Jules Shepard

Jules Dowler Shepard's popular cookbook, Nearly Normal Cooking For Gluten-Free Eating, and new book, The First Year: Celiac Disease & Living Gluten-Free (2008), highlight her creativity in the kitchen. Diagnosed with celiac disease in 1999, Jules draws on personal experience in her consulting and gluten-free cooking classes. Her Jules Gluten Free All Purpose Flour has revolutionized gluten-free baking. Get her free weekly recipe newsletter and more recipes at JulesGlutenFree.com.

Recipes for making a great homemade gluten-free all purpose flour can be found in my books, Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating and The First Year: Celiac Disease and Living Gluten-Free, as well as in various free media links on my website, NearlyNormalCooking.com.

Published on 12/8/2008

These bars are the perfect representation of this transitional fall season: green zucchini to bid the late summer goodbye, orange pumpkin as the harbinger of all things autumnal, and creamy white cream cheese topping peeking through as a hint of the snows to come. They are also moist, healthy and easy to make - how's that for an ideal recipe?

Pumpkin-Zucchini Bars (Gluten-Free)

This recipe calls for my Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour. You can find the recipe for this flour in my cookbook, Nearly Normal Cooking for Gluten-Free Eating or in various media links on my website, where you can also by this mix ready-made. It produces amazing results in all your gluten-free baking.

Ingredients:
1/3 cup butter or non-dairy alternative such as Earth Balance Shortening Sticks
¾ cup granulated cane sugar
½ cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
¼ cup hot water
2 tablespoons flax seed meal
1 can pumpkin purée (15 oz)
1 cup shredded zucchini
2 cups Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour
1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
1 tablespoon gluten-free baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Topping (optional):
½ cup softened cream cheese or Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese (non-dairy)
¼ cup granulated cane sugar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 F static or 325 F convection.

Oil a jelly-roll pan, or cookie sheet with sides, approximately 15-10 inches.

In a small bowl, combine the hot water with ONE tablespoon of the flax seed meal. Set aside.

If making the topping, combine the cream cheese and sugar in a small bowl, stirring until well-mixed. Set aside.

In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the Nearly Normal All Purpose Flour, spice, baking powder, baking soda and ONE tablespoon of the flax seed meal.

In a large mixing bowl, beat the butter and sugars until a crumbly meal is formed. Add in the eggs, pumpkin and zucchini and beat until well-mixed. Stir in the flax seed-water mixture.

Gradually beat the dry ingredients into the large mixing bowl, incorporating all the ingredients until thoroughly combined. Spread into the prepared pan and top with the topping, if desired, by spooning dollops onto the top of the batter, then cutting through them up and back the length of the pan with a butter knife to cut the topping into the bars.

Bake in the preheated oven for approximately 20-25 minutes, or until the bars are pulling away from the sides of the pan and they spring back when lightly touched.