Einkorn Pumpkin Bars
If you are a pumpkin fan, you need these einkorn pumpkin bars in your life. Especially with Thanksgiving coming up, they are an awesome addition to your gatherings and celebrations! They are not overly sweet but they are topped with a super delicious maple cream cheese icing that just finishes them perfectly. It is truly the icing on the cake, so to speak. I have served these bar at lots of different functions and everyone loves them. I’ve been asked several times for the recipe, so here it is! It was adapted from a Pinterest find after several trial and error batches. They come together pretty quickly because they aren’t sourdough, and they actually freeze extremely well too!
I bake the bars in a Pampered Chef stone bar pan, which is the stone version of a 15×10 metal jelly roll pan. I have been baking in stoneware pans for most of my adult life and love, love, love them for many reasons, but mostly because they do not have yucky chemicals that leach into food. They are a much safer alternative to aluminum baking pans because they don’t contain neurotoxic metals. They’re also extremely versatile and super easy to maintain once you get the hang of it. If you are interested or curious about getting started with stoneware, please reach out to my sister-in-law, Brenda! I can’t recommend stoneware enough – they are a staple in my kitchen!
I have included pictures of the baking process below, but I apologize I must have gotten distracted when it came time for the icing! The next time I bake this recipe again, I’ll grab some pictures to add below. Until then, you’ll have to use your imagination for those steps.
Ingredients
Cake:
- 4 organic, pastured eggs
- 1 cup organic light brown sugar
- 1/4 cup local raw honey
- 1 15-oz can organic pumpkin purée
- 1 cup (2 sticks) grass-fed butter, melted but not hot
- 2 cups organic all-purpose einkorn flour
- 2 teaspoons organic ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon organic ground allspice
- 1 teaspoon organic ground ginger root
- 2 teaspoons aluminum-free baking soda
Icing:
- 1 and 1/2 8-oz packages organic cream cheese
- 12 oz (1.5 sticks) grass-fed butter, softened
- 1 and 1/2 cups organic powdered sugar
- 1 and 1/2 teaspoons organic vanilla extract
- 4 tablespoons organic maple syrup
Instructions
For the Cake:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- If you are using a metal jelly roll pan, butter and flour the pan. If you are using a baking stone, skip this step.
- In a stand mixer, mix together the eggs, brown sugar, raw honey, pumpkin purée, and butter on a low, then medium speed. Mix until well combined, scraping sides as needed.
- Add the einkorn flour, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and baking soda. You could add the dry ingredients into the batter in steps (1 cup of flour at a time), but I don't find that to be necessary with this recipe. Mix until combined, at a low then medium speed, scraping sides to make sure all of the batter is evenly mixed. Don't overmix!
- Pour batter into a PC stone bar pan or a 15x10 jelly roll pan, using a spatula to spread evenly.
- Bake 22-25 minutes in the stone bar pan until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. All ovens are different, so keep an eye on it as you're getting close to the end time. Always start with the least amount of time and add more if needed. If you are baking in a metal pan, you will need to adjust your baking time accordingly (stoneware tends to take longer) - watch it for signs of doneness.
- When the pumpkin bars have baked completed, move the pan to a wire rack and allow it to cool completely.
For the Icing:
- While the pumpkin bars are baking, blend the cream cheese and softened butter together in a medium bowl with a hand mixer until well combined. Add the powdered sugar, a 1/2 cup at a time, and beat well. Scrape the sides as needed. Add the vanilla extract and maple syrup, blend until smooth. Scrape sides as needed.
- When the pumpkin bars are completely cooled, frost the bars. I like to use an icing spatula (I have an old Pampered Chef version), but a regular spatula would work just fine. Make sure the icing is smoothed over evenly.
Serve:
- Cut the bars into 24 even pieces (6 pieces on the long side, 4 on the short side) and refrigerate until it's time to serve!
- These do freeze extremely well if you can't eat them all in a couple days. I flash freeze individually on a cookie sheet, and then put all of the bars in a freezer bag to store. Then I just pull out one or two at a time, letting them thaw on the counter before enjoying.
