Easy Pumpkin Squares

October 12, 2009 · Filed Under GAHIGF, Slightly Indulgent, dairy free, dessert, easy, gluten free, recipe, sugar free · 60 Comments

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Pumpkin “Patch” in Town

There’s frost on the pumpkin. Okay, frost is not quite yet here in my area of Virginia, but there’s definitely a chill in the air. The temperature was in the 40s last tonight. I know, I know … some of you guys have already had snow. I have one word to say on that—wow. But, whatever the weather where you are, it’s a good time to make pumpkin squares. Even if you are not a lover of everything pumpkin like I am, I can almost guarantee you will love these treats. They are light and while the pumpkin taste is lovely, non-pumpkin lovers do not always immediately recognize it as pumpkin. That can actually be a good thing. They just know these squares taste so good that they want another one. These pumpkin squares melt in your mouth and before you know it the whole batch has evaporated. Seriously. I’ve made four pans this week. I’m not kidding. There was the presentation that I gave on Tuesday night. I had to take some tasty gluten-free treats for that. Mr. GFE had promised to bring treats to handbell choir practice that same evening, so I had doubled the recipe. He said he was afraid he was going to lose a hand as he passed the squares out. I made another batch to share with family on Saturday. Then Son was home yesterday for a few hours and brought a friend. Five pounds of chicken wings and 3 ½ pounds of crab legs were consumed, so, of course, there had to be dessert. I started baking these squares when he called to say he was on his way. From those four pans of pumpkin squares, not one remains. Do you need further convincing that you should make these right now? Okay, here goes.

Pumpkin Squares
(Click here for a printable version of this recipe. )

1 egg
½ cup pumpkin
½ cup oil (any kind)
1/6 cup water (don’t stress over this measurement; just fill 1/3 measuring cup halfway full … you can empty or add water as necessary until you’re right at the halfway mark)
¾ cup sugar (or honey, if you use honey, omit water)
½ tsp salt
1 cup gluten-free flour mix*
¼ tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
¼ tsp each ground cloves, ground nutmeg, ground cinnamon (or ¾ tsp pumpkin pie)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg and add other wet ingredients in a bowl (at least medium-sized); mix well. Add dry ingredients. Pour into a lightly greased 9 x 13 pan. The batter will just cover the bottom of the pan. Sprinkle some cinnamon over the batter if you like. Bake about 25 – 30 minutes. Squares will be thin and moist. Let cool before cutting.

The original recipe called these “bars” and included frosting. These treats are too light and delicate to be called bars or need frosting. If you want to gussy them up a bit, feel free to sift confectioner’s (powdered) sugar on them. Add the confectioner’s sugar right before serving and do not cover. Because they are moist, covering them will cause the confectioner’s sugar to “melt” into the squares.

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Additional Notes: If you use fresh pumpkin, you can usually omit the water as the fresh pumpkin tends to have a higher water content. I love these made with fresh pumpkin. They are so light and luscious when made with fresh pumpkin. Look for the small “sugar” pumpkins to do some baking—not the ones that you carve into jack-0-lanterns. By the way, no xanthan or guar gum is needed in this recipe.

*The gluten-free flour mix I make consists of three parts Asian white rice flour (much more finely ground that typical white rice flour) and two parts cornstarch. I make 5 lbs of this mix at a time. I use three 1-lb bags of Asian white rice flour and two 1-lb boxes of Argo cornstarch. Mix well, but gently in a very large bowl and then transfer to airtight storage containers (like glass jars or Tupperware). I realize this gluten-free flour mix is nutritionally not the best, but I have issues with many of the healthier options like buckwheat, sorghum, etc. But, feel free to try your favorite gluten-free flour mix. If you’re not gluten free (yet), you can substitute your favorite all-purpose flour.

Adapted from a recipe by Mary Burgdorff shared on the celiac listserv and celiac.com

This post is linked to the October roundup of Go Ahead Honey, It’s Gluten Free! I always love participating in this monthly event. It’s just so much fun. The invention of creative Naomi Devlin at Straight Into Bed Cakefree and Dried, each month features a different blogger with a theme of their choosing. This month’s host is the sweet and lovely Heather of life, gluten free. The theme is pumpkin treats. Join in the fun. Entries are due to Heather by October 29 and her post will be up at the end of the month. Read more here if you would like to submit an entry. No matter what, do head back over to life, gluten free at the end of month to add some new pumpkin recipes to your repertoire. Check out Heather’s site while you are there, too. She has a great post on the anxiety dreams of those who are gluten free. Read it here. Please add a comment if you have such dreams. I’m curious, and I know Heather is, too. UPDATE: Here’s the roundup of gluten-free pumpkin treats at life, gluten free.

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This post is also linked to Slightly Indulgent Mondays over at Amy’s blog, Simply Sugar and Gluten-Free. Amy has this weekly roundup of recipes that are just a little bit healthier for you. These pumpkin squares are healthier by the fact that contain pumpkin, are gluten free, and are also naturally dairy free. Using oil that’s more beneficial to the body will also boost the nutritional value of these squares and make them less indulgent. Frankly, you won’t spend too much time thinking about all that because they are just that good. Oh, and Amy also has a giveaway and introduces a new blogger each week. I love that concept! Last week, I was the featured blogger. I was so honored. You can read that post here. And, did I mention that Amy also shares a fabulous recipe of her own each week? Her weekly roundup is definitely worth a visit. Many of the terrific bloggers you already know are there with there best recipes, but the neat thing is that you’ll meet some new folks, too, sharing their healthier recipes.

Update: This post is also linked to the Friday Foodie Fix, the weekly roundup of recipes featuring the ingredient of the week–in this case, pumpkin! Can’t wait to find more gluten-free recipes to make using this favorite ingredient. Check them out and visit The W.H.O.L.E. Gang each week for a new listing of recipes made with the secret ingredient. Join in by entering your own recipe!

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Pumpkin Patch Near Our Mountain Property

Pumpkin is great all year long in my opinion, but it’s especially appropriate in October. You can mix up a batch and bake these pumpkin squares in a short time—enjoy!

Shirley
Not just gf, but gfe!