Just when I think I can’t come up with another awesome pumpkin dessert recipe, I do! This is a pumpkin pie meets a crumble meets a gingersnap cookie! What’s not to love? And it’s so easy, has make-ahead written all over it and can be adaptable. There are many twists on this recipe including a graham cracker crust or a chocolate cookie crust and you can omit the crumble topping if you want to keep this simple.
Why you’ll love this recipe:
- super adaptable, especially the crust;
- can easily double to make in a 13 x 9 dish;
- can be made ahead;
- sweet, but not too sweet;
- it’s the flavor of fall!
Ingredients
- Gingersnap cookies – I like using the gingersnap cookies from Trader Joe’s, but you can use different cookies for the crust. Refer to the substitution list below for other ideas.
- Coconut oil – I use an unrefined, virgin coconut oil.
- Flour – I prefer to use a whole grain flour, such as whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, einkorn, or spelt. If you’re GF, you can use a GF flour blend or oat flour (just make sure it’s GF certified or you can make your own by pulsing rolled oats).
- Sugar – I like to use a mix of different sugars. My preference is maple sugar, brown and/or cane sugar, but you can also use coconut sugar.
- Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter for cooking and baking. I also like Miyoko’s for a vegan option or coconut oil.
- Condensed milk – use regular sweetened condensed milk or coconut condensed milk for a dairy-free version. Organic is available!
- Pumpkin puree – I use the pumpkin that comes in a can or you can cook your own. Don’t use the cans that say pumpkin pie mix. The ingredient list should only say pumpkin.
- Egg – I originally wrote this recipe to be a 13 x 9 pan, but that’s a lot! That recipe called for 1 egg, so when I cut the recipe in half to make an 8 x 8, I had to cut the 1 egg to half an egg. You can probably use a whole egg but I just shake an egg in a jar and guesstimate half. If you are egg-free you can use 1 tablespoon of arrowroot powder instead.
- Pumpkin pie spice – is a combination of cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves (or allspice). You can make your own mix for this recipe with 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
- Vanilla extract – look for one without artificial flavors or preservatives for best flavor.
How to make it?
- Position oven rack to the middle position of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease an 8 x 8 baking dish with coconut oil and line with unbleached parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the sides. The parchment will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan.
- Prepare the crust: process cookies and coconut oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it resembles wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, you can smash the cookies into crumbs in a disposable bag and combine with the coconut oil in a large bowl. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish and press crumbs firmly into the bottom of the dish making an even layer. The crust should be about ¼-inch thick. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to do this. The better you press the crust, the better it will hold together.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the topping: Pulse all the topping ingredients in a food processor or in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. This can also be done by hand or with a pastry blender. The goal is to get the mixture to be moist, not dry, and in pea-size clumps. Squeeze with your hands to create small clumps. Place in the fridge to keep cold while you make the filling. You can make the topping a couple days in advance and keep refrigerated.
- Blend all filling ingredients in a blender or whisk in a bowl and pour onto the pre-baked crust.
- Crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake until filling is set and the topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Can be made up to 3 days in advance. When ready to serve, run a thin knife around the perimeter of the baking dish and use the parchment overhang to lift out the bars.
Tips
- You can double everything and bake it in a 13 x 9-inch pan.
- You can also double the pumpkin mixture ONLY and make a very thick bar in an 8 x 8-inch pan.
- To measure half an egg, I crack a whole egg in a small jar, shake, and use half of it (about 1 1/2 Tablespoons).
- Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.
Substitutions
- Crust – you can do a traditional graham cracker crust (refer to the notes) and add cinnamon or ginger to the crumbs if you’d like, a chocolate cookie crust, a vanilla wafer crust or a shortbread crust. Look for gluten-free graham crackers or cookies if you need to do a GF crust.
- Flour – whole grain flour, whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, einkorn, spelt, GF flour blend, oat flour, or a combination of any of these.
- Sugar – maple sugar, brown sugar, coconut sugar
- Butter – cold vegan butter, such as Miyoko’s or cold coconut oil
- Condensed milk – coconut condensed milk or half (13.5 oz) can coconut cream + 2 Tablespoons cane sugar or honey.
- Egg – 1 Tablespoon arrowroot powder
- Pumpkin pie spice – 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves, 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg.
Want to try more pumpkin goodness?? Check out these fabulous recipes:
- Grain-free Pumpkin Cake
- Apple Cider-Pumpkin Bundt Cake
- Pumpkin Crisp
- Chocolate Pumpkin Tart
- Pumpkin Magic Bars
If you give this recipe a try, snap a pic and tag @pamelasalzman so I can see your beautiful creations. I also really appreciate readers taking the time to leave a rating and review! Subscribe for free to my site for the latest recipes, updates and things I’m loving lately. If you enjoy this recipe, I taught it last year in my online class! Give me an hour a month, and I’ll make you a better, healthier cook!
Pumpkin Crumble Bars
Filling adapted from Curry Girls KitchenIngredients
- Crust:
- 8 ounces gingersnap cookies I use the ones from Trader Joe’s
- ⅓ cup unrefined virgin coconut oil melted
- Topping:
- 1 cup whole grain flour such as whole wheat pastry, white whole wheat, einkorn, spelt, GF flour blend, and/or oat flour (or combine any of these)
- ¼ cup maple sugar brown sugar, or coconut sugar (my preference is maple or brown)
- ¼ cup unbleached organic cane sugar
- ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- 8 Tablespoons cold unsalted butter cold vegan butter or cold coconut oil, cut into pieces
- Filling:
- ½ 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk or coconut condensed milk*, just under ⅔ cup
- ½ 15-ounce can pumpkin puree, about a heaping ¾ cup
- ½ large egg** about 1 ½ Tablespoons or 1 Tablespoon of arrowroot powder
- 2 ¼ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- Pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Instructions
- Position oven rack to the middle position of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Lightly grease an 8 x 8 baking dish with coconut oil and line with unbleached parchment paper, leaving a 1-inch overhang on the sides. The parchment will make it easy to remove the bars from the pan.
- Prepare the crust: process cookies and coconut oil in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it resembles wet sand. If you don’t have a food processor, you can smash the cookies into crumbs in a disposable bag and combine with the coconut oil in a large bowl. Transfer mixture to the prepared baking dish and press crumbs firmly into the bottom of the dish making an even layer. The crust should be about ¼-inch thick. You can use the bottom of a measuring cup to do this. The better you press the crust, the better it will hold together.
- Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool. This can be done a day in advance.
- Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
- Prepare the topping: Pulse all the topping ingredients in a food processor or in the bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. This can also be done by hand or with a pastry blender. The goal is to get the mixture to be moist, not dry, and in pea-size clumps. Squeeze with your hands to create small clumps. Place in the fridge to keep cold while you make the filling.
- Blend all filling ingredients in a blender or whisk in a bowl and pour onto the prebaked crust.
- Crumble topping evenly over filling. Bake until filling is set and the topping is golden, about 45 minutes. Allow to cool completely, cover and refrigerate. Can be made up to 3 days in advance. When ready to serve, run a thin knife around the perimeter of the baking dish and use the parchment overhang to lift out the bars.
Notes
**To measure half an egg, I crack a whole egg in a small jar, shake, and use half of it. Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs* (about 14 standard crackers pulverized in a food processor)
6 Tablespoons unrefined virgin coconut oil, melted
3 Tablespoons pure maple syrup
Pinch sea salt Process all crust ingredients in the bowl of a food processor fitted with the metal blade until it resembles wet sand. Follow the same steps in the recipe.
2 Comments
I just made this for a work potluck. It is delicious! Several asked for the recipe. I love that it is easily adapted for a crowd but also can be made in the 8×8 size. My fav for fall flavors.
Awww, I’m thrilled hear that! Glad you gave this recipe a try.