These Pumpkin Bars have a delicious cream cheese frosting and are so easy to make. The texture is a cross between a cookie and a blondie – easy pumpkin bars must have a place at your holiday table!
One of my favorite things to make with pumpkin are my pumpkin cookies. I’ve stuffed them with caramel and turned them into pumpkin blondies, but I’ve never made them the way pumpkin was intended to be served: with cream cheese frosting.
Instead of these being cake bars, they are Pumpkin Cookie Bars! They start with the perfect pumpkin cookie recipe that are topped with the best cream cheese frosting. The pumpkin flavor is amazing, especially mixed with the easy frosting!
Ingredients Needed
- Butter: This recipe starts with melted butter. I love the caramelized flavor melted butter adds to this cookie recipe. Plus, by using melted butter you can just use a wooden spoon (no mixer needed) if you want.
- Sugar: Brown and granulated sugar are used for sweetness.
- Pumpkin Puree: My recipe uses just 1/3 cup pumpkin puree but don’t worry, the flavor is there.
- Spices: Besides, the pumpkin “flavor” you’re so used to eating in desserts isn’t really pumpkin – it’s the spices! You’ll need a mixture of ground cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger but if you have or want to make my Pumpkin Pie Spice you can use that instead.
- Egg: The recipe only uses one egg yolk, not a full egg. Pumpkin is wet and changes the texture of the cookie, so I had to adjust the moisture somewhere.
- Optional Variations: Add chopped pecans or walnuts to the pumpkin mixture for a crunchy bar!
How to make Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
- Place melted butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (You can also use a hand mixer or a wooden spoon.) Mix until combined.
- Continue mixing and add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Add the rest of the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add flour. Slowly mix in flour until a smooth dough forms.
- Press dough into prepared baking pan. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until just browned around the edges and the teeniest bit jiggly in the center (these are better slightly under baked as they finish baking while they cool).
- Make the frosting: beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Slowly mix in cream until you get a spreadable consistency. Frost bars as desired.
Expert Tips
- An offset spatula helps frost cakes and bars really easily.
- I like to line my baking dish with foil or parchment paper for easy removal from the pan.
Storing Pumpkin Bars
- Store bars in a single layer in an airtight container in the fridge (the frosting needs to be refrigerated).
- You can freeze the plain bars and frosting separately and then frost before serving. Or you can put the completed bars in the freezer – just do it in a single layer so the frosting doesn’t transfer as they thaw.
FAQs
How to know when pumpkin bars are done?
These will lose their glossy sheen and be light golden around the edges. A toothpick will also come out clean from the center of the bars.
Can I use frozen pumpkin puree to make cookies or bars?
If you have leftover pumpkin that’s frozen, be sure to thaw it and drain any excess water so your bars aren’t to wet.
Pumpkin Bars Recipe
These Pumpkin Bars are perfect for fall! They’re a pumpkin cookie baked as a bar and frosted with cream cheese frosting!
Servings 16 bars
Calories 338kcal
Cost $8-10
Ingredients
For the bars:
- ½ cup Challenge Unsalted Butter (113g), melted
- ⅓ cup (81g) pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup (150g) packed brown sugar
- ¼ cup (50g) granulated sugar
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground allspice
- 1 ¾ cups (217g) all-purpose flour
For the frosting:
- 8 ounces Challenge Cream Cheese (226g), softened
- 4 tablespoons Challenge Unsalted Butter (56g), softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 ½ cups (396g) powdered sugar
- 1 tablespoon (5ml) heavy whipping cream as needed for consistency
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Line a 9×13” pan with foil and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
- Place melted butter, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and granulated sugar in the bowl of a strand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. (You can also use a hand mixer or a wooden spoon.) Mix until combined. Continue mixing and add the egg yolk and vanilla extract. Add the baking soda, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice and mix until combined, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly mix in flour until a smooth dough forms.
- Press dough into prepared pan. Bake for about 15-20 minutes or until just browned around the edges and the teeniest bit jiggly in the center (these are better slightly under baked as they finish baking while they cool).
- Make the frosting: beat cream cheese and butter until smooth. Add vanilla and mix in powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, until smooth. Slowly mix in cream until you get a spreadable consistency.
- Frost the bars as desired. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze in a single layer for up to one month.
Video
Notes
Only have Pumpkin Pie Spice? Use 2 teaspoons instead of the nutmeg, cinnamon, ginger, and allspice.
Nutrition
Serving: 1bar | Calories: 338kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 8g | Cholesterol: 51mg | Sodium: 158mg | Potassium: 58mg | Sugar: 39g | Vitamin A: 1280IU | Vitamin C: 0.2mg | Calcium: 31mg | Iron: 0.9mg
