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- Makes 16 bars
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Moist, fluffy, and packed full of warming flavors, these wholesome sweet potato bars are everything you need in an autumn-inspired treat. Velvety sweet potato puree is swirled with spicy cinnamon, earthy nutmeg, and rich vanilla to create cute orange cubes that taste like a warm hug on a cold night. Toasted hazelnuts add crunchy texture (you can skip if you’re nut-free) and a sprinkling of cinnamon sugar on top brings this sweet snack together for a healthy riff on classic pumpkin pie flavors.
Tip: For 1 cup mashed sweet potato, peel and coarsely chop one 8-oz. sweet potato. Place potato pieces in a steamer basket in a large saucepan. Add water to saucepan to just below basket. Bring to boiling. Steam, covered, 7 to 10 minutes or until very tender. Transfer potato to a bowl and mash until smooth (or press through a ricer), adding water, 1 tablespoon at a time, as needed to make creamy.
For more delicious sweet potato desserts, check out these tasty ideas:
By Ellen Boeke,
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon flaxseed meal
- 1½ cups whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon regular or sodium-free baking powder
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon sea salt
- 1 cup mashed orange sweet potato (see tip in intro)
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- ¾ cup unsweetened, unflavored plant-based milk
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- ⅓ cup chopped toasted hazelnuts or macadamia nuts
- 1 tablespoon turbinado (raw) sugar or pure cane sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- In a small bowl stir together flaxseed meal and 3 tablespoons water. Let stand 10 minutes.
- Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, extending paper over edges.
- In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, nutmeg, and salt. In a large bowl whisk together the flaxseed mixture and the next six ingredients (through vanilla). Stir flour mixture into sweet potato mixture. Stir in nuts. Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing top. In a small bowl combine turbinado sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle sugar mixture evenly on top.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Using the parchment paper, remove bars from pan and transfer to a cutting board. Cut into 16 squares. To store, place bars in an airtight container and put in the refrigerator for up to 3 days.
Comments (6)
(5 from 4 votes)I really like these bars. What a great way to use up some of my batch cooked sweet potatoes at the end of the week! Don't expect a cake-like product, these are more like pie than cake and just sweet enough for me. (I used Aldi's unsweetened applesauce, and whole wheat flour & Ceylon cinnamon both from Azurestandard.com) Thanks.
Flavor is good, but I had a bit of an issue baking these. I tested them at 35 minutes; not done. Then at 45 minutes; not done. One hour; not done. I ended up cooking them for two hours, and they're still gummy in the middle. I did double check the ingredients and temp, to make sure I hadn't made a mistake. Might try using less applesauce next time. Maybe mine was runnier than that used by the original chef.
I thought it was me who messed up with ingredients. Mine also were very gummy cooking over 1.5hrs.
I was looking for a recipe that used cauliflower & dried split peas, this popped up and I thought-interesting seasonings, I need to expand flavorings after so many years of extremely restricted foods. This is perfect. I did it in my crockpot and I love it. Can’t wait to try more!
Wrong recipe. I tried to delete to move over to the correct one. Darn.
Gummy and sadly, not sweet enough…thinking a different/courser type of flour may improve them. If I try these again (doubtful), I’ll use oat flour (or maybe a mix of oat/almond flour) and add sweetener (date sugar).