- 12 oz cream cheese or vegan cream cheese
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup sweetener of choice (see above for options)
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice or additional cinnamon
- 1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cornstarch (or 4 tbsp almond flour)
- optional crust (two options are listed above)
Line an 8-inch pan with parchment. Add your crust of choice (or you can make crustless bars). Set aside. Bring cream cheese to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350 F. If you have an extra baking pan of any size, fill it halfway with water and place on the lower rack of your oven. (This step can be skipped; it just helps prevent cracking.) Blend all ingredients - don’t over-blend, which can introduce air into the bars and cause cracking later. Smooth the batter evenly into the prepared 8-inch pan, and place on the oven's middle rack. Bake 25 minutes, then leave the oven door completely closed but turn off the oven and let the bars sit in the turned-off oven for another 10 minutes. Take out, and let them cool completely. (Don’t skip, as putting them straight from the oven to the fridge would cause—you guessed it!—cracking.) I recommend refrigerating a few hours or overnight (very loosely covered with a cloth towel), during which time they firm up quite a bit. Slice into bars, and store leftovers in the fridge or freezer.View Nutrition Facts
Calories: 80kcal