You are in for a treat! These Pumpkin Bars have a great pumpkin flavor sweetened up with cream cheese frosting with a hint of almond. It’s amazing how these flavors work together! Our family goes through several pans of these each year during the holiday season.

2 Parts to the Pumpkin Bars

Making the bars:

Butter, sugar, pumpkin, eggs, flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon.

A large (29 oz) can of pumpkin has enough to make 1-1/2 batches, so why not make an extra half a pan? They freeze great and are a real treat to pull a bar out with coffee in the morning or as a quick dessert to take care of the sweet tooth!

Making the frosting:

Once the bars are cool, it’s time for the sweet tastiness to add to the bars.

Butter and cream cheese softened to room temperature.

1 Tbsp of dairy to thin the butter and cream cheese can be cream, half and half or milk. Cream does add a bit of sweet, but any of these work, so use what you have around.

Vanilla, Almond Extract (find this in the spice aisle at the grocery store, and it really is important to the recipe!) and Powdered Sugar

The Process for the Bars

Preheat oven to 325F.

Using a 10-1/2 X 15-1/2 Jelly Roll Pan, butter and flour the bottom so the bars don’t stick.

Mix butter, sugar, pumpkin and eggs (I like to break the eggs in a separate bowl to make sure they are good and remove any shell that might find its way into the bowl before they go into the mix) until smooth.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon. Make sure they are all blended together well.

Using a blender, add small amounts of the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture (should take 4-6 adds for the whole amount) and keep mixing. Once they’re all together, make sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to get anything stuck to the bowl into the mix.

Pour into the prepared jelly roll pan. Spread the batter so it is the same thickness throughout the pan, then bake in the 325F oven for 25-30 minutes. Start checking at 25 minutes with a toothpick to see if they are done. Push the toothpick into the bars in a few different places, and it will come out clean if the bars are done. If not clean, give it a couple more minutes and check again.

Cool completely on a wire rack (at least an hour, longer is better. If they’re still warm when you spread the frosting, the frosting melts into the bars instead of staying on top!)

The Process for the Frosting

While cooling, pull the butter and cream cheese out to start softening.

For the frosting, the butter and cream cheese need to be softened to room temperature. Place them in a large mixing bowl and add the milk, vanilla and almond extract. Blend together, then slowly add powdered sugar (about 1/2 cup at a time). Mix until smooth.

Spread frosting over the bars as evenly as possible. Let the frosting set up for an hour or so to harden and stay with the bar when you cut them to serve.

We made this video to help with the Pumpkin Bars process if you want additional information.

These freeze great, so don’t worry about finishing them all on the first day. We find if you’re serving a group, you probably won’t have any to freeze!

Pumpkin Bars

Recipe by HeCooks4Me.comCourse: DessertCuisine: AmericanDifficulty: Medium

Servings

24

servings

Prep time

15

minutes

Cooking time

25

minutes

Calories

241

kcal

Total time

40

minutes

You are in for a treat! These bars have a great pumpkin flavor sweetened up with cream cheese frosting with a hint of almond. It’s amazing how these flavors work together! Our family goes through several pans of these each year during the holiday season.

Ingredients

• Bars

• 3/4 cup Melted Butter (1-1/2 sticks)

• 2 cups Sugar

• 2 cups Pumpkin

• 4 Eggs

• 2 cups Flour

• 1 tsp Baking Soda

• 2 tsp Baking Powder

• 1 tsp Cinnamon

• Frosting

• 6 Tbsp Butter – softened to room temperature

• 3 oz Cream Cheese – softened to room temperature

• 1 Tbsp Cream, Milk or Half and Half (use whatever you have on hand)

• 1 tsp Vanilla

• 1/2 tsp Almond Extract

• 3 cups Powdered Sugar

Directions

• Preheat oven to 325F
• Butter and flour a 10-1/2 X 15-1/2 inch jelly roll pan
• Start with the bars: Mix together butter, sugar, pumpkin and eggs in a large mixing bowl. Mix flour, baking soda, baking powder and cinnamon in a separate bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture, blending with a mixer the entire time. Scrape the sides of the bowl to make sure it is mixed well
• Pour into the prepared jelly roll pan and spread the batter as evenly as possible so it will bake evenly. Bake at 325F for 25 minutes
• Check if bars are done with a toothpick. Cook for a couple more minutes if not done until toothpick comes out clean
• Cool on a wire rack completely before moving on to frosting (at least an hour)
• Make frosting in a medium mixing bowl. Add butter and cream cheese, softened to room temperature, cream, vanilla and almond extract. Blend until smooth. Start adding powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time while mixing with the blender. Mix until creamy
• Frost bars evenly, then let sit for another hour before cutting or covering to allow frosting to set up

Recipe Video

Notes

• Freeze individual leftover bars (if you are lucky enough to have any…) for a great snack with coffee or a quick dessert
• It’s important to cool the bars completely before frosting, or the frosting will melt into the bars instead of staying on top