These Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars are lightened up but still remain moist, delicious and bursting with pumpkin and chocolate flavor!
We’ve officially hit Fall, cue everything pumpkin, which is fine with me. I’m currently sipping on a Pumpkin Spice Latte while I write this post. On the weekends, I usually spend some of the time baking. I like to bake goodies to keep around the house for the week, if they last that long. This weekend I made these Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars.
They’re absolutely delicious and the perfect pumpkin bar with chocolate to send you blissfully into Fall.
During the holiday season I do A LOT of baking and eating, therefore, I like to make some of the treats lightened up.
My husband and I don’t choose to do any “diet” per se but we like to keep a healthier lifestyle by choosing “good fats” and reducing the amount of saturated fats we consume.
I do this by swapping out ingredients in a recipe for a more heart healthy, lighter ingredient such as Mazola Corn Oil
Mazola Corn Oil is an all-purpose cooking oil that is a smart heart-healthy choice for your family. It can be used in a variety of ways, such as baking, grilling, sautéing, stir frying, or mixing up a marinade or dressing.
I also use it when making stir frys, sauces and marinades. I love it because it has a neutral taste that lets the natural flavor of your food stand out and a higher smoke point than most cooking oils at 450°F.
So, for these Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars I swapped out the vegetable oil for Mazola Corn Oil, white flour for whole wheat flour and regular cream cheese for reduced fat cream cheese.
The results, absolutely fabulous! They’re SUPER moist and the chocolate chips and chocolate cream cheese topping compliment the pumpkin so well.
They’re delicious paired with your morning coffee, afternoon tea and the perfect dessert to end your dinner with
I also love that the entire pan makes 24 servings to there is enough to pass around to friends, family, neighbors and coworkers.
These Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars are moist, flavorful and bursting with chocolately pumpkin flavor!
Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars
Prep
Cook
Total
These Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars are lightened up but still remain moist, delicious and bursting with pumpkin and chocolate flavor!
Ingredients
- 2 cups Whole-wheat flour
- 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 15 ounce can pumpkin
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 cup Mazola Corn Oil
- 1 cup miniature semisweet chocolate pieces
- 8 ounce package reduced fat or fat free cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup granulated sugar
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 15x10-inch baking pan with foil or parchment paper, extending foil over edges.
- Into a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and ground cloves.
- Into another bowl combine pumpkin, 4 eggs and corn oil. Pour wet ingredients into dry ingredients and mix to combine. Pour into prepared pan.
- In a small bowl, melt 1/2 cup chocolate chips in the microwave in 30 second intervals until melted.
- Place cream cheese into the bowl or your stand mixer, or into a medium bowl, and beat for 1 minute. Stir in melted chocolate, followed by sugar, egg and vanilla extract.
- Spoon chocolate mixture over pumpkin mixture in pan and using a toothpick, skewer or knife, gently swirl batters together.
- Top with remaining 1/2 cup chocolate chips and bake for 45-50 minutes or until set and a toothpick comes out clean.
- Cut into 24 squares and serve.
Nutrition Facts
Serving Size 24 servings
Amount Per Serving | ||
|---|---|---|
Calories 248 | ||
% Daily Value | ||
Total Fat 13 g | 20% | |
Saturated Fat 3 g | 15% | |
Cholesterol 42 mg | 14% | |
Sodium 154 mg | 6% | |
Total Carbohydrates 30 g | 10% | |
Dietary Fiber 2 g | 8% | |
Sugars 21 g | ||
Protein 4 g | 8% | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
If you guys love pumpkin and chocolate, you will LOVE these Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars.
They’re super easy to make and couldn’t be a better Fall treat to share with your friends.
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Deena says
Hi, thanks for this beautiful recipe! I tried it twice now within the span of a week, and both batches were yummy but quite different from each other. The first time, I didn’t have any baking soda and it turned out to have a much denser, more moist consistency (a bit too dense for my taste). For the second time, I used baking soda but less oil (as I ran out) and used the remainder of the pumpkin puree I made from the first batch. I prefer the taste of the second batch as it was more pumpkiny, but found the texture a bit too dry. Do you have any tips to get a consistency of somewhere between the two, and perhaps suggestions on how to enhance the pumpkin flavor?