These pumpkin spice paleo magic cookie bars are a healthier, gluten free and vegan friendly version of the classic dessert that are packed with spicy-sweet fall flavors and are so easy to make!
Crunchy, coconut-y crust.
Ooeey goey ribbons of creamy melty chocolate.
A layer of crispy, toasty pecans dancing around with superthick, maple-flavored coconut milk.
AND A SWIRL of spicy-sweet PUMPKIN.
IN EVERY. SINGLE. BITE. Liiiiike, ALL OF THAT YUMMINESS.
In your mouth. At once. In your VRY VRY real, RIGHT NOW life.
Hoooooooly whoa. I thought that I was going to die of delicious disease (not a real thing. Don’t ask web MD) when we sunk our teeth into eleventy billion pumpkin edible cookie dough cups last week. But, today?
I AM SURE IT’S GOING TO HAPPEN. !!!
I probably don’t even need to tell you where the idea of these crunchy bites of sweet, sweet gooey fall-dessert deliciousness came from. The normal (but still EPIC) paleo magic cookie bars from last year basically BROKE the internet. Ya’ll thought they were pretty rad and you liked the happy good-food-feelings that they gave your healthy-dessert-craving taste buds.
After that we had some chocolate paleo magic cookie bars and carrot cake paleo magic cookie bars. In the summer, your taste buds fell in LOVE with tropical paleo magic cookie bars.
Since it’s the fall, the only logical next step was to PUMPKIN the MAGIC COOKIE BARS.
Soon we’ll be eating gingersnap chocolate paleo magic cookie bars because CHRISTMAS IS COMING.
It’s September. After spending (read: wasting) hours on Pinterest and taste-testing 42 million batches of healthy pumpkin cheesecake bars, I have come to the conclusion that the only logical thing to do in this month is to create 42 gazillion pumpkin-inspired recipes and throw them at you until you wave your orange flag.
Which is like a white flag. Except, pumpkin-FIED.
Anyway.
Today I want to take us back in time to when we were all school aged children. We’re talkin’ “How to Eat your Pumpkin Spice Paleo Magic Cookie Bar 101” yo!
And, yes, there will be a test at the end. Pay attention.
Step 1: Begin by declaring the day AFTER you make these addicting little bursting-with-spicy-fall-flavor bars a REST DAY. Why the day after? Because, like the paleo lemon bars, they NEED to set OVERNIGHT. DO NOT. I REPEAT. DO NOT SKIP THE CHILL TIME.
It will make you sad.
Step 2: Now that your smart-good-listener self has let aforementioned cookie bars chill, and you have rested your arms so that you can achieve MAXIUM awesome-bar-cutting-person status, CUT THE BARS. You will now know why you rested today. It’s, liiiike, PRETTY TUFF TO DO.
You can do it. I know you’re gonna nail it. I’M FEELIN’ IT.
Step 3: VERY carefully stick a supersharp knife under the crispy-coconut crust, and NOT the layer of parchment paper that I KNOW you did not forget to do (do it) and gingerly lift the ooey-gooey, melty chocolate and pumpkin-swirled bar from the pan. Rep-EAT (foreshadowing) until each and every bar has been freed from the pan.
Step 4: Count your bars. You SHOULD have 11.
Not 12, like the recipe says. If you are a person that is able to remove 12 bars, that are this crave-able combination of crunchy pecan texture, creamy AND gooey coconut milk/pumpkin and sweet chocolate chips, out of the pan without not even EATING ONE…
You failed the test.
And the only way to pass is to go back and correct yourself by eating T-W-O more. Right now.
Is it just me, or would you have also done a whole lot better on math tests if the teacher made you correct yourself that way?
To sum up, (math reference WHAT WHAT) the equation that you need to master is this:
A pan of cinnamony-sweet, perfectly pumpkin magic cookie bars divided by your mouth = none.
As in “none left to share.”
Other Recipes You Might Like:
Paleo low carb sugar free pumpkin pie
Gluten free paleo pumpkin muffins with almond flour
Ingredients
- 3/4 Cup Maple syrup divided
- 1/2 Cup Coconut oil at room temperature (should be the consistency of softened butter)
- 1 Cup Coconut flour Sifted (95g) *
- 1 3/4 tsp Pumpkin pie spice divded
- Pinch of salt
- 1 Can Full-fat Coconut Milk Do NOT use low fat (13.5 oz)
- 1/2 Cup Pecans very finely chopped
- 1/2 Cup Dark chocolate chips dairy-free for vegan option
- 3/4 Cup Pure canned pumpkin puree
Instructions
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees and line an 8x8 inch pan with parchment paper, rubbing the sides generously with coconut oil. Note: It helps to spray the bottom of the pan before putting in the parchment paper, to secure it. Do NOT skip the parchment paper.
- In a large bowl, using an electric hand mixer, beat 1/4 cup of the maple syrup (reserving the rest for later) with the coconut oil until smooth and creamy. Stir in the flour, 1 tsp of the pumpkin pie spice (reserving the rest for later) and pinch of salt until a wet dough forms.
- Press the dough evenly into the bottom of the pan. This may be a little bit tough, just be patient with it. I found it easiest to use the palms of my hands, and rinse them off every so often, until the dough was pressed in, if you're having troubles.
- Bake the crust just until lightly golden brown, about 8-9 mins. If your crust rises when it bakes, use a small spoon to press it down firmly once it's out of the oven, making sure not to cut into the crust.
- Once the crust comes out of the oven.** whisk together the can of coconut milk and the remaining 1/2 cup of maple syrup in a large pot, set over high heat. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Coconut milk rises a lot when heated, so make sure you use a large pan! Once you've boiled it for 1 minute, turn the heat down to medium and and simmer for 13-16 minutes, stirring frequently, until you have 1 1/4 cups sauce left. ***(read notes here!!)
- Immediately pour 1/4 cup of the coconut milk mixture onto the crust and GENTLY spread it out. Sprinkle the pecans on top, followed by the chocolate chips. Finally, drizzle all the remaining coconut milk mixture evenly over top, making sure you get enough down the sides.
- In a small bowl, stir together the pumpkin and remaining 3/4 tsp of pumpkin pie spice.
- Drop the pumpkin in small blobs (no other word for it) on top of the coconut milk and use a sharp knife to gently swirl it into the milk, making sure not to cut into the crust. You want to swirl the chocolate chips and pumpkin together a little bit. Gently shake the pan around to make sure the coconut milk goes through all the layers.
- Place into the oven and bake until the sides are golden brown, about 28-30 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and cool to room temperature. Then, cover with tinfoil and refrigerate overnight. ****
- The next day, run a very sharp knife around the edge of the pan, slice into bars and DEVOUR! *****
Tips & Notes:
Nutrition Info:
Recipes written and produced on Food Faith Fitness are for informational purposes only.
FOR THIS RECIPE, I RECOMMEND:
WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS PER SERVING: SMARTPOINTS: 15 POINTS+: 8. OLD POINTS: 7
IF YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE, PLEASE REMEMBER TO TAG @FOODFAITHFIT AND #FOODFAITHFITNESS ON INSTAGRAM! I LOVE SEEING YOUR RECIPE RECREATIONS! 
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Amanda says
Wow do these look good. Going on my list of Thanksgiving treats. So does the coconut milk cooked with the syrup = sweetened condensed milk substitute? That would be amazing.
Taylor Kiser says
Sure does!! 🙂 I hope you love them!
Becca says
These look absolutely amazing. Beautiful photography as well. Well done! Thank you
Taylor Kiser says
Thank you so much!
Shannon Gage says
I’m finally going to make those after years of being pinned!! For the chocolate, can I use Lily’s dark chocolate bar, chooped? Thanks in advance!!
Shannon Gage
Taylor Kiser says
Absolutely! Let me know if you like them!
Hayley Miller says
Do you think half coconut flour and half almond flour would work? Also, if it’s too sweet would it affect the recipe if i used a touch less maple syrup? Thanks!
Taylor Kiser says
Coconut flour and almond flour are very different so I really don’t think it’ll work! I can’t really advise how recipes will turn out if changed from how they’re written, as that is the only way I’ve tested them. Sorry!
Heather says
Can you substitute coconut cream for coconut milk?
Taylor Kiser says
I can’t tell you because recipes are only tested as written, but let me know if you try it.