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? 

1. Position oven rack to the middle position of the oven and preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. Bake the crust for 10 minutes, until just slightly browned. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.
5. Lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees F.
6. 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.
7. Blend all filling ingredients in a blender or whisk in a bowl and pour onto the pre-baked crust.
8. 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!

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Pumpkin Crumble Bars

Filling adapted from Curry Girls Kitchen

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Ingredients

  

• 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

*Or use ½ (13.5 ounce) can coconut cream OR 1/2 can whole fat coconut milk + 2 Tablespoons cane sugar or honey
**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.

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!