Inspired by a delicious recipe from Livia’s Kitchen*, these Cranberry, Cinnamon and Pecan Porridge Squares would make a fab Christmassy breakfast or healthy festive snack. They taste absolutely amazing and take less than 30 minutes to make. Perfect for when life is BUSY!!
This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
I don’t know about you, but I am completely and insanely rushed off my feet at the moment. It is partly my fault. I have planned in far too many Christmas ideas for my blog and have consequently been blogging like a lunatic lately!! But also because we are having our bathroom completely redone at the moment (whose bright idea was that, right before Christmas?) and because, well, it’s nearly Christmas and this time of year is always crazy busy, even at the best of times!
It’s at busy times like these that I really, really need quick and easy recipes (so it’s a jolly good job I’ve got a whole blog-worth of ‘em!) and this gorgeous recipe for Cranberry and Pecan Porridge Squares most definitely falls into that category.
They are inspired by a recipe I found in Livia’s Kitchen – a gorgeous book full of drool-worthy AND healthy bakes (yeah, I know! It’s one of my favourite books!!) – for Blueberry Porridge Squares. I adapted the recipe a bit and created my own version back in August, but I really wanted to do a Christmassy version for this time of year.
And here they are: Cranberry and Pecan Porridge Squares – stuffed full of cranberries, pecan nuts, maple syrup and cinnamon to make them super Christmassy and just totally delicious too.
These look like flapjack, but they are not exactly…they are stuck together with milk rather than a ton of sugar, like flapjacks normally are. This makes them healthier, but no less scrumptious (hooray!), it also gives them a gorgeous squidgy texture – which I adore and, as a bonus, means they are less likely to result in dental surgery than normal flapjack!!
Not only are they delicious and Christmassy and gorgeous, but these Cranberry and Pecan Porridge Squares are also a great free-from option, as they can be made with dairy free milk (I used almond milk, but you could also use oat milk) and gluten free oats (do check the packet, not all oats are gluten free), and they are also vegan friendly, meaning everyone can enjoy these squidgy little beauties.
These would be a fab snack over the festive period, great as a healthier alternative to mince pies! They would also make a rather decadent tasting breakfast – and, if you have a batch already made, a rather speedy breakfast too, for when time is tight, or even on Christmas day when you’d rather be opening presents with the family than faffing around in the kitchen.
And of course this would be a great bake to do with kids…something totally fun, but quick and easy too. A great way to occupy them over the holidays, especially if you have a whole week off before Christmas, like we do – eek!!
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Cranberry, Cinnamon and Pecan Porridge Squares
Equipment
- 20 x 20cm (8 x 8inch) square cake tin
- Baking paper to line it on the bottom and two sides (roughly 20 x 35cm / 8 x 14inch)
Ingredients
- 300 g oats gluten free, if you need this to be gluten free
- 3 teaspoons cinnamon
- 200 ml milk I used almond milk, but oat milk would be fine too (Cow’s milk also works if you don't need this to be dairy free)
- 200 g cranberries fresh or defrosted frozen ones – see note
- 75 g pecan nuts
- 100 g maple syrup (or honey if you don’t need this to be vegan)
- Coconut oil / olive oil / sunflower oil for greasing
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 200C /180C fan / gas mark 6 / 400F.
- Grease your square cake tin with oil and line with baking paper. Grease the baking paper too.
- Place the oats and cinnamon in a bowl and mix well. Then add the the milk and mix together until combined . The mixture will be quite stiff as the oats quickly absorb the milk.
- Add the cranberries, pecans and maple syrup and mix thoroughly – some of the cranberries will get squished, don’t worry, that’s a good thing. In fact it is to be encouraged as it makes these porridge squares even better!!
- Tip the mixture into the prepared tin and flatten.
- Bake for 20-25 minutes until golden on top and quite firm if you press the middle down.
- Allow it to cool for 5 minutes and then remove from the tin (use the baking paper to help you lift it out) and place on a chopping board. Cut into 16 squares.
- The cranberry porridge squares can be eaten warm or cold. Once cold, store in an airtight tin. They will keep well for a few days (well, in theory!).
Notes
- If you have frozen cranberries, they need to be defrosted first, but you can do this really quickly and easily by placing them in a bowl of warm water for 5-10 minutes and then you are good to go!
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
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Disclosure
*This blog post contains affiliate links, this means if you click on a link and go on to buy the product I recommend, I will get a small commission, but you will not be charged a penny more – thanks in advance!
Mandy says
Ooh these sound so good. I might even make them for Xmas breakfast if I can get organised!
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Mandy – would love to know how you get on if you try them 🙂 Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Yum. These sound GOOD! Love the brightness of the berries…. perfect for Christmas snacking the healthy way.
A bathroom makeover before Christmas is a brave thing! We’re in the middle of an extension….. Pretty messy too. Sadly it won’t be ready for several weeks yet x
Eb Gargano says
Oh no! An extension sounds even worse!! The bathroom thing would have been OK if it wasn’t our only bathroom…having to ask to use your own loo isn’t fun (and especially today when there was no door on the loo!) and there were a couple of days when I had to cross my legs for most of the day!! And one memorable 15 minute round trip to go and use the public loos in the village – not really what you want when you are working like a mad thing on all your Christmas blog posts!! But it’s almost done now and I can finally see light at the end of the tunnel. Just a couple of last minute jobs to do and it looks amazing…so, so much better than our previous version. Good luck with your extension…hope it all goes smoothly. Eb x
Kate - gluten free alchemist says
Thanks Eb. We went through our last extension when Miss GF was a baby! That left us with no toilet and a house full of builders. I will leave to your imagination how handy Miss GF’s nappies became one day when I got caught short! Needs must! Happy Christmas xx
Eb Gargano says
Haha – this made me laugh A LOT!! Thankfully it didn’t quite get to that stage here!! Happy Christmas to you too 🙂 Eb x
Corina says
These look delicious! They’re also exactly the type of thing I love to make as after school snacks – Little Miss Spice would love them x
Eb Gargano says
Thanks Corina 🙂 Sadly my two turned their noses up at them. They seem to have a healthy snack radar and refuse any sweet treat that I make that isn’t made out of white sugar and white flour – gah! Thankfully Mr G thought they were amazing and he is always grateful for my healthy efforts as they keep him away from the biscuit tin 🙂 Eb x
Kirsty Hijacked By Twins says
Oooh I’ve been making some oaty bites using cranberries. Great minds! I love the sharpness from the cranberries I bet it goes so well with the pecan nuts. Thank you for sharing with #CookBlogShare x
Eb Gargano says
Haha – I saw those today. Great minds indeed!! Eb x
Rebecca @ Strength and Sunshine says
O I love these! Cranberries are just so perfect and festive! Loving them so much this year!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Rebecca! Me too – I’ve gone quite cranberry mad this year…and I’m not finished!! Eb x
Charlotte Oates says
We love flapjacks in our house but try not to have them too often as they’re not the healthiest (at least not the way we make them). These sound like a great healthier alternative.
Eb Gargano says
They really are a wonderful healthier alternative…and I actually prefer them. Not so sickly sweet and not so toothbreakingly hard!! Eb x
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
Ooh my, these look soo good Eb, I love the fact that they are possitively bursting with cranberries rather than just a mere handful lurking ‘somewhere’ in the batch. I’ve been totally impressed by how much you’ve achieved these past few week, that’s not to mention the new bathroom you’ve had fitted….talk about challenging yourself!
Angela x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Angela 🙂 There are definitely plenty of cranberries in these, that’s for sure! It’s funny, I’ve done so much more than usual these past few weeks, yet still managed to get it all done…but on my usual lighter posting schedule I have always felt very busy and a bit rushed…makes me wonder what on earth I was filling my time with?!? Eb x
Petra / Be Healthy Now says
These look so yummy! I’ve never made anything with cranberries before so I might give this a try.
#brillblogposts
Eb Gargano says
Oh do – they are so lovely and full of goodness!! Would love to know what you think if you try them 🙂 Eb x
Mel says
Love, love, love this recipe sweetie, and as it happens to be gluten-free and vegan (gosh you’re good!), I’d love to feature it in a GF Vegan round-up I’m putting together for the end of the month if you don’t mind. Sharing loads! x
Eb Gargano says
Haha – I do have my moments. Of course you are welcome to feature them in your round up. I never mind so long as I am credited and linked back to – so feature away to your hearts content!! Let me know when it’s up and I will happily share too 🙂 Thanks for your lovely kind comments. Eb x
Julie McPherson says
I have the very same book. I like the raw banoffee pie slab recipe, have you tried it? I really like how you’ve added cranberries and cinnamon – very festive. Commenting as BritMums Baking Round-up Editor.
Eb Gargano says
It’s such a great book, isn’t it? No I haven’t tried the raw banoffee pie slab recipe – sounds lovely! These porridge squares are super festive and totally yummy, but also really rather healthy – the perfect kind of treat in my book! Eb x
Diane Brett says
Could I make these with Blueberries? I have so many in the freezer as our Blueberry bushes did very well this year.
Eb Gargano says
Absolutely! In fact these were based on a recipe for blueberry porridge squares and I adapted it to use cranberries. You can either follow this recipe and just switch the cranberries for an equal quantity of blueberries, or you can use the origingal recipe, which is here: https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/blueberry-porridge-squares/ Do let me know how you get on! 😀 Eb x