Gluten Free Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies

It's officially fall, and here in the Seattle area, it's been beautiful for the last few days. The leaves are turning color, there's a lovely crispiness in the air, and everywhere you look, there's a pumpkin spice something or other! Everyone wants to eat it, drink it, take a bath in it, make a masque out of it...I get it. I love it too! So, over the weekend, I tried out a new recipe called Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies. Took about 10 minutes to get together and another 20 to bake, so it's very simple. The big test is waiting to see if my boys like them. My oldest is always the easy one, my youngest is the litmus. Here's what I found: if your child likes chopped-up nuts, add the topping. If they don't, leave the topping off and go plain bars. I added the crumble to half the pan and was able to please them both!

Pumpkin has a lot of health benefits! Loaded with Vitamin A, Vitamin C, carotenoids (including the antioxidant beta-carotene), and rich in fiber, you can feel assured that this beautiful orange plant is helping boost your immune system.

It's also a good source of potassium, which helps restore the body’s balance of electrolytes after a heavy workout and keeps muscles functioning at their best.

Gluten Free Pumpkin Almond Butter Brownies

FOR THE BARS

• ½ cup creamy almond butter (you can use crunchy if you like that kind of texture for your bars)

• ½ cup organic pumpkin puree

• 1/3 cup maple syrup

• 2 large eggs

• 2 tsp cinnamon

• ½ tsp ground ginger

• ¼ tsp ground nutmeg

• ½ tsp baking soda

• pinch of sea salt

FOR THE CRUMBLE

• 1/4 cup finely chopped almonds

• 1/4 cup finely chopped walnuts

• 1/3 cup almond flour

• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

• pinch of sea salt

• 1 tbsp maple syrup

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8x8-inch dish with coconut oil.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together the almond butter, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, and eggs.

3. Add the cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, and sea salt. Whisk to combine and pour into the greased baking dish (use coconut oil for this).

4. In a medium bowl, combine all of the topping ingredients until moist and crumbly. Sprinkle the crumble over the top of the batter.

5. Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown and firm. Cool for 15-20 minutes.