Name: Easy Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting
Prep time: 40 min
Total time: 195 min
Ingredients: 0.5 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan; 1.667 cups all-purpose flour; 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon; 0.5 teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg; 0.25 teaspoon ground allspice; Pinch ground cloves; 0.5 teaspoon coarse salt; 0.5 teaspoon baking powder; 0.5 teaspoon baking soda; 1 cup pure pumpkin puree (from a 15-ounce can); 0.5 cup milk, room temperature; 1.5 cups sugar; 2 large eggs, room temperature; 8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature; 0.25 cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature; Pinch coarse salt; 1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Prep Time:

40 mins

Total Time:

3 hrs 15 mins

Yield:

Makes 12 bars with 1 1/2 cups frosting

A cross between a bar cookie and a crowd-friendly sheet cake, this easy dessert is even better than pumpkin pie. It's also simple to make, and a topping of cream cheese frosting takes it over the top. The moist, tender cake is flavored with warm baking spices (cinnamon, of course, but also nutmeg and allspice) and tastes like fall. Serve them at Halloween, share them at a potluck, or savor them as an afternoon treat.

Ways to Decorate

We think these pumpkin bars are wonderful plain or dusted with a little confectioners’ sugar. Topped with cream cheese frosting, they are sublime. If you need to gussy them up for a potluck or bake sale, here are some ideas for decorating them:

Drizzle maple syrup over the frosting right before serving
Dust the frosting with orange sanding sugar or sprinkles
Lightly sift cinnamon over the frosted bars
Decorate with toasted or candied pumpkin seeds
Toss mini chocolate chips over the frosting
Finish each bar with a marzipan pumpkin

Ingredients

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more for pan
1 ⅔ cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon fresh ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch ground cloves
½ teaspoon coarse salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 cup pure pumpkin puree (from a 15-ounce can)
½ cup milk, room temperature
1 ½ cups sugar
2 large eggs, room temperature

Frosting

8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
¼ cup (½ stick) unsalted butter, cut into pieces, room temperature
Pinch coarse salt
1 cup confectioners' sugar, sifted

Directions

Preheat oven and prep pan:

Heat oven to 350°F. Brush bottom and sides of an 8-by-12-inch cake pan with butter. Line bottom with parchment paper, leaving a 2-inch overhang on 2 sides. Brush parchment with butter.
Combine dry ingredients:

Whisk together flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, salt, baking powder, and baking soda; set aside.
Whisk pumpkin and milk together:

In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree and milk; set aside.
Beat butter and sugar:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat sugar and butter together until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes.
Add eggs, then flour:

Add eggs, and beat until combined. On low speed add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of pumpkin mixture, and beating until just combined after each.
Pour batter into pan and bake:

Pour batter into prepared pan, smooth top with spatula. Bake until a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, about 35 minutes. Transfer the cake to a wire rack to cool completely.
Make frosting:

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat cream cheese, 1/4 cup butter, and pinch of salt until light and creamy, 2 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low. Gradually add confectioners' sugar, beating until incorporated.
Assemble:

Unmold cake. Using an offset spatula, spread icing over top of cake. Cut into 12 bars.

Mike Krautter

How to Store

You can make the cake a day ahead. If you make it ahead or have leftovers, here’s how to store them: Use an airtight container, place the bars in one layer in the container, do not stack them. Refrigerate for up to three days.

Pro tip: use the pan you baked the bars in and cover with plastic wrap.

Freezing

Unfrosted bars can be frozen: Let the cake cool completely before freezing. Wrap it in a layer of plastic wrap, then a layer of foil. Freeze for up to three months. Thaw in the fridge overnight. Frost the thawed cake, then cut it into squares for serving.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is pumpkin puree the same as canned pumpkin?

Pumpkin puree can refer to cooked and pureed pumpkin made at home, but the term is also used for canned pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin puree is also called solid-pack pumpkin. All these terms mean 100 percent steamed, pureed pumpkin with nothing added.

Is canned pumpkin pie filling the same as canned pumpkin?

While both are made from cooked pumpkin puree, canned pumpkin and canned pumpkin pie filling are not the same. Pumpkin pie filling contains added sugar and spices, while canned pumpkin does not.

Are pumpkin bars the same as pumpkin cake?

These pumpkin bars are what we might call pumpkin cake bars: a single layer cake that's baked in a rectangular pan and cut into squares for serving. It's somewhat like a sheet cake. Cake bars tend to have a denser cake texture than a layer cake.