I’m so pleased to have a guest post by Kari from the beautiful GI365 blog today! I love her gorgeous work. These delicious, grain-free cookies are sure to please with their coconut flake base, and plenty of flavorful additions. – Kimi
These Pumpkin Spice Cranberry No-Bake Cookies are so festive with their light orange color
dotted with red cranberries. They’re definitely a change of pace from the normal chocolate
version! There’s plenty of pumpkin added to the recipe for a full pumpkin flavor, complimented
by a hint of cinnamon, and the zestiness of cranberries. They make a great dessert during the
holidays because they’re easy to make, portable, and they’ve proven to be a real crowd pleaser!
I tried out several ratios of pumpkin for this recipe, but each time I found them lacking in
pumpkin flavor. Finally, I ended up putting in the entire can of pumpkin pureé!
This was great for 2 reasons:
1. Great pumpkin flavor!!
2. No leftover, partial can of pumpkin, (which is a big plus in my book)!
The base for these no-bakes simmers for 15 minutes, which is longer than normal. This is really
key because the simmering evaporates the extra liquid, and concentrates the pumpkin flavor.
The recipe calls for 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon, which is my preference because I like the
pumpkin flavor to shine through. Be sure to taste the cookies right before portioning them, and
see if you might like to add a bit more cinnamon to taste. Also, I love using Vietnamese
cinnamon with it’s intense flavor for my baking and sweets.
Many thanks to Nourishing Gourmet for letting me guest post for her today!
- 3 cups coconut, fine shred
- 1 cup coconut, big flake
- ½ cup dried cranberries, (I used apple juice sweetened ones)
- 1 cup honey
- ½ cup coconut oil
- 1 - 15 ounce can pumpkin pureé
- ½ Teaspoon cinnamon, (1 Teaspoon for a stronger cinnamon flavor)
- 2 Teaspoons vanilla extract
- Assemble your dry ingredients by mixing the coconut and cranberries in a bowl.
- Combine the honey, coconut oil, pumpkin pureé, and cinnamon in a large saucepan. Bring the mixture to a boil and simmer stirring occasionally for 15 minutes.
- Remove the pumpkin mixture from the heat. Add the vanilla and the coconut mixture, stir to combine.
- Portion the cookies onto a parchment, (or silpat) lined baking sheet and let cool. The cookies fully set up after a couple of hours. Until then, they're great eaten with a spoon!
Hi everyone! My name is Kari from GI 365 | Gourmet Innovations. I’m enjoying country living here in the FlatheadValley, Montana. I love to create simple healthy recipes, and
occasionally a chocolatey indulgence. I’m learning to
incorporate more fresh fruits and vegetables into my everyday
diet to maintain better health and a higher energy level.
Additionally, I post about traveling and hiking adventures in the
mountains and a lifestyle section where you can find ideas for a
nontoxic approach to everyday living. I hope you find
something inspirational, and be sure to let me know what you
think!
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These look delicious! Did I miss somewhere in the recipe how much honey and coconut oil to use?
Jaima,
Oops! Sorry about that. That was my fault, as my computer was going all strange on me, and not copying and pasting correctly. I’ve updated the ingredients. 🙂
Are these very sweet? I would like to make them with less honey, but am wondering if that would change the texture.
I think they have a good amount of sweetness for a cookie, but if you make them with less honey, start by decreasing by a small amount to see if it still works. Hope it goes well!
I made them with a full amount of honey and they were quite sweet. Go with less.
Might be useful to distinguish real vs knockoff cinnamon.
Hi Kimmi!!!
I love your site…such wonderful recipes…thanks so much!
Oh, by the way, where do I get apple-juice sweetened cranberries?
Molly,
I’ve seen them at New Seasons locally – but I bet you could also order them online too. 🙂
I would like to give some honest comments from making these today. I think these have to be stirred constantly during boil & simmer because large bubbles form in the surface & pop – sending splatters of hot pumpkin goo out onto the kitchen (or you- be careful!). Once completed these were in the fridge for several hours & still are soft, holding together enough to eat but not what I was hoping for (not well enough to give away). I may end up eating these myself but they were not the success I was hoping for. A bit too much honey and too much mushy pumpkin-y taste/feel for me.
I’m sorry the recipe didn’t work out well for you the first time. I stirred my pumpkin mixture every couple of minutes and I only had a couple of splatters (try using a saucepan with deep sides). Also, I let my cookies set up at room temperature which might be part of the problem you’re experiencing. With the pumpkin flavor, you can cut down the amount of pumpkin and slightly decrease the honey if you would like a milder flavor. One final note, it’s really important to use big flake coconut with the finely shredded in this recipe because it tends to absorb quite a bit more moisture than the finely shredded. Best of luck next time!
WOW ! great combination it looks delecious.. I can’t wait to try it
Thanks for sharing
I made these using homemade date syrup in place of the honey. They turned out very yummy, and less sweet (for those who are looking for less sweetness). It also occurred to me, as I was sampling the warm mixture from the spoon, that this recipe would also make a nice, warm breakfast cereal (maybe just use half cup applesauce and half cup date syrup?). In any case, it was tasty and I’ll definitely be making it again. Also feel good about giving it to my 20-month old daughter as a treat. She loves these cookies and doesn’t realize they’re healthy too!
I wanna make these! I have some pumpkin in my fridge. Do these dry up or are they sticky?
It there a substitute for coconut oil?
Do I use sweetened or unsweetened coconut? Can’t wait to try these!
Jennifer,
Unsweetened! 🙂
Hi I am from Australia and I have been enjoying reading your recipes and hope to make some of them . The problem with this one is that we don’t have canned pumpkin (sad I know) is it possible to substitute this with fresh mashed pumpkin and is there anything else that goes into canned pumpkin?
Absolutely! I often use fresh. 🙂
I made these and and am wondering what the texture is supposed to be like. Are they supposed to be sticky? In the photo they appear more firm than how mine turned out. I also noticed when I was heating up the pumpkin, honey and coconut oil, that the coconut oil didn’t blend completely. I had planned to use them in a gift tin with other cookies but wondering if that’s not such a good idea now. Thoughts on what I may have done wrong and how to improve?