Recipe: Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars

We ran out of candy fairly early Halloween night, and since it was pouring rain our tough little Iron Man and beautiful baby flower only made it to only a few neighbouring houses.  That meant we ate very little candy in our house this year (although it was enough to give Iron Man night terrors... yikes!).  In need of a sweet treat to celebrate the end of the week, I made these vegan pumpkin cheesecake bars.  They aren't too sweet but are wonderfully spiced with pumpkin pie spices, reminiscent of cozy autumn nights. And they are fairly easy to prepare, which is a plus with two little munchkins who need me.  I even had one little munchkin help me measure and stir - his two favourite baking tasks apart from sticking his little munchkin fingers into whatever I'm making to have a taste.

Now on to the recipe.  First, make your flax egg so it can sit for a few minutes while you prepare the base and other ingredients.  A flax egg acts as a binder, replacing real eggs, and is made by combining 1 tablespoon of ground flax with 3 tablespoons water.  They make "egg replacer" which is readily available, but something about it creeps me out.  I prefer to use flax eggs since they are just finely ground flax seeds.  You make the graham cracker base by combining graham crumbs, earth balance (I get the "soy free" kind) and maple syrup and pulsing in your food processor until the mixture is well combined.  The topping is then made in the (cleaned) processor while the graham base firms up in the freezer, then spread evenly over the base like so:

Bake in the centre of the oven for 35-40 minutes until the top is golden brown.  It will look like this when its done:

Let the bars cool in the baking dish for at least 30 minutes before you slice them.  If you don't wait, the topping won't be firm enough to serve.

 Vegan Pumpkin Cheesecake Bars
Makes 12

Base Layer
1 1/2 c graham cracker crumbs
2 tbsp earth balance (vegan butter)
1 tbsp maple syrup 

Filling
1 c pumpkin puree
8 oz vegan cream cheese (such as Tofutti)
1/3 c agave nectar
2 tbsp flour
2 flax eggs (2 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp warm water, combined and let sit for 5-10 min)
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp salt
       
Preheat oven to 350.  Lightly grease and line a 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper.  First prepare flax eggs by mixing ground flax and warm water in small bowl.  Let stand while you make the base layer.  For base, pulse graham crumbs, earth balance and maple syrup in food processor until well combined.  Press into baking dish and chill in freezer to firm up while you prepare topping.  To make topping, blend all ingredients in food processor until smooth.  Spread evenly over base and bake for 35-40 min until top is golden brown.  Let cool for 30 min in baking dish.  Cut into squares and serve.




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Recipe: Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins

Its that time of year again: chilly, rainy and grey.  The time of year where all you want to do is curl up under a blanket and feel cozy.  When I think of the coziness of October and November, I think of spices like cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and clove.  I think of the creamy richness of pumpkin puree.  And I think of the warmth of straight-out-of-the-oven baked goodies.

Here's my healthy take on an autumn treat, using dates for sweetness instead of sugar.

You'll first need to soak the dates for at least 2 hours.  Soaking makes them soft so you can blend them into a paste and mix into the batter.  When you drain your soaked dates, reserve the water.  It will be sweetened by the dates, and will be used to add extra sweetness to the recipe.  Your date paste will look something like this:

 You will add this paste to the other liquids, including the flax egg (made by combining flax meal and warm water and letting it stand for 5-10 min until it turns slightly gelatinous) coconut oil, and pumpkin.

Once you mix wet and dry ingredients separately and combine them, it is time to form the muffins. When forming the muffins, first divide half the batter among the 12 cups.  Then add a dollop of chilled cream cheese mixture, and then cover with more batter.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the centre comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes in the tin, then remove to a cooling rack.

Pumpkin Cream Cheese Muffins
Makes 12 large or 24 mini muffins

Cream Cheese Filling
4 oz vegan cream cheese
1/2 tsp agave nectar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix all ingredients until smooth.  Put in fridge to chill while you make the muffins.

Muffins
1 c dried pitted dates, soaked in 1 c water for 30 min to 4h, drained and water reserved
2 tbsp flax meal (ground flax) + 6 tbsp warm water
1 1/2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 c pumpkin
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2/3 c date soaking water

Soak your dates for 2-4 hours by placing in small bowl and covering with 1 cup of water.  Drain, reserving soak water.  Puree dates with 1/3 cup of soaking water in food processor until smooth.
Mix 2 tbsp flax meal with 6 tbsp warm water in a small bowl and set aside.
Preheat oven to 350.  Prepare muffin tin with liners and non-stick spray.
Mix flour, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, mix pumpkin, coconut oil, flax mixture, dates and remaining soak water.  Mix well.  Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture and stir only until just combined.
Divide half the batter between 12 muffin cups. Scoop 1 tsp of cream cheese mixture into each muffin cup.  Divide remaining batter between muffin cups to cover cream cheese dollops.
Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.  Cool for 5 min then remove to cooling rack.






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