Thinking Outside the (Cereal) Box: Pumpkin Pie Bars

This is going to sound strange at first, but I the more you think about it, the more it makes sense . . .
We had pumpkin pie for breakfast this morning.
Well, technically, we had pumpkin pie bars for breakfast this morning. Call me a wimp - I just don't do pie crust.
We haven't been eating boxed cereal for a long time now, and at first we were going with the usual pancakes, muffins, waffles, etc. Lately, however, I've been wanting to cut back on the carbs a bit and expand our breakfast repertoire. We can only eat so many scrambled eggs! Then one afternoon I made homemade pudding for the kids for a snack, and realized: milk, eggs, seasonings, and less sugar than a muffin . . . this would make an awesome breakfast! Substitute honey for the sugar (which you can't always do with muffins), add some raw whipped cream (sweetened with maple syrup - yum!) and add pumpkin (we still have some in the freezer from our garden last year). This could work!
So I did it. I have to say, it was very nice to be able to make it ahead of time and have it ready and waiting in the morning (making pancakes for hungry and impatient kids gets old fast!) I just had to whip up the cream while they were getting dressed. So simple, and so tasty - we're definitely going to do this again!

Pumpkin Pie Bars
Crust:1 cup flour (fresh ground whole wheat, if you have it)
1 cup ground pecans or walnuts (if you can soak them, ala Nourishing Traditions, so much the better!)
5 Tbsp cold butter, cut up
Mix together well and press into a 9x13 pan.
Filling:3 cups pureed cooked pumpkin or squash
1 cup heavy cream (or milk works just fine)
1 cup honey or maple syrup
3 eggs
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ginger, nutmeg, and vanilla
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp salt
Mix all well, pour over crust, and bake at 350 degrees for about an hour. Refrigerate overnight for flavors to develop.

Serve with a dollop of honey (or maple syrup) sweetened whipped cream!

This post is part of Real Food Wednesday.