Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars

Last week I posted my first apple recipe of the year, and tonight I’m back with my first pumpkin recipe: Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars with cinnamon glaze! These Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars are made healthier by using whole wheat flour and Greek yogurt – this dessert contains no butter or oil.

Like many food bloggers and fall food lovers, I am obsessed with pumpkin. I look forward to coming up with new and creative pumpkin ideas every year. This first recipe is a healthier take on dessert, using Greek yogurt instead of butter or oil. Using Greek yogurt resulted in light and airy pumpkin bars that you can enjoy with a little less guilt.

I’m a big fan of substituting yogurt and applesauce for part or all of the butter or oil in a recipe. These Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars are similar to a recipe I posted last summer, for Greek Yogurt Banana Bars. There’s nothing wrong with adding butter to your life {and I do on a regular basis} but sometimes I’m craving something a bit lighter.

For this recipe, I also added whole wheat flour for extra health benefits. Whole wheat flour includes close to four times the fiber of white flour {source}. I came across one tip from the kitchn on baking with whole wheat flour: let your batter rest for at least 10 minutes before baking. This allows it to “hydrate” since whole wheat flour includes wheat that is courser in texture.

I think it worked! These Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars turned out delicious and super light. I also added a simple cinnamon glaze frosting, made with a few splashes of milk, powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and ground cinnamon.

I couldn’t resist topping this dessert with Halloween-themed “spookles” 🙂

Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars

Course Dessert
Keyword pumpkin
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 50 minutes
Servings 24 people

Ingredients

  • 1 cup all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
  • 1 can pumpkin puree {15 ounces}
  • 3 eggs
  • 1/3 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2/3 cup dark brown sugar
  • 1 cup 2% Greek yogurt
  • 1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 1/2 tsp salt

Cinnamon Glaze

  • 1 cup powdered sugar
  • 2 tbsp milk
  • 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

  2. Mix eggs, sugar, maple syrup, pumpkin, Greek yogurt, and vanilla extract.

  3. In a separate bowl, combine white and whole wheat flours, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.

  4. Slowly add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture. Mix well.

  5. Add batter to a baking pan. I baked in a 3 quart Pyrex dish {13.25 x 9.25}.**

  6. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

  7. Let the bars cool for at least 20 minutes before frosting. To make the Cinnamon Glaze, whisk ingredients together. For thicker frosting, add more powdered sugar and/or milk until you get the desired texture.

  8. Store bars in the refrigerator or freeze.

If you want thinner bars, bake your Greek Yogurt Pumpkin Bars in a jelly roll or cookie sheet pan. You may need to reduce the cooking time.

{Adapted from Taste of Home’s recipe for Pumpkin Bars}

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