Hungry Happenings

Raisin and Peanut Power Bar Pumpkins

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This recipe is brought to you by California Raisins.
You can feel good about serving these Raisin and Peanut Power Bar Pumpkins to both kids and adults this Halloween. These healthy snacks are dressed up for the holiday and will look and taste just as sweet as your other festive desserts at your party.

 

I know I don’t make healthy treats to share here on my blog very often. I should. I know that. I eat healthy meals and really should make more of an effort to turn those healthy recipes into edible crafts for the holidays more often.
These pumpkins are made using peanuts, golden California raisins, and carrots.They are just as sweet tasting as most of the desserts I make for the holidays, and are good for you. What’s not to love about that?

 

I’ve been making my own homemade power bars for some time now, but never thought to make them into a festive looking treat until California Raisins asked me to create a few quick kid friendly recipes for Halloween. I’m so glad they did, because it pushed me to get creative.
I love golden raisins and often use them in my power bars. They are so plump and juicy and the amber color is so pretty, They pair nicely with peanuts so I started by pureeing the two together to get a power bar that tastes like pj&j. The color was not right for pumpkins, however, and having just recently used carrot puree to naturally color my Happy Jack-O-Lantern Cheesecake, I thought I’d give it a try. It worked great.

The carrots added a nice orange hue and another sweet note, but no actual carrot flavor. The color was still not quite orange enough, so I added one drop Natural red food coloring. This coloring is made from beets and other natural ingredients and it worked like a charm. You don’t have to add it, I just wanted to make sure my pumpkins looked nice and orange in my pictures. Which they do.

 

Raisin and Peanut Power Bar Pumpkins

Ingredients: (makes 12)

1 cup roasted and salted peanuts
1 1/2 cups California Golden Raisins, plus 12 dark golden raisins for the pumpkin stems
1/3 cup finely grated carrots
optional, 1 drop all natural red food coloring

 

I grated my carrots using a micoplane grater and used a food processor to make my power bars. If you don’t have a food processor, you can still make these but you’ll be doing a lot of chopping.

 

Toss the peanuts, raisins, carrots into the bowl of a food processor and pulse until everything is very finely ground. The dough will be quite yellow, so add a drop of natural red food coloring, if desired.

Refrigerate 20 minutes.

Scoop out 12 heaping tablespoonfuls of dough onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet. Refrigerate for 20 more minutes.

Roll into balls.  Use a toothpick or skewer to create grooves around each ball. Poke a hole in the top of each and insert a darkly colored golden raisin into each.

That’s it. They are super easy to make, and really do look just as cute as a sugary Halloween treat.

This fun Halloween recipe was created on behalf of California Raisins. I was compensated and given free product to use in developing this recipe. I enjoy working with sponsors, but only do so for products I truly believe in.
 
If you are searching for more festive Halloween treats, check out all my Halloween recipes by clicking this link.
Find over 100 cute and creepy Halloween treats and snacks. Follow the Halloween recipes step-by-step & video tutorials to recreate the most amazing Halloween cupcakes, cookies, rice krispie treats, chocolates, candies, appetizers, and more. Kids of all ages will go nuts over these fun Halloween food ideas .

 

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Comments

  1. CuteEverything.com

    I love these! So cute and yet healthy, too. I also like to serve healthy treats and these look really yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe, I'd be interested in the power bar recipe that you make, too, if you ever share that!

    Reply

    • beth

      I'm glad you like these healthy treats. It was nice to make something healthy for a change and if you like pb&j, you're gonna love these. To make my power bars, I usually just process dried fruits and nuts together in different combinations and add spices and other ingredients that pair well. I'll try to share more ideas soon.

      Reply

  2. Terry

    Thank you so much for making a cute yet healthy treat for Halloween. I'm always looking for fun things to give my kids and I'm going to surprise them with these after school one afternoon. I know they are going to love them.

    Reply

  3. Karen @ Sugartown Sweets

    Ok, I'm just gonna say it again. You are so incredible creative. I can't imagine how busy you are with requests from different companies for new edible crafts. You deserve all the success you have achieved thus far..and in the future. I'm truly and continually amazed how you come up with all the adorable (and yummy) ideas. LOVE these pumpkins.

    Reply

    • beth

      That is so nice of you to say, Karen. It is so great to get to create fun food for companies and organizations like the California Raisin Marketing Board. When I use and really love a product, I'm so happy to promote it by incorporating it into an edible craft. I'm so happy you like my pumpkins.

      Reply

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