Healthified (mostly) Pumpkin Bars- still delicious!

Pumpkin Bars

(adapted from Paula Deen)

Bars:

• 4 eggs (I subbed ground flax seed for 2 of the eggs)
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil 
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 15-ounce can pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

• 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened (1/3 less fat is great)
• 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan for cake size or cookie sheet with sides for the bar cookies.  Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese, sugar and vanilla.  Mix at low speed until combined. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. We like them refrigerated- better the next day and day after...if they last.

These are great! I really think since the icing is so rich and good it doesn't hurt anything to try to make the base healthier.  Especially when the taste is so good in the end!  

Delicious Pumpkin Cinnamon Roll Cake

Cinnamon Roll Vanilla Sheet Cake

(from picky-palate.com)

• 1 box yellow cake 
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable or canola oil
• 3.4 oz instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1/2 c. sour cream
• 15 oz. can pumpkin (or almost 2 cups)
• 1 stick unsalted butter
• 3/4 c. brown sugar
• 1/2 t. cinnamon
• 3/4 c. powdered sugar
• 1/4-1/2 c. heavy cream (I just used milk- start with the least amount of milk, then add more if need)

1. Preheat oven to 350.  Spray a jelly-roll pan (sheet pan) with cooking spray.
2. Place ingredients from cake mix to pumpkin in a bowl, mixing a minute or two until blended well.  Pour into pan, spreading evenly.
3. Place butter in microwave-safe bowl, and heat in microwave until melted, close to a minute.  Add brown sugar and cinnamon to bowl, mixing until incorporated.  Drizzle the whole mixture over cake and then use a knife to swirl into the batter.
4. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes.  Mix powdered sugar and milk and drizzle over warm cake.  Cool 20 minutes and serve.

These cake bars are so good!  Our family couldn't keep away.  Easy to make, just read the directions first, then go!  Feeds many...or it should.

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting- TRY

Pumpkin Cookies with Caramel Frosting

• 1 cup butter
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 cup canned pumpkin
• 1 egg
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp salt

Cream sugars and butter.  Add pumpkin, egg, and vanilla.  Add remaining ingredients.  Drop spoonfuls onto non-greased cookie sheet.  Cook at 350 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Frosting:

Boil 3 T. butter and 1/2 cup brown sugar until mostly smooth. (Approx. 2 to 3 min.)  Cool and add 1/4 cup milk and 2 cups powdered sugar or until desired consistency, and whip with hand mixer or whisk until smooth. Spread onto cookies.

These were amazing.  Addicting.  Flavorful.  SO good.  

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread

Pumpkin Cream Cheese  Bread

(from stressspelledbackwards.com)

Cream Cheese Filling:

• 1 package (8 ounce) cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 Tablespoon all-purpose flour
• 1 large egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Bread:

• 1  2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 to 1 1/4 cup(s) pumpkin puree
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 large eggs
• 1  1/2 cups sugar

Cinnamon Glaze:

• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 2 to 2 1/2 Tablespoons half & half or heavy cream
• 1/2  to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans for garnish (optional)

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease two 8 x 4 x 3-inch loaf pans.
2.  In a medium mixing bowl, combine cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg, and vanilla; beat until smooth and creamy. Set aside.
3.  In a large bowl, blend 1  2/3 cup flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, and nutmeg; set aside. 
4. In another medium bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, oil, eggs and sugar; beat at medium speed for 5 minutes (color will change slightly when ready). Stir the flour mixture into the pumpkin mixture just until combined. 
5. Pour half of the pumpkin bread batter evenly into the two prepared loaf pans. Spoon cream cheese mixture on top of the pumpkin batter layers in each loaf pan and then spoon or pour  on the remaining pumpkin batter (if you don’t have enough pumpkin batter to cover the cream cheese layer entirely, that’s okay, because you’ll be swirling them together anyway). Take a knife and stick straight down into the top pumpkin batter layer and middle cream cheese layer; swirl the knife around in these two layers, creating a marble effect; this will give the cream cheese filling a nice swirly shape as it bakes.
6. Bake in a preheated 325 degree oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in center of the loaf comes out clean. Cool bread in pans for 10 minutes; remove to a rack to cool completely. While waiting for the bread to cool, mix your cinnamon glaze: combine powdered sugar and half & half, blending well; then add cinnamon and mix until smooth and creamy.  Drizzle over completely cooled bread loaves and then sprinkle on nuts for garnish.  Refrigerate.  I think this bread tastes better after a day!  

I know it takes a few bowls and a little more time but honestly not that much!  You don't need the glaze, the bread is great without, but extra great with the glaze. Who doesn't love a little more sugar?  Such a flavorful, delicious bread, more decadent because of the cream cheese addition.  Pumpkin bread lovers should really enjoy this!  

Pumpkin Bread

• 
  
• Pumpkin Bread
• 
  
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 4 eggs
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2/3 cup water
• 1 2/3 cups white sugar
• 1 cup brown sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (I used a little less)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease and flour three 7x3 inch loaf pans. (I used one regular loaf pan and two small loaf pans)
2. In a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, applesauce, water and sugar until well blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. Stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans.
3. Bake for about 50 minutes in the preheated oven. Loaves are done when toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. (My little loaves took about 35 min, my big pan about an hour- watch closely!)

I have another pumpkin bread recipe on this site that has a glaze and chocolate chips, but it is different enough from this one I had to include this recipe as well.  I love how this baked, and the bread is yummy!  A little more dense, less crumby than my other harvest bread.  And the loaves cooked evenly and came out of their pans as well!  How great is that.  I guess I have Crisco with flour spray to thank for that.  I also put the pans in the middle of the oven for most of the time, then one rack higher the rest.  I did add a little glaze to one of the loaves, just to see how it tasted.  The glaze was about 2 T. melted butter, about 1/2 c. powdered sugar, and a little cinnamon.  The glaze on the photo above was a bit runny, but I didn't care.  Good!  I know it still feels like summer out there but I'm ready for the fall favorites!