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Saturday, October 12, 2013

Are they cookies or cake?

Photo and text by LISA KELLY, ecoRI.org

Oh hey, pumpkin. Nice to see you again so soon.

Get ready, this is just the beginning of gourd season. My reader, Pinterest and Instagram are all full of savory pumpkin and squash meal pictures, but I’ve yet to see a lot of desserts. And all I can focus on right now is desserts.

These bars are seriously addictive. I ate the whole batch this past weekend, completely by myself. Breakfast, midnight snack, post-yoga snack, I’m-bored-so-let-me-eat another snack. Yes, they have sugar. Yes, they have flour. And no, I don’t care.

These little bars make the transition to fall much easier.



Pumpkin Cake Bars with Maple Cashew Icing

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup organic flour of your choice
Three-fourths cup organic brown sugar
4 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp organic applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
Half tsp baking soda
Dash of sea salt

Maple Icing

1 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 2 hours
3 tbsp maple syrup
1 tbsp coconut oil


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix together all pumpkin bar ingredients and stir until creamy. Pour into a greased 8X8 baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, blend maple icing ingredients together until smooth. After bars have cooled completely, frost with maple icing and let set in the fridge for at least an hour before serving.

Lisa Kelly is the founder and personal chef at The Vegan Pact.