Gluten Free Vegan No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Bars

Gluten Free Vegan No-Bake Pumpkin Pie Bars

okay everybody today I’m going to step out of my box a little bit and show you what we made for Thanksgiving didn’t make pie and we made a glutenfree and vegan pumpkin pie bars only I didn’t use pumpkin I used the butternut squash that we harvested from the farm so some of the things you’re going to see today are a little different like my oldtime food processor that’s ancient but it works it still works so that’s what I use um let’s get started so the recipe has two parts it has a crust and it has a filling for the crust we’re using old-fashioned rolled oats not instant almond meal this is ground almonds in here flax meal ground flax in there uh cinnamon tiny bit salt and pitted dates chopped well this is what I have I have pitted dates but not chopped so in the food processor when the pitted dates I’ve made them chopped and then I’ll add the rest and be back because this thing is super loud all right in the ancient food processor is cinnamon salt flax ground flax there and this is the ground almonds and underneath is the oatmeal and the dates are in the bottom this needs to be the crust so when you squeeze it you want it to stay together so if this doesn’t if this isn’t enough dates I’ll add more so that it’s um forms a very firm crust enough that we can press it into this pan for the crust well it wasn’t like the last time I made it so I added a little bit of melted um coconut oil to the food processor and that feels more moist it was getting I pressed it in and it was just too crumbly and I didn’t want it to break apart and I cut the squares and sered them so you press it in and once you have it pressed in the pan the way you like I still have some more that I’m going to add then you refrigerate it while you’re making the filling and there’s the butternut and this was roasted with the seeds in it because it’s so easy to scoop them out once they’re already roasted the whole I cut the squash in half and I don’t scoop out the seeds until it’s roasted just easier okay everything goes in except the coconut flour will go last and I will sift that so spices sweetener vanilla and almond uh I’m going to work this a little before I put in the coconut oil cuz it’s cold and cold will solidify that melted coconut oil really fast and not be fun in this pumpkin smells just like pumpkin pie mix still cold though I should have let it get to room temperature well I’m trying it hopefully we’ll do fast it’ll work it worked okay I like to sift coconut flour cuz it tends to get too lumpy and they don’t break up really fast so in the seed flour goes coconut oil and coconut anything is so good for you been cooking with it for years it’s good brain food it’s a little thick I’m going to just do a dash gab is really sweet I didn’t want to add more but I don’t want to add egg because this is vegan I think all that maple syrup’s on the bottom here not bad I’m cheating more all right looks good all right recipe does say to put the crust in the in the freezer but I’m not going to I didn’t I put it in the fridge and it was only for a few minutes it’s so cold outside I could leave it outside and it be frozen in minutes and I’m going to fill this and then I’m going to put a piece of plastic wrap across the top and I’m going to refrigerate it overnight and I’ll show you what it looks like when I cut it tomorrow thanks for watching okay everybody next day put some light in here feels like pie smells like pie kind of looks like pie okay let’s see if the trick works now I’m taking this to someone’s house tonight so I’m cutting it and not eating it but I want to cut it so you can see I’m just going to cut one piece sh it’s kind of shadowy in here can you see what it looks like looks like a delicious Pi Square to me you see that crust and you don’t have to use almonds you could use almonds and pecans not super fond to walnuts so I wouldn’t use walnuts but the first time I made it there were almond ground almonds and ground pecans in it which is in really nice flavor with the pumpkin or squash anyway that’s how it turns out for me from if I were to eat this right now I would stop the vegan part and I would put um ready whip on it not cool whip I would put real whipped cream on it I’ve actually never made coconut whipped coconut whipped cream but I’ve seen it done in videos and it looks amazing and delicious and I love coconut cream and coconut milk so that would not be a problem for me but anyway that’s what it looks like thanks for watching

Adapted from The Kitchn.com recipe No-Bake Recipe: Gluten-Free and Vegan Chai-Spiced Pumpkin Bars
Crust:
3/4 C old fashioned rolled oats
1/4 C almond meal
2 TBSP Ground flax meal
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
2/3 C (or more) pitted dates, chopped

Filling:
1 1/2 C pumpkin or winter squash puree (I used butternut) ROOM TEMPERATURE preferably
1/3 C maple syrup or coconut nectar (I used Agave syrup)
1/4 C melted coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 tsp ground cardamom
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp black pepper
2 TBLS coconut flour
Line an 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper
Using a food processor, process the dates a bit (mine where whole pitted fruits & needed chopping before adding the other ingredients), add the remainder of the crust ingredients and process. Squeeze the mixture between your fingers to test for sticking/holding texture and add more dates or a bit of meted coconut oil to give the mixture more “stick-a-bility” (consistency). Press the crust mixture into the parchment lined 8×8 pan & place in the fridge or freezer while you make the filling.
Combine the filling ingredients except the oil & flour. Puree until smooth. Add the coconut oil & puree again until well combined. Finally add the coconut flour. I prefer to sift coconut flour when adding to any recipe. Process again until it is the texture you wish. Spoon the filling into the crust, add a layer of plastic wrap to the top of the mixture & refrigerate at least six hours.
Lift the set bars out of the parchment and cut to the size of your liking. Top with coconut whipped cream for a vegan dessert or whipped cream for an omnivore diet. 😉 ENJOY!
Merry Christmas!