t cook or bake much, or are trying to learn, might have a problem.
I hesitated putting this comment because sometimes people don’t want to hear even mild criticism, but please know that I REALLY enjoy your recipes, and I adding this so that you can do a double-check and make sure everything is right for people that find your blog in the future.
Thanks again for the yummy food ideas. I will keep coming back! :o)
Hi Cara, thanks for your comment! In the recipe box, there is a link to the baking dish at Ikea. The link has been there all the time so people can access this information. And it’s exactly 11 x 7 in size 🙂 I think the baking time also depends on the moistness of the pumpkin. I remember I used quite moist home-roasted pumpkin when developing this recipe so that might have needed longer baking time. However, I simply just adjust the recipe to canned pumpkin. Thanks for the hint!
The fact that you used home-roasted pumpkin makes the bake time make sense. I bet they were delicious! I appreciate your reply. Have a terrific day and – again – thanks for sharing your recipes. I am really enjoying them. I just tried your blueberry muffins and they are scrumptious. :o)
You’re welcome, Cara! Enjoy your day 🙂
Do you use Large eggs in all your recipes?
Yes, if not told otherwise.
I what size pan do you use for pumpkin bars
11×7″, it’s actually this Ikea glass dish (link also in the recipe): https://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/60058762/
What is the carb content of the frosting?
Hi Stefanie, the whole batch has 8.2 grams net carbs.
I made these whoopie pies today and they were wonderful! Even my 4-year-old liked them! And it was so simple he actually helped make them. Thanks for this recipe. I am making the fluffy bread tomorrow… Can’t wait!
Lia, thanks for your comment! So great to hear that you and your family liked the recipe. If you try the fluffy bread, please tell me how it turned out!
I’m a new baby blogger and I was stalking around the internet for some inspiration and here I am! Quick question before I make a fool of myself I was thinking of trying to put some grated apple in the bars? Brilliant idea? Or soppy bar mush?
Hi Megan and welcome on board! I haven’t been blogging for that long myself either, but I have always been interested in healthy eating, well-being and cooking. So, I started blogging hoping that my recipes benefit also other people 🙂
Grated apple sounds a great idea! I wonder if you have to add one or two tablespoons more coconut flour to prevent the bars becoming soggy.
I have been obsessed with pumpkins. These pumpkin bars sound perfect for my sweet craving too.
Angie, thanks! Hope you like the recipe if you try it out.
Perfect.
Thanks, Gwen! Checked your blog, beautiful photos!