As food bloggers, we sometimes have a habit of segregating food and recipes seasonally. I believe that if the food is available all year round, we should enjoy it anytime. One thing that remains on the shelf all year round is pureed pumpkin. While fresh is always better, when it comes to pumpkin I feel that canned is acceptable.
Today, I pulled out the can of pumpkin and also a jar of Nutella..which is a great combo to start. Then spices were added and a crunchy streusel was made. The end result is a delicious bar with the flavors of hazelnut, chocolate and pumpkin. The streusel is the crowning touch. The bars are worth waiting on until the fall, but there is no reason to not to enjoy them any time of the year. Forget seasonality on this one and enjoy a bar today!
Pumpkin Nutella Bars
adapted from ice.edu
Ingredients/Pumpkin layer
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp baking soda
2 1/4 cup flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup or 1 stick butter
1 cup of Nutella (chocolate hazelnut spread)
Ingredients/Streusel
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 cups flour
3/4 cup or 1 1/2 sticks of butter
Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 8 inch square pan and line with parchment paper. Sift together flour, salt, baking soda and spices. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, cream together butter and both sugars. Then add the egg and vanilla, mixing until blended. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Using a wooden spoon, mix in 1/3 of the sifted ingredients until no dry streaks remain. Add 1/2 of the pumpkin puree to the batter and stir to blend. Repeat the process and end with last amount of sifted ingredients. Transfer batter to prepared pan, smoothing the surface until even. Place in oven and let bake for 15 minutes.
Create the streusel as it bakes. Whisk all the ingredients together, except for melted butter. Once everything is evenly distributed, pour in the melted butter and mix until all the dry ingredients are damped by the butter, it should have a crumbly consistency. Set aside.
Once the bars have completed the 15 minutes bake time, remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes. Also, drop the temperature of the oven to 325 degrees.
After the bars have cooled for the allotted time, warm up the hazelnut spread in the microwave- heating for two 15 second intervals, mixing after each. Then pour the spread onto the bars and smooth with a on offset spatula. Lastly, sprinkle the streusel evenly over the surface. Bake until golden brown and tester comes out clean, about 30 minutes.
Cool about 15 minutes before cutting.
Tips and Notes:
1. This recipe was not specific about 2 things, the pan size (it stated it makes 18 bars 1 1/2 inch square) and how much of the hazelnut (Nutella) spread (it stated 1 jar). Without specifics, I used a 8 inch square pan and 1 cup of hazelnut spread. These two items you can change according to your preference but the baking time may need to be adjusted. The bars I made were 1 1/2 inch in height.
2. As you can tell by the amount of ingredients, the streusel is very thick. This can be modified.
3. If you do not want the distinct layers, you can marble the hazelnut spread into the slightly cooked batter when added to the pan.
4. The combination of spices, with the exception of the cloves, equate to pumpkin pie spice. Feel free to substitute it.
**LAST YEAR:Passion Fruit Tart**