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Pumpkin Bars are full of spice, incredibly moist and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. This is one of my favorite pumpkin recipes for potlucks and get togethers.

pumpkin bars

PUMPKIN CAKE

It’s that time of year. It’s pumpkin season! These pumpkin dessert bars are are soft, moist, and delightful. The name is deceptive though because they definitely fall more into the “cake” category than a bar.

I’ve tried a lot of pumpkin bar recipes over the years and I loved the flavor of this one. I added some pumpkin spice to pump up the pumpkin flavor a bit.

And look at that frosting…it’s definitely just good by the spoonful.

CAKE OR BAR?

Pumpkin Cake

Is this fall recipe a cake or a bar? Well I guess that’s up to you and the pan size you decide to use. If you bake it in a 9×13 pan it is thicker like the cake above.If you cook it in a 12×17 inch jelly roll pan it’s a little thinner but still oh so fluffy. I prefer this method a little bit over the cake because I feel like it cooks more even. It’s kind of like a pumpkin sheet cake.

The rich cream cheese frosting is perfection if I do say so myself.


T

The hardest part is letting the cake cool on a wire rack so you can frost it. Frost it with this tangy cream cheese frosting.

pumpkin barsI usually don’t mind chocolate chips in my pumpkin cake bars but I really like these plain

Cut them into bars.

pumpkin bar with bite

OTHER PUMPKIN DESSERTS

pumpkin bars
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4 from 13 votes
Yield: 16 servings

Pumpkin Bars

Prep Time:
10 mins
Cook Time:
35 mins
Total Time:
45 mins

These are the best pumpkin bars and full of pumpkin spice flavor, incredibly moist and topped with a luscious cream cheese frosting. This one of our fall favorites and every pumpkin lover dies over these delicious pumpkin bars.

Ingredients

Bars:
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
  • 1 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
  • 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
Frosting:
  • 1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
  • 1/2 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 3 3/4 cups powdered sugar
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • (optional) milk or cream to thin frosting

Instructions

  1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease or line your pan with parchment paper. For a thick cake-like bar use a 9x13-inch baking dish. For a thinner bar use a jelly roll pan (12x17 or 15x10).

  2. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the pumpkin mixture is smooth.

  3. For a 9x13 baking dish: Pour batter into baking pan and bake for 35-40 minutes. Test the center with a toothpick to check for doneness. For a jelly roll pan (my preferred method): Spread batter into a greased jelly roll pan and bake for 18-20 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick.

  4. Let cool completely before frosting.

  5. To make the frosting: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Add a little milk or cream to make it to your desired consistency. Beat until fluffy. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars and cut into squares or cut bars first and frost individually. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge.

Recipe Notes

Source: adapted slightly from Becoming Betty ; original recipe by Paula Deen

Author: Christy Denney
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pumpkin bar cake, pumpkin bar cake recipe, pumpkin bars
pumpkin bars

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