It’s November and time to start planning all those delicious holiday dishes! Or maybe you have already started your Thanksgiving Day meal preparation!
I don’t remember where I found this recipe but it has been a huge huge hit. The original recipe calls for a much larger pan than I have so I put mine in a 9×13. For the sake of taking a picture, I left the bars on the larger side but for serving, I sliced them in half one more time. I kept a few for us and sent the rest with my husband to his work. The plate came back empty. These are super moist, have wonderful flavor and a great way to use up frozen pumpkin!
{Recipe} Pumpkin Bars
Recipe type: Dessert
Ingredients
- Bars:
- 4 eggs
- 2 c. granulated sugar (I used raw sugar)
- 1 c. vegetable oil (I used coconut oil – so yummy)
- 1 can (15oz) pumpkin or 2 cups home-frozen pumpkin, thawed (what I used)
- 2 c. whole wheat pastry flour
- 2 t. baking powder
- 2 t. ground cinnamon
- 1 t. baking soda
- ½ t. salt
- ½ t. ground ginger
- ¼ t. ground cloves
- Frosting:
- 1 pkg (3oz) cream cheese, softened
- ⅓ c. butter, softened
- 1 t. vanilla
- 2 c. powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease the bottoms and sides of a 15x10x1 inch pan or a 9×13 pan with shortening, lard or coconut oil (what I used).
- In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth.
- Stir in the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves. Spread the batter in your prepared pan.
- Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until golden brown (if you’re using your own frozen pumpkin, you might need to bake it a little longer as sometimes home-frozen pumpkin can be a bit more watery).
- Cool the bars completely in the pan on a wire wrack (approx. 2 hours) so it doesn’t melt the frosting.
- In a medium mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and the vanilla until smooth. Gradually add in and beat the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth and spreadable.
- Frost the bars and top with a light cinnamon or nutmeg dusting (if desired). Place in the refrigerator until firm. Cut the bars to desired size. Store in refrigerator.