These bars are one of my most favorite desserts and a great way to use up extra pumpkin! Moist and slathered with cream cheese icing, they actually have a taste similar to carrot cake. I've made these to take to Halloween parties and they were voted as one of the best desserts of the night. Easy, quick, and with no hard to find ingredients, they are a fall no-brainer. Take a batch to work and your co-workers will worship you!
Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
14oz (398 ml) canned pumpkin
1 cup flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ginger
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
Preheat oven to 350 F and line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper. With an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugars. Add eggs one at a time and beat well. Stir in pumpkin. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until just combined. Scrape the batter into a 9x13 inch pan and bake for about 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely on a rack before frosting.
Cream Cheese Icing
4 oz (125 g) cream cheese
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups of icing sugar Beat cream cheese and butter together until smooth. Add vanilla and about 1/2 cup of icing sugar at a time. If the icing is too thick, thin it with a little milk. Frost the squares.
These keep very well in the fridge for about 3 days, with the pan either covered with foil or with the squares sliced and placed in an airtight container. Do not freeze them.
Makes 24 squares
Adapted from Company’s Coming
Printer-friendly version