Description
Deliciously moist pumpkin bars topped with creamy vanilla cream cheese frosting, perfect for autumn or any festive occasion.
Ingredients
Scale
For the bars
- 1 15-oz can pumpkin puree
- 3 large eggs
- 1 cup neutral oil
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- ½ tsp kosher salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
For the frosting
- 8 oz cream cheese room temperature
- 4 tbsp unsalted butter room temperature
- ½ tsp vanilla extract
- 2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat and prepare pan: Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 10 x 14-inch jelly roll pan and set it aside.
- Make the batter: Crack the eggs into a large bowl and beat them. Add pumpkin puree, neutral oil, granulated sugar, light brown sugar, and vanilla extract, whisking until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, kosher salt, baking soda, baking powder, and ground cinnamon. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the wet mixture and whisk until fully incorporated, being careful not to overmix.
- Bake the bars: Pour the batter into the greased pan and bake in the preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.
- Prepare the frosting: Beat together the room temperature cream cheese and unsalted butter until light and fluffy. Add vanilla extract and sifted powdered sugar gradually, adjusting the powdered sugar amount to reach the desired consistency.
- Frost the bars: Spread the frosting evenly over the cooled pumpkin bars. Slice into 18 bars and serve.
Notes
- Do not overmix the batter when adding dry ingredients to avoid tough bars caused by gluten development.
- Use a skewer inserted near the center to test doneness; it should come out clean or with very few crumbs.
- Sift powdered sugar to remove lumps before adding to the frosting; discard any lumps that don’t sift easily to maintain smooth frosting.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 bar
- Calories: 280 kcal
- Sugar: 22 g
- Sodium: 150 mg
- Fat: 16 g
- Saturated Fat: 6 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 8 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 30 g
- Fiber: 2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 45 mg
