These soft & chewy pumpkin bars are topped with an irresistible cream cheese frosting.
I’ve found a NEW favorite fall recipe. Spoiler: it’s these pumpkin bars. The texture of these is similar to a blondie or sugar cookie bar, but with aaalll the pumpkin spice flavor. Plus, I can’t say no to cream cheese frosting–ever.
Tips for the Best Pumpkin Bars
- I’ve seen plenty of pumpkin bar recipes that call for creaming butter and sugar in a mixer. Being the lazy person I am, I avoided getting out the KitchenAid altogether, using melted butter instead. Allow the melted butter to sit with the sugar and brown sugar for a few minutes (stirring to mix thoroughly) before adding to your mixture.
- These bars are more like cookies than cake or a loaf, thus the mixture will be more like cookie dough than a batter. When adding to your square pan, make sure to press the mixture down with a spatula or the back of a measuring cup to evenly spread it throughout your pan.
- The foolproof method for getting your bars (any bars) cleanly out of the pan involves 2 pieces of parchment paper. Criss-cross parchment paper in your pan and spray a thin layer of nonstick cooking spray. You can secure the paper with binder clips to hold it in place when spreading your mixture into the pan, just make sure to remove the clips before baking!
- I know it’s tempting to dig into these immediately, but make sure to allow several hours to cool these before frosting. Cream cheese frosting + a still warm surface = womp womp.
Soft & Chewy Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting (for High Altitude)
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick) melted
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
- 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1 egg
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
For cream cheese frosting:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1/2 cup butter (one stick) softened
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- Melt stick of butter in microwave-safe bowl. Once melted, mix in the sugars and set aside.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, salt, and baking powder.
- After letting melted butter-sugar mixture cool for a few minutes, add this into your dry mixture.
- Mix an egg, the pumpkin puree, and vanilla into flour mixture.
- Grease a 9×9 square pan with non-stick cooking spray (or line with criss-crossed parchment paper for easy removal.)
- Spread mixture evenly in your pan and then bake for 20-22 minutes.
- While bars are cooling, make your cream cheese frosting. In a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, beat butter and cream cheese on medium speed until softened, about 3 minutes.
- Beat in the vanilla and gradually add in powdered sugar, one cup at a time, until fully combined and frosting has reached desired consistency.
- Spread your cream cheese frosting on bars (once fully cooled) with an offset spatula.
- Cut into 16 squares, serve, and enjoy!
Notes
This recipe was written for high altitude kitchens (5280 feet.) If at sea level, increase baking powder to 1 tsp and decrease pumpkin puree by 2 TBSP.
