Chewy, crunchy, and wholesome pumpkin spice snack bars filled with texture and flavor. Grain-free fall snacking at its best!
If you’ve tried my vanilla almond snack bars or my cherry chocolate almond snack bars, then you must know a pumpkin spiced version will be just as tasty! These snack bars are my version of a KIND bar, but homemade. Filled with ingredients you can see and absolutely no surprises. Being that pumpkin pie inspired treats rule my kitchen in the fall, I had to whip up today’s version.
(Have you tried these pumpkin snickerdoodles yet?)
These gluten free bars are made with nuts, dried fruit, and not much else. One ingredient you may not recognize is almond meal. This ingredient is used in my spiced pumpkin seed cranberry snack bars to hold the ingredients together. Like grains would do in another granola bar. For anyone not familiar with almond meal, don’t be nervous. It is just ground almonds—ground almonds before reaching the stage of almond butter. You can buy almond meal, but I find it’s much more convenient to make it at home. Simply pulse almonds until they reach a gritty and rough flour-like consistency.
Also in these pumpkin bars? Some roughly chopped almonds for crunch, pepitas, dried cranberries, vanilla extract, and almond butter to bind. And don’t forget plenty of pumpkin pie spice for all that incredible spice flavor. You’re going to love these.
Honey is used for sweetening and binding, just like in these quinoa snack bars. Like I’ve mentioned in my previous snack bar recipes, I do not recommend thinner liquid sweeteners like maple syrup or agave. You want a thick liquid sweetener. Brown rice syrup works too.
Bake the snack bars—only about 20 minutes or so. Just until they are relatively set and the ingredients bind together properly. Then, chill them in the refrigerator to fully set before slicing and enjoying.
If you love pumpkin spice treats and are looking for something healthier, you’ll love this pumpkin granola, my baked pumpkin oatmeal cups, and these pumpkin chocolate chip oatmeal bars, too.
While they’re not pumpkin flavored, I’d be remiss not to mention these berry vanilla cashew snack bars, too—one of my favorites!
Pumpkin Seed Cranberry Snack Bars Recipe
Ingredients You’ll Need
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (149°C). Line an 8-inch or 9-inch square baking pan with parchment paper with enough overhang on the sides to easily remove the bars from the pan. Set aside.
- Using a silicone spatula or wooden spoon, mix the honey, vanilla, almond meal, salt, pumpkin pie spice, and almond butter together until combined. Fold in the almonds, dried cranberries, and pepitas until combined.
- Transfer mixture to prepared baking pan and press very firmly into an even layer. You really want it packed in tight- as tight as possible. Bake for 20-22 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely in the pan set on a wire rack for 1 hour, then transfer to the refrigerator to chill for 1 more hour. This helps firm up the bars which makes them stay compact. Remove bars from the pan using the overhang on the sides and cut into bars. Individually wrap each bar in plastic wrap or parchment. Store at room temperature for 1 week or in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. I find they get a little sticky at room temperature over a few days, so I prefer the refrigerator.
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