Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars For Two

Soft and chewy cream cheese frosted gluten free pumpkin pie bars, perfect for two! Made with a flavorful oat flour blend and lots of pumpkin and spice, the dessert bars take everything you love about pumpkin pie, and pack it into an easy, small batch fall treat.

These bars … so incredibly delicious. Not only will it be nearly impossible to tell that they’re gluten free, but the flavor is reminiscent of a gluten free pumpkin pie, but in bar form. Top them with my maple cream cheese frosting, and you have a small batch dessert you’ll be making more than once.

The fall bars finesse so many textures into one bite: soft, chewy, and sturdy. It’s like a moist cake merged with my pumpkin thumbprint cookies. They are easily a hand-held dessert with a perfectly delicate bite. And there is no shortage of pumpkin + spice flavor.

For a fun dessert this fall that’s not pie, these fit the bill. But if it’s pie you’re craving, my pumpkin apple pie bars for two should be your next bake. 🙂

Pumpkin Bars Are Easy To Make

Easy might be an understatement. But I think anytime you have a recipe that identifies as a bar, it should be easy. Take my pumpkin chocolate chip cookie bars, for example. Easy to make, hard to resist.

You will want a couple of mixing bowls because I like to make sure my homemade gluten free flour blend is well combined. We don’t want pockets of any single flour.

Then I mix the sugars with the oil in another mixing bowl – it’s almost like melting the sugar. Then, after the remaining wet ingredients get mixed in (yes, pumpkin!), sprinkle the dry ingredients over top.

After the bars bake, it will be tempting to dive right in, but give them time to cool so your frosting doesn’t melt right in. That’s it. Pumpkin bars in less than an hour!

Helpful Tips To Get you Started

• You don’t need to drain or blot the pumpkin. I told you it was easy. The only thing is you may want to try Libby’s pumpkin because I have found it doesn’t have as much water as other brands.
• Let the batter rest before baking. Almost all of my gluten free + small batch desserts benefit from time to rest. This gives the flours time to hydrate and flavors to develop.  Without the rest, the bars may come out crumbly.
• Serve out of the pan. Frost, cut, and serve directly from the pan. Another checkmark for easy.  

Gluten Free Pumpkin Bars For Two

5 from 1 review

An easy small batch recipe for gluten free pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. Soft and chewy pumpkin bars made with an oat flour blend, rich pumpkin, warm spices, and creamy cinnamon-spiced frosting.

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by Erin Cernich

Yield12 Bars

Prep15 minutes minutes

Cook23 minutes minutes

Total Time38 minutes minutes

Equipment

• ▢
  Eighth Size Baking Sheet

Ingredients

• ▢ ¼ cup (23 g) gluten free oat flour
• ▢ ¼ cup (28 g) blanched almond flour
• ▢ ¼ cup (30 g) sweet white rice flour
• ▢ 2 tablespoons (14.2 g) tapioca flour
• ▢ ½ teaspoon baking powder
• ▢ ⅛ teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice (or just ground cinnamon)
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ cup (56.5 g) coconut oil, melted
• ▢ ½ cup (70 g) dark brown sugar
• ▢ ¼ cup (40.5 g) organic cane sugar (or granulated sugar)
• ▢ 1 large egg
• ▢ ½ cup (113.6 g) pure canned pumpkin
• ▢ ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢ Maple Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

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Instructions

 

• ▢
  Preheat the oven to 350F degrees and adjust the oven rack to the middle position. Line the small eighth-size baking sheet with a piece of parchment paper. Lightly grease the sides of the pan not covered by parchment.
• ▢
  In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the oat flour, almond flour, sweet rice flour, tapioca flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt.
  1/4 cup gluten free oat flour, 1/4 cup blanched almond flour, 1/4 cup sweet white rice flour, 2 tablespoons tapioca flour, 1/2 teaspoon baking powder, 1/8 teaspoon baking soda, 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢
  In a medium mixing bowl, add the melted coconut oil and sugars. Stir together with a fork to thoroughly moisten the sugars.
  1/4 cup coconut oil, melted, 1/2 cup dark brown sugar, 1/4 cup organic cane sugar
• ▢
  Add the egg to the sugar mix and mix well to incorporate the egg. Add the pumpkin puree and vanilla extract and mix.
  1/2 cup pure canned pumpkin, 1 large egg, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• ▢
  Sprinkle the dry ingredients over the wet and stir with a fork until no dry streaks remain. Let the batter rest for at least 5 minutes to allow the flours to hydrate and flavors develop.
• ▢
  Pour the batter into the prepared baking sheet and use a spatula to spread evenly into all corners and sides. Bake the pumpkin bars for 23 minutes, or until the edges are golden and the bars are springy to the touch.
• ▢
  Cool the bars completely in the pan set on a wire cooling rack. Finish the bars with either the maple cream cheese frosting or my traditional cream cheese frosting. The small pan will yield 12, 2-inch squares.
I like to keep the bars in the pan to make frosting, slicing, and serving easy.

Notes

• Serving Size – This is a small batch recipe and only tested as such.  If trying to double the recipe, bake in a quarter-size baking sheet or 8-inch cake pan. Start checking at 30 minutes.
• Yield – The number of bars will depend on how big you cut the slices.  I cut mine into about 2-inch squares.
• Baking Pan – If you do not have the small baking sheet, you can use a 9×5 loaf pan. The bars will be thicker and you may need to increase the bake time by 2 to 3 minutes.
• Pumpkin – Be sure it is pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling.  The latter has added ingredients we don’t need for this recipe.  I prefer Libby’s canned pumpkin because it doesn’t contain as much moisture as other brands.
• Leftover Pumpkin – You will have leftover pumpkin, regardless of the size can you use.  Check out my pumpkin recipes to make more tasty treats.
• Storing Leftovers – Store leftover bars in a covered container in the refrigerator for 3 to 5 days.
• Freezing – Unfrosted bars – cut or whole – can be frozen for up to 3 months.  Wrap in plastic and seal in a freezer bag.  Thaw at room temperature.

Nutrition Estimates

Calories: 124kcal | Carbohydrates: 16g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 0.002g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 86mg | Potassium: 49mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 1612IU | Vitamin C: 0.5mg | Calcium: 28mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutrition information is calculated by a third-party and should only be considered an estimate and not a guarantee.