Pumpkin Cake Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting!

"I love pumpkin bars all year long, and these ones take the cake! Moist, delicious, and perfect everytime. Everyone asks for the recipe after they've tried them!"
 
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photo by Jonathan Melendez photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Jonathan Melendez
photo by Olive photo by Olive
photo by diner524 photo by diner524
photo by Olive photo by Olive
photo by Dine  Dish photo by Dine  Dish
Ready In:
45mins
Ingredients:
12
Serves:
12-24
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ingredients

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directions

  • Preheat oven to 350°F.
  • Grease and flour one glass 9 x 13 inch pan.
  • In a mixing bowl, beat together the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin.
  • Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, salt and cinnamon; add to wet ingredients and mix thoroughly.
  • Spread into prepared pan.
  • Bake at 350° for 25 to 30 minutes.
  • Remove from oven and allow to cool.
  • For the frosting: beat together the cream cheese, butter and confectioner's sugar.
  • Evenly spread over bars after they have cooled.

Questions & Replies

  1. I need to make this 4 days before serving. Should i freeze it or refrigerate it?
     
  2. How can I print this recipe?
     
  3. Do you use the pure pumpkin can or ready spiced? I have pure pumpkin but the large can but think would need more than just cinnamon?
     
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Reviews

  1. Moist and sooo amazing! I added 1/2 tsp of nutmeg and 1/2 tsp of clove to spice it up a bit. It was definitely a hit with my family. Plus it was super easy to make. This is a keeper.
     
  2. Alright! Fabulous! I gotta say though, I changed a lot in this recipe to make it healthier and you can't even tell!!! Amazing, here is what I did:<br/>Only 1 1/2 cups sugar<br/>I used 1/2 cup whole wheat flour and 1/4 quinoa flour instead of 3/4 cup of white flour<br/>only 1/2 tsp salt<br/>I used 1/2 cup applesauce instead of 1/2 the oil and for the remainder of the oil, I used 1/4 cup olive oil, 1/4 cup vegetable oil<br/><br/>I also used 2 cups of fresh pumpkin<br/><br/>For frosting, I used 2 1/2 cups powder sugar, 1 stick butter (8 tbsp) and 4 oz cream cheese<br/><br/> Also put a couple dashes nutmeg in batter and sprinkled a little cinnamon and nutmeg on top of the frosting! <br/><br/> Even with all my revisions, it's still PLENTY sweet, but without making you sick! Absolutely wonderful! Next time I may eliminate the oil altogether and only use applesauce (healthier)<br/><br/>Thanks for a fabulous recipe!!!
     
  3. This is one of those recipes that you can already tell before you bake it how mind-blowing it is... and i didnt even expect it! All I added was the 1 t. of Pumpkin Pie all-spice which summed up my ginger, nutmeg, etc. combo I was looking for... other than that.. the flavor is amazing... I will probably make the cream cheese frosting the way another person sugg. with the confect. sugar, vanilla, butter, and cream cheese... on a side note: my husband left an empty box of little debbie brownies that I purposely for myself (pregnancy cravings ;) ... and now, these are all for me. He can watch me enjoy them- hope he enjoyed the brownies! :)
     
  4. Simply awesome! My family ADORED this cake and it was gone in a flash. It was super moist and flavorful with just the right amount of spice and sweetness. The frosting was also excellent, I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese and it was still incredibly tasty. I wouldn't call these "bars" per se, they rise pretty high, so its more of a pumpkin cake to me, but no matter what you call it, its delicious and a new family favorite! Thank you for posting!
     
  5. An excellent recipe! I made 24 cupcakes to take to a school function. I did substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce for half of the oil as others suggested, decreased the sugar by 1/3 cup, and added a 1/2 tsp. each of ground nutmeg and ground cloves. I baked them for 30 minutes. For the cream cheese icing, I used an 8 oz. brick of cream cheese and a stick of butter (8 TBSP.), 1 tsp. vanilla and about 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. I put the icing in a gallon zip top food storage bag and snipped of one corner to pipe on the icing. Everyone at the party loved them!
     
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Tweaks

  1. I have been making ones almost exactly like these for years with everyone asking for the recipe,too! Only, I use 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice instead of just cinnamon and 1/2 tsp salt instead of the 1 tsp. I also make my frosting different using 8oz. cream cheese, 3/4 stick of butter,1tsp vanilla,1T milk and 3/4 C powdered sugar. You will LOVE this, I promise!
     
  2. used fresh butternut - no changes to the recipe/but not bothering with frosting as this will be great as is -
     
  3. Excellent recipe. I cut the sugar to 1 cup (the cream cheese frosting adds a lot of sweetness to every bite) and used 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce instead of the vegetable oil. I used 1 cup of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all-purpose flour (instead of 2 cups of all-purpose) and added 1 teaspoon of vanilla and 1/4 teaspoon of allspice. I've made this recipe several times now and can't believe how moist and flavorful it is. You absolutely don't miss the vegetable oil! For the frosting, I added a bit more cream cheese and a bit less butter (I like to taste the cream cheese and it helps to cut the sweetness of the confectioners' sugar). This one's a keeper, and practically good for you!
     
  4. This is a simple recipe that really lets the pumpkin shine through. Nice and moist, easy to make with staple ingredients. You could easily add more spice, but I liked it with just the cinnamon. I initially chose this recipe because it used the whole can of pumpkin, where most only use a portion (who wants an open can of pumpkin hanging around?) The only change I made to the recipe is to use equal parts all purpose and whole wheat flour, because I like things a little heartier. I am at high altitude and the whole wheat flour did a nice job of absorbing the extra liquid. I did have to bake it a few minutes longer. I think you could easily replace some of the oil with applesauce and still achieve good results. I only used about 2 1/3 cups of powdered sugar for the frosting (because that is all that was left in my canister) and the frosting was plenty sweet for my family. It also made more than I really needed. I think next time I will add some pecans or walnuts and I will adjust the frosting as follows: 4 ounces cream cheese, 4 T butter, 2 cups powdered sugar, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Thanks for the great recipe!
     
  5. An excellent recipe! I made 24 cupcakes to take to a school function. I did substitute 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce for half of the oil as others suggested, decreased the sugar by 1/3 cup, and added a 1/2 tsp. each of ground nutmeg and ground cloves. I baked them for 30 minutes. For the cream cheese icing, I used an 8 oz. brick of cream cheese and a stick of butter (8 TBSP.), 1 tsp. vanilla and about 3 1/2 cups of powdered sugar. I put the icing in a gallon zip top food storage bag and snipped of one corner to pipe on the icing. Everyone at the party loved them!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

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