Low Sugar Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

I love pumpkin! This is my favorite time of the year and I love cooking with pumpkin. Sweet, savory, you name it, I love it! When I first saw this recipe on another blog, Megans Cookin, I knew that I had to make it! The recipe originated from another blogger, Julia of Dozen Flours. I thought this would be the perfect recipe to try out my new favorite product, Whey Low. Whew Low is an all natural sugar substitute with 75% less calories than sugar and 70-80% lower glycemic index than sugar. It is a combination of fructose, lactose and sucrose and is an ideal sugar substitute for diabetics and other sugar sensitive individuals, such as people who have had Weight Loss Surgery or choose to follow a Low Carbohydrate or Low GI Diet. I was turned on to this product by my friend Linda and her incredible blog, Eating Well…Living Thin. Linda is an excellent cook and incredible photographer! If you want to look at some amazing low carb food porn, check out her blog. She also has a very good section on understanding sugar substitutes. While the Whey Low products are awesome, some of the products, do have higher sugar levels than other substitutes, such as Splenda and you need to understand exactly what you are getting. I suggest reading her section titled “Sugar Substitutes Explained.”

One great thing about Whey Low products is that you can substitute them 1:1 for sugar in recipes. The BEST thing about them, in my humble opinion, is that the Whey Low Gold is a perfect substitute for brown sugar. I have experimented a little with Splenda Brown Sugar Blend, but since it is half real sugar, I didn’t find it to be a suitable replacement for truly low sugar recipes. I substituted Whey Low Gold for the brown sugar in the snickerdoodle layer and Whey Low Granular for the sugar in the pumpkin pie layer. I also used Whey Low granular for the cinnamon sprinkle on top. There are sugar free white chocolate products out there, but given the small amount called for in this recipe and the fact that I had white chocolate chips on hand, I used 2 ounces of White Chocolate Chips in the drizzle.

I made these low sugar blondie bars low sugar, but did not experiment with cutting the flour carbs at all. Substituting a combination of flour and almond meal for the white flour in the snickerdoodle layer would cut the carb count greatly but increase the fat and calories.

Low Sugar Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bars

adapted from Julia at Dozen Flours

Snickerdoodle Layer

3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups packed Whey Low Gold Brown Sugar Substitute
1 cup butter, at room temperature
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup Whey Low Granular Sugar Substitute
1 stick butter, at room temperature
1 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
2 eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Sprinkle

2 tablespoons Whey Low Granular Sugar Substitute
2 teaspoons cinnamon

Drizzle

2 oz white chocolate chips
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. The parchment paper is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later

To make snickerdoodle layer:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth. Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan. The mixture will be thick like cookie batter.

In a mixer bowl with a paddle attachment, mix together all ingredients until well combined. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Combine 2 T Whey Low Granular and 2 t Cinnamon and evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake for 33-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely in the pan on a cooling rack. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer.

After the bars are completely cool, place the white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into 24 bars. Store in a covered container.

Makes 24 servings: 229 cal, 13 g fat, 24 g carb, 3 g pro

I lifted the whole bar out of the pan and onto a cutting board and trimmed the edges off prior to drizzling with the white chocolate mixture. This made very nice clean looking bars.

Up close and personal with a Pumpkin Pie Snickerdoodle Bar. I loved the layering effect on these bars.

This recipe was delicious and turned out beautifully with the Whey Low Products. I have never tried this recipe as written, so I can’t compare it to the original. If you are looking for a low sugar option for Thanksgiving, this may fit the bill for you. You can obtain Whey Low products from several online sources, including the Whey Low website. It is also carried at many Whole Foods Stores, but was not available in North Phoenix or Ann Arbor when I checked. I ordered the sampler pack and have enjoyed using the granular, gold and maple flavors. The Gold is so popular that it was out of stock for at least a month, but I am happy to report that it is back in stock. I am going to stock up on both the Granular and Gold for the holidays.