Fall wouldn't feel complete without smooth and delicious Keto Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting.
Pumpkin spice desserts have long been a fall tradition in our family. Using the magic of coconut flour, you can enjoy these keto pumpkin bars and stay true to your keto diet. They have no added sugar and are topped with a creamy maple cream cheese frosting.
Texture
The texture of these Keto Pumpkin Bars is quite pumpkin pie-ish.... just a little heartier. They satisfy my pumpkin pie cravings during the fall months and make an amazing dessert at Thanksgiving or Christmas. If you decide to stay keto through the holidays with these keto pumpkin bars in your keto holiday baking arsenal it's totally possible!
Ingredient Notes and Baking Tips
When you are shopping for canned pumpkin, double-check the ingredients list in order to prevent picking up the wrong version. They sell a pre-spiced (and pre-sugared) version. Leave that one on the shelf!
These keto pumpkin bars need the ingredients at room temperature before mixing. The frosting is especially sensitive to this important step.
If you are making these pumpkin bars in a cool environment, I recommend softening the cream cheese and butter in the microwave until they are nice and squishy before mixing up the keto frosting.
If you end up with chunks in the keto maple cream cheese frosting, warm up the mixture in the microwave and whip it again.
Substitutions for Keto Pumpkin Bars
Do not try and substitute anything for the coconut flour. Coconut flour is a very unique flour to bake with and substitutions don't work without a number of other adjustments to the recipe.
Why BochaSweet?
Our sugar substitute of choice is BochaSweet and there's good reason for this!
BochaSweet is extracted from the Kabocha pumpkin which has been a staple in the Japanese diet for centuries. Consuming BochaSweet on a daily basis helps to support longevity and supports healthy blood sugar levels.
Even better? It tastes almost exactly like real sugar. There's no thin flavor or metallic aftertaste. I think most of us are looking for something that tastes amazing because only a full, satisfying taste is going to work over the long-term.
So, if we are going to go to all the work to make these keto parfaits so we can please our tastebuds AND stick to our keto diet. Well, we want the result to taste GOOD not... just 'meh' and unsatisfying. For this reason plus the health benefits, we reach for BochaSweet every time.
Other Natural Sweeteners
You can use just about any sweetener you want with these keto-friendly pumpkin bars. Increase the amount of sweetener in the bars or frosting for a sweeter dessert. I've kept this at a moderate sweetness level.
Molasses
You are right. Molasses isn't keto. I'm using a very small amount to get that brown sugar taste in the keto pumpkin bars. If you are uncomfortable with it, leave it out of your recipe.
Ingredients for Keto Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Here's a few things you'll need to make these keto pumpkin bars:
- BochaSweet
- Liquid Stevia Drops
- Molasses
- Xanthan Gum
- Cream of Tarter
- Coconut Flour
- Canned Pumpkin with no added sugar
- Pure Vanilla Extract (watch out for hidden sugars in extracts!)
- Maple Extract with no added sugar
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
Keto Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup coconut flour 54 grams
- 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 1 can pumpkin puree
- 6 eggs
- 1/2 cup olive oil
- 1 cup sour cream
- 1 1/2 Tablespoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 Tablespoon pure vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon pure almond extract
- 40 drops liquid Stevia
- 1/4 cup BochaSweet
- 1 teaspoon organic unsulphured blackstrap molasses
Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese
- 1/4 cup butter
- 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 cup BochaSweet
- 30 drops liquid Stevia
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon maple extract
Instructions
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
- Grease a 9x9 baking pan.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- In a small bowl combine coconut flour, xanthan gum, cream of tarter and baking soda. Set aside.
- In a large mixing bowl combine pumpkin, eggs, olive oil, sour cream pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, almond, stevia, sweetener and molasses and mix until combined.
- Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix for about 1 minute or until all ingredients are well combined.
- Pour batter into greased 9x9 baking pan.
- Bake in a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely before serving.
- Store covered or in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Sugar-Free Cream Cheese Frosting
- Combine all of the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Begin mixing on low, slowly increasing the speed to whip the frosting. The frosting is done when it is whipped and smooth.
Notes
Nutrition
Learn To Bake With Coconut Flour
Other Keto Pumpkin Recipes
Tutorial Video: Keto Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
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