Pumpkin Pie Bars With Brown Butter Maple Cinnamon Glaze (gluten free)
A simple and tasty pumpkin bar. The base is nice and chewy. The filling is moist and flavorful. The topping is crumbly and the brown butter glaze is addicting!
Ingredients
For The Crust And Topping
- 2 ½ cups rolled oats
- 1 ¾ Cups oat flour
- 219 g unsalted butter, melted (just less than 2 sticks)
- 1 Cup brown sugar, packed
- ½ Tbsp maple syrup
- 1 ½ Tbsp cinnamon (heaping)
- ½ tsp salt (a hefty pinch is good!)
For The Filling:
- 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
- 2 large eggs
- ½ cup nut milk of your choice (I have used both almond milk and light coconut milk with success)
- 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 ½ tsp cinnamon
- ½ tsp ground ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- ¼ tsp cloves
- ¼ tsp salt
For The Brown Butter Maple Cinnamon Glaze
- 2 Tbsp unsalted butter
- 2 Tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ½ tsp cinnamon
- 1 pinch salt
Instructions
For the Bars
- Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9" x 9" inch pan with parchment paper and set aside. (8” x 8” pan works just fine. The bars will be slightly taller.)
- For the crust and topping. In a large mixing bowl, add flour, oats, sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, salt, and melted butter. Stir until well combined.
- Firmly press ¾ of the mixture into the bottom of the pan. Set aside the remaining mixture in the fridge.
- Place in the oven and bake for about 20 minutes, or until the crust is slightly golden. Then let cool for about 10 minutes.
- You can make the filling either while the crust is baking or while it is cooling.
- For the filling. In a large mixing bowl, add pumpkin puree, eggs, milk, both sugars, vanilla, spices, and salt. Stir until combined.
- Pour filling on top of the cooled crust and return to the oven to bake for 15 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Remove the remaining topping from the fridge and pinch off pieces, about the size of a cherry, scatter over the top of the filling. Don't worry about the pieces sinking into the filling!
- Return the pan to the oven and continue to bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling is firm/set and the topping is a beautifully golden.
- Leave the bars in the pan until cool. About 1 hour.
For the Glaze: When almost cool, about 10 minutes left, prepare the glaze.
- For the glaze. Combine powdered sugar, maple syrup, cinnamon, and a pinch of salt into a small bowl and set aside.
- Add butter to a small pot and melt over a medium heat. Leave butter to brown slightly until little toasted bits develop (about 3 minutes).
- Remove the butter from the heat and carefully pour it into the bowl of glaze ingredients. Mix together. (note: if glaze is too thick, add water 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency)
- Use a spoon to drizzle the glaze generously over the bars. Let set for about 5 minutes. Cut into squares (as big as you like) and enjoy!
- Cool completely before covering. Store at room temperature for up to 2 days or in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.