Don’t throw a Halloween party without these fun pumpkin bar edible mummies. With low fat and less sugar, you can maybe even eat two mummies!
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of In The Raw via Burst Media. The opinions and text are all mine.
Do you have any fun plans for Halloween? Halloween has never been a holiday that I got overly excited about. It was fun as a kid, of course, but in my late teens and adulthood, it just isn’t really something that I love participating in. I really don’t know why! I do love handing out candy and seeing all the costumes though.
Now that I have kids, I’m beginning to be a little more excited about Halloween – because the kids are. We love to pick out costumes and go trick-or-treating with them. (Although, I’m not a big fan of all the candy!)
This year E wants to be a princess and N wants to be Spiderman. We have both of those costumes in our dress-up clothes so the kids are making it easy on me!
For a healthier Halloween treat, I love these fun little pumpkin bars. My kids are obsessed with these edible mummies. And guess what – they’re seriously simple to make. SO easy. An easy treat that will have your kids smiling – major win. For a Halloween sandwich, try these spider grilled cheese sandwiches.
As always, I try to make these a little more healthy for my family. Instead of oil, I use non-fat plain Greek yogurt. It keeps the bars super moist without adding any fat.
I swap out part of the sugar and use Monk Fruit In The Raw®. If you’ve never heard of Monk Fruit, you can find out more about it here. It’s a zero-calorie sweetener, so by using it in this recipe, you’re decreasing the calorie content significantly. It is available in a baker’s bag size (that’s what you’ll want for this recipe) as well as small packets that are perfect for coffee or tea.
NOTE: If you don’t have monk fruit sweetener, substitute regular sugar, 1:1 in this recipe.
Happy Halloween, everyone!
Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
For the bars:
- 4 large eggs
- 1 ⅔ cups sugar
- 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (I usually use nonfat)
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree (NOT sweetened pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened (½ stick)
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 3 teaspoons milk, more if needed
- 4 cups powdered sugar, more if needed
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F with the oven rack in the center of the oven. Grease or lightly spray with nonstick spray a 17 x 12 inch sheet pan (half sheet pan).
- In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat eggs. Add sugar, yogurt, pumpkin and vanilla; whisk until well blended.4 large eggs, 1 ⅔ cups sugar, 1 cup plain Greek yogurt, 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- In a separate smaller bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.2 cups all-purpose flour, 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, 2 teaspoons baking powder, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt
- Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture; stirring until well blended. Spread batter into prepared pan.
- Bake for 24 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting, at least 40 minutes depending on how warm your kitchen is.
Cream cheese frosting:
- In a large bowl, with an electric mixer, beat together softened cream cheese and butter until blended.8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened, ¼ cup unsalted butter, softened
- Add vanilla, milk, and powdered sugar. Beat until smooth and creamy. Adjust consistency of the frosting, if necessary, by adding more milk, a teaspoon at a time if it’s too thick, or additional powdered sugar, if it’s too thin.1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 3 teaspoons milk, more if needed, 4 cups powdered sugar, more if needed
- Spread frosting on cooled bars. Cut bars into 24 squares (approx. 3 x 3 inches) when frosting has set. If you prefer, the bars can be cut into smaller or larger squares.
To Decorate like Mummies:
- Cut cooled bars into rectangles.
- Using a piping bag and a piping tip with a long, thin opening (I use one similar to a Wilton 104), pipe small dots for the eyes (you can also use a toothpick for this), and place eyes on top of frosting. Then, work back and forth with the frosting to create a mummy effect. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
Notes
- How to serve: The bars are soft and cake-like, not necessarily a finger food. If the squares are larger in size, you may want serve them like cake, with a fork.
- Garnishes: Top the frosting with 1½ cups finely chopped toasted pecans or walnuts. Mini chocolate chips are great, too. For Halloween, top the frosting with orange and black sprinkles.
- Storage: Because of the cream cheese frosting, these pumpkin bars should be stored in the refrigerator. They will keep for up to 5 days. They can be frozen for up to 3 months. Refer to the post for freezing instructions.
- Originally published as Pumpkin Bar Edible Mummies. Retested and revised 10/24.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Did You Make This?Share a comment and rating below! I love hearing what you think!Husband’s take: He loves these bars too. The kids were the real fans though!
Changes I would make: None are necessary!
Difficulty: Easy!
PS: Here are the edible eyes –you’ll definitely need those! Edible eyes are also available in most grocery stores in the cake decorating aisle.
Find out where to buy Monk Fruit In The Raw® here.
Make sure to also visit In The Raw sweeteners on their website as well as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and YouTube.
Disclosure: This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of In The Raw via Burst Media. The opinions and text are all mine.
This is a sponsored conversation written by me on behalf of In The Raw via RhythmOne. The opinions and text are all mine.
looks so good.
Thanks Denise!
Do you have a recipe without pumpkin? :)
I have a lot of recipes without pumpkin! Do you mean THIS recipe without pumpkin?
Rachel you are so clever and we all love this mummies! Not only do they tastes great they look fabulous xoxo
adorable
These are adorable! I haven’t tried Monk Fruit before, I’ll keep an eye out for it at the store. I’m not a major Halloween fan though I imagine seeing it through kid’s eyes makes all the difference ;)