These easy-to-make squares are perfect for dessert or a snack. This is my go-to recipe when I’m in the mood for a pumpkin dessert but don’t want to spend the time making an entire pumpkin pie. If I’m serving these at a special occasion, I will add Vanilla or Lemon Frosting.
- 7 ounces pitted dates (11 to 12 Medjool or 22 to 24 Deglet Noor), chopped
- 1 cup nondairy milk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract (or seeds from 1 vanilla bean)
- 1¼ cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (or see Notes)
- 1 can 100% pure pumpkin (15 ounces; see Notes to use fresh pumpkin)
- Vanilla Frosting (optional)
- Place the dates, milk, and vanilla into a small bowl, and set aside for at least 15 minutes (so the dates can soften).
- Preheat the oven to 375°F. Line an 8×8-inch baking pan with parchment paper.
- Grind the rolled oats into flour with a blender. Transfer to a medium bowl and whisk in the pumpkin pie spice.
- Pour the soaking ingredients (dates, milk, and vanilla) into the blender, and blend until smooth.
- Pour this mixture into the bowl of dry ingredients, and add the pumpkin. Mix the batter with an electric mixer until it is thick but smooth. (If you don’t have an electric mixer, you can use a food processor or a blender along with its tamper.)
- Spoon the batter into the pan and spread evenly. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before serving (or chill overnight for firmer snack bars). Serve as is or with Vanilla Frosting.
If you don’t have pumpkin pie spice, you may substitute 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon of ground ginger, ½ teaspoon of ground nutmeg, and a pinch of ground cloves.
Oat flour: You can easily grind rolled oats into flour by using a high-speed blender.
Above: These are completely cooled, so they are firm enough to be cut into snack-sized squares. The bottom squares have a little grated macadamia nut on them instead of frosting.
Above: This was baked in a pie pan and served soon after taking out of the oven, so it has a looser texture. The longer it sits (or is refrigerated overnight) the firmer it will get (see below).
Above: You can also make mini pumpkin pies slices. After baking in a square pan and cooling, slice into three equal strips and then cut out little pie slices as you go across each strip.
If you make this recipe and enjoy it, please share a comment below or on my Facebook page. If you’d like to print this recipe, use the green “Print” button near the top-right of the recipe. Learn more about the Straight Up Food Cookbook here. Thank you!
Wow! Made these for Thanksgiving. Absolutely delicious! Thank you so much! Since I went oil free I haven’t had anything this good!! I am loving your recipes and sharing them with others. Thank you!
Thanks Julie! 😉
Hi I’m new to your website (I just recently went salt free so your a god send 🙂 )
I was just wondering if there was a replacement for oat flour as I have an allergy 🙁
Would white or whole wheat flour work?
I use quinoa flakes as a replacement for oatmeal in the mornings do you think if I ground that up that it would work?
Sorry for dragging this out haha.
Hope you have a wonderful new year! 🙂
Hi Jadzia! 🙂 Welcome! You can use any kind of flour really. The blog is gluten-free, so that is why I don’t use wheat; but you can. Flour of any kind is a good thickener.
What do you think about almond flour? I’m in the first stages of an elimination diet and can’t have any grain – thinking I can make this less sweet and enjoy a small piece with my family. I won’t be eating much of it as it’s sweet, but hoping to have a little…..
I’ve never used almond flour, but I’d Google how to use it in place of grain flours; I know lots of people like using it.
This recipe varies a bit from the version posted by Forks Over Knives. Which version do you prefer? And, how do the cashew and macadamia frostings compare?
The most current version is on my site and the one I prefer. I like cashews better; macadamias have a strong flavor. 🙂
Made these yesterday, delicious! Used a raw cranberry/meyer lemon relish as the topping instead of the frosting.
Just made them. I had to eat 3 squares to adequately test them. 🙂 Verdict- Delicious!!!
I am on my second one. Still testing. YUM!
Cathy, can I substitute your sweet potato pie filling recipe to make sweet potato pie squares or do you think I would have to make some tweaks to it?
I think that is fine; just use the 1/2 cup flour (ground) in the filling instead of the 1/4 cup for firmer squares. 😉
it worked! I did go with the 1/2 cup of oat flour. I’ll be making this again and again!
Yay!! Thanks for following up, Steve! 😉
Hi there, these were seriously good! Thank you… Trying to persuade my in-laws to eat any of my “healthy stuff” has been a challenge. But no one even queried these – my mother in law LOVED them and went around handing them out to everyone, telling them how good they were. It was a resounding success. I bought the last 2 pieces back home and ate them 😀 Thanks again.
Super easy and freaking amazing. I will be sharing a batch at work.
Okay, just so others can learn from my mistake; Don’t try to bake these in individual brownie pan. It occurred to me that I might have a problem because of the moisture but decided to go for it anyway. I got them out of the pan intact but it took some gentle urging.
I already had some ground up oats so use 3/4 cup and it came out fine, although, I think a cup would’ve been more like it. The oats don’t show up at all like the bars pictured. AND I used erythritol, 1 T molasses and a touch of stevia in place of dates. I ate them plain and they are delicious. Thanks!
Thank you so much for this! We made it as listed and it was really good. My 4 and 6 year old approved and I took it to the teacher appreciation breakfast at school today. Doubled the batch. No leftovers !
When you doubled the batch, did you bake in a 9×13 cake pan? Did the cooking time need to be altered?
I think that would work; just bake it for a big longer since it will be taller. 🙂
If I start with oat flour (instead of grinding up the oats), is the measurement still 1 1/4 cups? Or, should I reduce it a bit?
It’s the same, I’ve tested it. 😉
Thanks so much!! I’m planning to make these today.
Great job on this recipe! The second time I made this I topped it with a little bit of unbaked pecan-date pie crust (another recipe on this blog). It was a hit!
These squares were a big hit with my chorus tonight! I almost always bring homemade vegan baked goods when it’s my section’s turn to bring snacks, and a number of our singers avoid gluten and/or sugar, so it’s great to have a whole cookbook full of recipes to accommodate them.
Can these b frozen?
Probably, although I’ve not tried it. 🙂
Yes, they can. I regularly freeze them and they thaw out fine.
I am looking forward to trying my fourth recipe of yours in 5 days! I did notice that this newer version has twice the non-dairy milk as your earlier version. My first thought was that the results would be pretty soft! (It also increases the fat content.) Just wondering why the change?
The original recipe called for 1/2 each of water and nondairy milk, and later I made it 1 cup nondairy milk (I think because there was no reason to do both). So it will probably be the same as before. 🙂
I can’t say enough about these! I add the pumpkin to the vitamix after I blend the dates, it works out really well. They are just fantastic on their own and the vanilla takes it over the top – I have made them about a half dozen times since thanksgiving! Like so many things, they taste better after a rest in the fridge, every day gets better. I also have frozen the leftovers and they defrost well and taste perfect. my go-to fall/winter dessert for guests! Thank you!!
Can these be made in a muffin pan?
Sure, just be sure to let them cool on the counter, then in the fridge before removing them. 🙂
Thank you, Cathy! ☺️
I love these. Made them 3 times already. On my last try I didn’t have any nut milk. I soaked cashews overnight and blended them in the morning. Did not stain the nuts and uses the “pulp”. Came out even richer. My 9 year old said this was better than conventional cupcakes.
Wow, nice! 🙂 Thanks for the comment, Anastasia!
Can I use bananas in place of the dates? Do you know the equivalent?
Hmm, I don’t think it would be sweet enough with bananas. You could try a 1/4 or 1/2 batch to test it out. I’d use at least the same amount of ounces of banana as dates, maybe more since they’re less sweet.