Pumpkin Pie Bars

Welcome to our weekly Foodie Friday link up! I’m linking up with Montana from Pretty Lil Mudder, Annmarie from the Fit Foodie Mama, Emily from Whatever Floats Your Oats, Esther from Chocolate Runner Girl, and Cassandra from Powered By Bling, to create awesome healthy recipes each week! Today’s theme = Thanksgiving Traditions! Make sure you hop around to check out all the amazing recipes in this link up and feel free to add your recipes as well!

I actually haven’t gone home for Thanksgiving in  4 years (including this one), because 2 days of travel for 1-2 days off just isn’t worth the plane ticket across the country. :/ Last year, I spent my Thanksgiving at school, and in my first year of med school, I went down to North Carolina to hang out with my cousins. While I was in New Jersey, I went to Boston to hang out with one of my super-awesome friends.

As far as Thanksgivings back at home go, we used to get together with all our family friends (which I affectionately refer to as the Asian Mafia) and potluck like nobody’s business. :O Each year, a different family hosts and we’d stake out the garage with tables of food. In all fairness, we generally had 15+ families, so I mean…in a sense, it was also sorta necessary. :D? We’ve all known each other for ages (I was probably around 3, so our spanned-generation friendships have been around for over 2 decades!). We’re pretty much like family, although in recent years, it’s been harder and harder for all of us to get together since we’ve scattered all over the globe.

Playing Mafia!

One year, we decided to make things interesting and have a pumpkin-or-butternut-squash pie-eating contest. Blindfolded. Only one set of parents conceded to participate, and the rest of us decided to pair up with siblings or significant others.

My brother and I came in third, although we were the first to cram all of the pie slices into our mouths. I was laughing too hard and started choking, and my brother fully underestimated the stickiness of the pie.

The only set of parents to participate, aka the only civilized team with any shred of dignity! (The two in the background behind them won, but are you really all that surprised? :O Look at that intensity! D: )

So in the spirit of said pie-eating contest (because I don’t think I should revisit the Turducken that I also happened to make that year with friends…), here’s a healthified version of Pumpkin Pie Bars adapted from The Smart Cookie Blog!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Ingredients:
(Crust)
-1 cup rolled oats
-1/4 cup spelt flour
-1/4 cup plain Greek yogurt
-2 1/2 tbsp maple syrup
-1 tsp cinnamon
-1 tsp nutmeg
-1 tsp ground ginger

(Filling)
-1/3 cup spelt flour
-1/4 cup brown sugar
-2 1/2 tsp cinnamon
-2 tsp baking powder
-1/4 tsp ginger
-1/4 tsp salt
-1 15 oz. can pumpkin puree
-1 scant cup rice milk
-1 egg
-2 tsp pure vanilla extract

Instructions:
1) Preheat oven to 350.
2) In a large bowl, combine all crust ingredients until a sticky mixture is formed and spread it in an even layer into two ~8″ x 5.5″ tins.
3) In a separate bowl, mix together all the dry filling ingredients (flour, sugar, cinnamon, baking powder, ground ginger, salt).
4) Add all remaining filling ingredients (pumpkin, milk, egg, vanilla extract) into a separate bowl and mix until smooth and creamy.
5) Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix until a smooth mixture forms.
6) Pour over crust and spread it into an even layer.
7) Bake for ~35 minutes, or until firm. Let cool, then chill for at least an hour in the refrigerator. Cut into squares and serve!

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Interested in getting to know more about any of your super-awesome co-hosts? :]

• Farrah | blog | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Montana | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Annmarie | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Emily | blog | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Esther | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’
• Cassandra | blog | facebook | instagram | pinterest | twitter | bloglovin’

Join us next week for Pizza Night!