Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars are a “healthier” easy dessert! Gluten free cranberry white chocolate bars with pumpkin, that are made egg free! Super quick to whip up in under an hour! A great holiday dessert or for every day snacking.
**NOTE: This Healthy Pumpkin Bars recipe was originally published in Fall 2014. I updated the photos and the refined the recipe. Now I’m republishing the updated recipe because it’s WAY better!
We are SOOO in the thick of holiday gift giving and chocolate’s galore! In fact, my husband just received a delivery full of white chocolate and other goodies.
You see My husband’s (aka Kiwi Cotter) favorite candy of all time is white chocolate, the milk bar brand from New Zealand to be exact. And every time we head into off season, he gets a care package from his “mum” with white chocolate included. Full proof on his instagram feed!
I’d say chocolate is a pretty good way to enjoy the season, yes?
Well, I like to keep that little ritual going but also add in my “healthified” and “gluten free” version to keep the body from going into sugar shock. Yes, it is do-able! All you have to do adjust a few ingredients to make that treat stretch further (nutrition wise). Now, please hear me out.
This Healthier Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars recipe is by no means SUPER CLEAN (eek, don’t like that word).
But similar to how I use word “detox,” I gotta be careful how we use the word “healthlified” and “clean eating.”
Healthier Goodness in Pumpkin Bars
To me, healthifying a chocolate pumpkin bar recipe means focusing on REAL ingredients, and maybe even adding a secret superfood ingredient. Yep. That works!
What real foods you ask? I mean no preservatives, natural sugars, and healthy fats to round it out! Which is what these are my “semi-healthy” Holiday Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars!
I mean they are gluten free, vegan friendly, eggless, but not a HEALTH food. Haha, does that make sense? Basically a dessert bar made allergy friendly. And a much better way to spread out that white chocolate consumption. Just sayin…
I can sense your sweet tooth agreeing with me!
Pumpkin Bars Recipe Ingredients
What’s in these super moist pumpkin bars?
- Pumpkin puree
- Cranberries
- White chocolate chips (Or you can use vegan white chocolate)
- Almond/coconut milk
- tiger nut flour, which is a resistant starch and great for the gut flora (thank you Lucie for getting me hooked).
Shhh… just don’t tell the other you added in a good for you ingredient. You see, you get your cranberry white chocolate fix, in pumpkin bar form, and it be GOOD better for you!
Oh, I should also mention, if you are not vegan, then the white chocolate baking bar from Ghirardelli is great because it has no other additives. Just milk fat, sugar, cocoa butter, etc.
You can also make this with dried cranberries without any added sugar. That’s only if you want to take that “healthier” approach up a notch. I won’t judge you if don’t. NEVER EVER!
Now let’s get our Gluten Free Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars a BAKING before Christmas!
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Cranberry White Chocolate Pumpkin Bars {Gluten Free}
- Prep Time: 10 min
- Cook Time: 30 min
- Total Time: 40 minutes
- Yield: 9- 12 1x
Description
Healthier Cranberry White chocolate bars that taste like dessert! These gluten free cranberry white chocolate bars are made eggless with pumpkin and are super easy to make! Great for holidays or every day snacking!
Ingredients
- 2 cups GF flour (Gluten Free Multipurpose flour works Great. I love Bob Red Mills 1:1 ration GF flour)
- 2 tbsp of a tapioca starch flour.
- 1/2 cup Coconut Sugar (or Brown sugar) 2/3 cup if you want extra sweet
- 1/3 cup pumpkin
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 tbsp cinnamon
- 2 –3 tsp baking powder
- dash of salt
- 1 cup coconut or almond milk
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1/3 – 1/2 cup dried cranberries
- 1/3 –1/2 cup white chocolate chips or vegan white chocolate
- Optional – xylitol sugar in place of the coconut sugar to reduce sugar intake
Instructions
- Combine your dry ingredients first. Mix well.
- Then mix in your pumpkin, milk, vanilla extract, and coconut oil until batter is smooth. Make sure batter is not clumpy. Use a mixer if you need do.
- Fold in your cranberries and white chocolate chips/chopped bits
- pour into 9×9 baking dish (greased) and bake at 350F for 25-30 minutes or until lightly brown on top and center is baked through.
- After cooled, drizzle melted baking chocolate (or vegan chocolate) on top.
NOTES If you want them more moist, I would add in an egg or flax egg.
- Makes 8-12 bars
- Baking times will be different.
- Category: dessert
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: American
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 190
- Sugar: 16.2g
- Sodium: 90.7mg
- Fat: 5.2g
- Saturated Fat: 3.2g
- Carbohydrates: 36g
- Fiber: 3.4g
- Protein: 2.9g
- Cholesterol: 1mg
Keywords: pumpkin bars recipe, gluten free pumpkin desserts, vegan pumpkin desserts, healthier desserts
Well, what do you think? Would these satisfy your sweet tooth? Hope so!
What’s your definition of “healthified?” To each their own I say, yes!
Other White Chocolate Desserts to try!
Creamy Cranberry Pistachio Fudge
Sugar Free White Chocolate Bars
No bake White Chocolate Protein Bars
Cheers,
Lindsay
LC
I know the holidays are over, but I’m such a sucker for winter desserts! Peppermint, gingerbread, snickerdoodle ANYTHING. HIT ME UP. 😀 Absolutely in love with these bars! The pumpkin flavor is absolutely perfect!
Oh yummy!! For the GF mix… can you do a combo of like coconut flour & almond flour?
sure! Although i think the baking time would be different and it won’t be as fluffy. Keep me posted!
So beautiful & festive!!!!!!
THanks friend!
To me, healthified means anything that uses as many whole ingredients as possible – keeping it minimally processed. These bars look fantastic, Lindsay! 😀
Also, I think these photos look way BATTER too!! 😉
ACK! I need to fix that type. LOL! Thanks.
I’ve never tried tigernut flour but I’d love to try! I LOOOOVE white chocolate chips in baked goods, idk why haha!
I think You’d Love Teff! It’s so fun to use in baking. And tasty!
I just got back from the grocery store, where I bought cranberries and white chocolate chips for cookies. Now I want THESE instead! Perfect flavor combo!
yes, I say make both! hehe!
I recently bought 3 lbs of raw cocoa butter and have been making my own white chocolate…YUM! This is the perfect recipe to use it in!
Oh i bet yours is amazing! I gotta try that homemade white chocolate
I absolutely love how you make allergy friendly baked goodies, but they don’t skimp on flavor. 🙂 Leaving these up to make …. soon! 🙂
YEa! Keep me posted friend. And thank you.
I’m embarrassed to say that I just tried to lick the screen 😉
no need to be embarrassed. Haha I did it too. LOL! Always.
I am a.sucker for anything white chicokate so I try to keep it out of the house so I don’t go overboard. Definitely my favorite kind of chocolate!
Right? That’s how my husband is. He will eat it then say to take it away for fear of going overboard. LOL!
I’d say chocolate is a good way to start a season, end a season, and hang out in the middle of a season! I did read in Time Magazine that it’s going to be in short supply this year though. 🙁 🙁 🙁
I made these today for my family and everyone adored them! I added in 2 Tbsp. of xylitol, and used 1/2 cup oat flour + 1 cup quinoa flour since that’s what I had. You are a genius – everyone loved them, including me!!
yay! i’m so glad. and way to improvise!
I’m totally a secret fan of white chocolate… secret because I forget I love it until I eat it!!!
These look amazing. Love the white chocolate in these 🙂
this recipe looks so good! i usually don’t like white chocolate, but i’ve found it pairs with pumpkin really well 🙂
This is a great dessert that includes so many good fall flavors! And I LOVE that it’s gluten-free. xo
Oh man, these look ridiculous. I love the cranberry/pumpkin/white chocolate combo. So Fall-y!
ummm, all I have to say is YUM!
These sound/look delicious! Gorgeous photos.
Somebody made me a raspberry white chocolate scone at work yesterday. White chocolate is soooo good!
YUMMY! Pumpkin + cranberry = always a good idea. Add in some coconut butter and these sound awesome. I’m going to need to give TigerNut flour a try, especially around the holidays. Lovely lovely gut. Chocolate is totally a good way to end one season and start a rest season. For sure.
YUM!! i love anything and everything white chocolate!!!!!
Brilliant flavor combination! I can just imagine the flavors. Happily pinning.
These look great! I’ll have to check out those dairy free white chocolates!
i think you’ll love! and then they are vegan friendly, yay!
LOL. I know someone else who has been eating chocolate since his off season started. I am a terrible baker. We need to figure out some kind of barter arrangement.
yes we do! barter and bake!
mmm pin this recipe!! looks so good
thanks friends!
Seriously, when are you moving in?
get my room ready!
My sister loves white chocolate, but I am not a fan. Dark chocolate or bust! 🙂
Ahhh! Send me an email with any details, please!
Your food photography is looking SO good! That bars look delicious.
I’m working on it! Hoping to make a GF cookbook and Book of Bites!
So exciting! I totally support that. Good luck, let me know if you need a taste tester 🙂
actually yes! i will be going though all my bite recipes again and would love to include some AIP bites!
tigernut flour is the jam!!! feed me?
maybe i need to make tiger balls?
Meowwwwww!
you make me waffles or pancakes and i’ll feed you balls and bars
yummmyyyyy!!!!!!!
I can’t wait to make these!! Can’t add them in to my macros right now but on the agenda in 2 weeks! One of my favorite fall flavor combos, my family loves pumpkin scones with white chocolate and cranberries.
These look fantastic!! anytime you write about James’ favorite sweets, I think about that post race cheesecake he had here from Whole Foods and how Nala tried to drink his nespresso 😉 <3 miss you guys!
These would totally satisfy my sweet tooth! You are seriously the best at creating recipes, I love them all! And the fact that this has pumpkin too is just an awesome bonus:)
and coconut butter! your favorite!
Ooh, I want one!! Maybe you could add these to your healthy bites business and ship them over to me? 🙂
I’m not a white chocolate person – for some reason it seems to “milky” to me (probably all in my head!).
These look SO scrumptious! I love finding new clean recipes!
Yummy!!! I didn’t realise you didn’t get milky bar in the US – we have them here in the UK!
okay, we need to visit you then! haha
These look fantastic!! Gonna whip up a batch sometime soon!
Ok- glad Kiwi Cotter and I are on the same page, I also LOVE white chocolate! And sometimes get made fun of for it! Mixed with pumpkin….. you nailed it! Love this (:
Mmmmm these sound so good! I love white chocolate around the holidays. I’d imagine the white chocolate in there would make these plenty sweet.
White chocolate is my guilty pleasure. I must try these!
I love that you used white chocolate for these! So much better than normal chocolate. 🙂
Oh I loooove White chocolate. And the tigernut flour – so glad you guys love it! The tigernutbutter is crack. Seriously, Laura hated me for giving it to her when she was here.
I used to be SUPER anti white chocolate, but it has surpassed milk chocolate for me. Dark still wins, but white is so creamy and delicious. It can be a little too swee tthough.
Pumpkin, cran, and white choc = an awesome fall flavor combo! Pinned this and I WILL be making it!
Oh girl, this has my name all over it. I am not a chocolate fan, but white chocolate? That’s a whole other story!!!
yum! pumpkin and white chocolate is a killer combo.
holy mackerel, these look amazing! James knows how to celebrate. I thought I was one of the few people that liked white chocolate! Yum, must make this weekend.
Lindsay – you always have a cool product I have never heard of before – like this tiger nut flour! Thanks Lady!
These bars sound perfect, yes, I eat white chocolate, but in very limited quantities – love your use of cranberries to balance of the sweetness of white chocolate!
Never been a fan of the white stuff, but these look to yummy to not try!
OMG – so need these!!!!!!!!!!! They look amazing Lindsay & would be a great flavor for bites! 🙂
Bring on the cranberries! Definitely getting to that time of year. I’m super intrigued by the tigernut flour… I’ve never used that before…
White Chocolate all day long!! These look amazing Lindsay! I will definitely have to try them out! xo
can you believe Ive never tired WHITE CHOCOLATE??
must try tiger nut flour!!!
I think the kiwi and I may share the same brain! No wonder you said he likes milky bar! White chocolate ismy absolute favorite too! Tell him to try a white chocolate toberlerone….oh my gosh! SO gooooooddd! Okay, anyway, back to reality….these sound lovely, and if you didnt guess already, with white chocolate in, they have my support 🙂
Tigernut flour?! Say whaaaaa? I’m going to look for that because now I’m curious. I’m all about this flavor combo–Kiwi has good tastes!
I never liked white chocolate. It’s not that I hate it, I just never chose it. I would eat it, enjoy it but want milk or dark instead.
I am sure I would love the white chocolate in these, but I am not a white chocolate fan in general, sorry Kiwi Cotter 😉
I remember my older sister alway requesting those huge white chocolate rabbits from the Eater bunny, that was one thing I never tried to steal from her!
Trying these! And the dairy free version of the white chocolate chips! Yum.
This sounds delicious! I love pumpkin anything!!
I love what you did with his white chocolate!! These look incredible!
Seriously, this might be my favorite thing that you have ever made. One of my favorite flavor combos ever.
i made them for you! Mwah! xxoo
I love my tiger nut flour that Lucie sent! Now I have a new recipe to use it for instead of pancakes 🙂 🙂
oh i can’t wait to see your recipe!
Love the fall flavor combos here! What a great idea to combine pumpkin and cranberries, and then add in the white chocolate to finish! Can’t wait to give these a try.
All my favorite flavored in one place! I have a chocolate party to go to Sat night and now I know what to bring!
I’m not a white chocolate fan but I could seriously love these. The combo sounds amazing!
I used to love white chocolate and hate dark chocolate as a kid. Now I can’t get enough of dark chocolate!
I love that you have made these pack a nutritional punch too. Real food desserts – amazing 🙂
White chocolate was my absolute favorite as a kid! I’m intrigued by the tiger nut flour because you know I love my resistant starch. I will definitely be making these this holiday season!