Pumpkin Bars - BSI Submission

Here is my BSI entry for this week - that is hopefully not too late! Lindsay over at For the Love of Oats picked pumpkin as the secret ingredient and I knew I wanted to try and make some sort of bar. I tried to make these a little healthier - especially after all of the food I ate this weekend!

Here is the recipe:

Ingredients

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/8 tsp ground cloves
• 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 cup crushed pineapple
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 can pumpkin puree (15 oz)
• 1 cup raisins

Maple Glaze

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
• 1/2 cup confectioners sugar

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Stir first seven ingredients together. Set aside.
3. Beat pineapple, sugars, eggs together until smooth. Stir in pumpkin and raisins.
   
4. Slowly stir in dry ingredients into pumpkin mixture.
5. Spray 9x13 pan with PAM and then sprinkle with flour.
   
6. Pour mixture into pan and spread evenly.
7. Bake for 40 mins.
   
8. Meanwhile, mix maple syrup with confectioners sugar to make glaze.
   
9. Drizzle cooled bars with glaze. ENJOY.

As you can tell from the picture, my glaze was really watery because I added some water to thin it out slightly and it was waaay too much. This was my first attempt using whole wheat flour in baking and I think things turned out pretty good. I could definitely taste the healthiness in these bars. They are good and I wont feel guilty about eating them. But, I have to admit that its not a dessert that I will be dreaming about. :)

Enjoy the rest of your weekend. I plan to do a recap of my FULL weekend tomorrow. I am so exhausted that I can barely see anymore. Goodnight!