Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
These pumpkin bars combine moist, tender bars made with a homemade spice blend with cinnamon-infused cream cheese frosting to take the classic treat to an entirely new level.
Servings: 10 Servings
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 ¼ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- 1 ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground ginger
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
- 4 large eggs
- 15 ounce pumpkin puree
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- ⅔ cup vegetable oil
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
- ½ cup butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 3 cups powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350° and spray a 9x13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Pumpkin Bars
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, cloves, ginger, and pumpkin pie spice.
- In a large bowl, beat eggs, pumpkin puree, sugar, brown sugar, vanilla extract, and vegetable oil, together until combined.
- Gradually add flour mixture into pumpkin mixture and beat until well combined.
- Pour batter evenly into the prepared baking dish.
- Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting
- Beat the cream cheese, butter, cinnamon and vanilla together in a large bowl with an electric mixer.
- Gradually add powdered sugar and mix until well combined
- Once the cake has cooled completely, frost cake and sprinkle with a little cinnamon.
Notes
Storage
- Refrigerate for up to 4 days in an airtight container.
- Wrap individual bars in plastic wrap and freeze for up to a month in an airtight, freezer-safe container or heavy-duty freezer bag.
- Defrost overnight if frozen. Then, serve.
- Be sure you buy pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix. They are often sold near one another in the baking aisle.
- Stop mixing your batter as soon as the ingredients are fully combined. Overmixing can make the bars tough.
- Fully cool your bars before frosting them. Even warm bars will cause the frosting to begin to soften on contact.
- For the best frosting texture, beat your ingredients until light and fluffy before adding the powdered sugar. It's important to sift the powdered sugar, as well.