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These Pumpkin Bars are moist, thick, and perfectly flavored with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. Topped with silky cream cheese frosting, they are super easy to make and will be a big hit at any Fall gathering!
Get ready for your new favorite fall treat! These pumpkin bars are easy to pull together and keep at room temperature for up to 5 days. The bar base is moist, tender, and richly spiced. It is topped with silky smooth cream cheese frosting that isn’t overly sweet. This pumpkin bar will sure be a crowd-pleaser.
Want to elevate these bars? Try serving with butterscotch sauce, salted caramel sauce, or top it with a big scoop of vanilla bean ice cream. Maybe you need more easy pumpkin recipes in your life, I get it. Try these chewy pumpkin chocolate chip cookies or pumpkin bread pudding next! For a healthier snack, try these gluten-free pumpkin bars, healthy pumpkin muffins or apple crisp energy bites.
Table of Contents
Why You Will Love These Easy Pumpkin Bars
- Rich Pumpkin Flavor. Flavored with pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice, this bar has a deep and rich pumpkin flavor. That is complemented by the molasses flavor from the dark brown sugar.
- Quick and easy. Whisk the batter together in under 10 minutes. The bar is made without an electric mixer, and the cream cheese frosting can be made up to 3 days in advance! Leading to a perfect weeknight fall dessert that will leave everyone happy.
- Perfectly dense and moist texture. The perfect ratios of pumpkin puree, sugar, butter, eggs, and dry ingredients give this pumpkin bar a perfectly dense melt-in-your-mouth texture.
Professional Tips for Making Pumpkin Bars
- Make sure the cream cheese and butter for the frosting are at room temperature. The cream cheese and butter need to be at room temperature and soft to mix properly. If either one is cold, there will be lumps in the frosting.
- Don’t over-mix the batter. Once you add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, mix the batter until just combined. Overmixing can cause the pumpkin bar to be tough and cause tunneling.
- Be careful not to overbake. Overbaking the pumpkin bar will cause it to be dry and more cake-like rather than chewy. Test the cake with a cake tester, or you can press lightly on the bar. If it springs back, it is ready.
- Sift the dry ingredients. When adding dry ingredients to a bar with a whisk, I find it best to sift them in. Allowing the spices and leavening agent to break up and ensure they are evenly distributed in the pumpkin bar.
Ingredients
- All-purpose Flour
- Baking Powder: Double-acting baking powder will react instantly when mixed with an acid and then again when heated. Because it is double-acting, it has a slower, more stable rise.
- Kosher Salt
- Pumpkin Spice: My pumpkin spice recipe is a perfectly tuned mix of ground cinnamon, ground ginger, ground cloves, ground nutmeg, and ground allspice. It is an equally aromatic blend in which no spices overpower one another. You could also use store-bought pumpkin pie spice or I provide the individual measurements in the recipe card below.
- Whole Egg: Whole eggs allow you to emulsify the pumpkin puree and butter into the batter, resulting in a moist, not greasy, pumpkin bar.
- Egg Yolk: Adding one yolk will add more fat without adding moisture from the white, preventing the pumpkin bar from being too cakey.
- Vanilla Extract
- Pumpkin Puree: I use Libby’s pumpkin puree because it is consistent, which I use to develop all my recipes. Use whichever brand you prefer. Just be sure to grab pure pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling!
- Granulated Sugar: Granulated sugar is here for sweetness but also helps create that tight crumb and dense, moist pumpkin bar.
- Dark Brown Sugar: Dark brown sugar adds sweetness and a little moisture. This will keep the pumpkin bar softer while adding a nice, rich molasses flavor.
- Unsalted Butter: It is critical that the melted butter for this recipe is hot! It helps dissolve the sugar and make a cohesive batter. You could also use a cup of vegetable oil or melted coconut oil but texture will be more like pumpkin bread than a chewier pumpkin bar.
- Cream Cheese: I use original Philadelphia Cream Cheese for all my baked goods, including frostings and buttercreams. I also use full fat, though reduced fat can be substituted. Just ensure that it is not whipped. Whipped will make the frosting too loose.
- Confectioner’s Sugar: Confectioner’s sugar is used in cream cheese frosting because it is ground finely into a powder. This allows it to create a smooth, silky frosting without being heated.
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients and quantities.
Variations
- Mix it up with some mix-ins. Mix in toasted pecans or walnuts for a delicious nutty crunch. You could also mix in chocolate chips, white chocolate, toasted coconut, or cinnamon chips.
- Change the topping. Try topping the bar with caramel buttercream or marshmallow frosting. A pumpkin pie spice glaze or buttercream would also be delightful. If you want stackable bars then use this cream cheese frosting for cookies.
- Pumpkin Bar bites! Spray or line some mini muffin tins. Then, scoop or pipe the batter into the tins and bake. They will bake much faster than the 9×13 pan. Pipe or dollop the cream cheese frosting on top, and you will have the perfect mini dessert.
- Top with sprinkles. We all have a secret love for seasonal sprinkles. (right?) Find fun autumnal, Halloween, or Thanksgiving sprinkles for the perfect festive treat.
How to Make Pumpkin Bars
Use these instructions to make perfect pumpkin bars every time! Further details and measurements can be found in the recipe card below.
Pumpkin Bar Base:
Step 1: Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a 9×13 inch baking pan or dish with parchment. There should be an overhang on two sides.
Step 2: In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and pumpkin pie spice mix. Set aside.
Step 3: Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. You can also do this over a pot of simmering water.
Step 4: While the butter is still hot, whisk in the sugars until smooth. Then, add the eggs and egg yolks until smooth and emulsified.
If there are lumps of dark brown sugar in the mixture, grab a spoon and press them against the side of the bowl to break them up. If they don’t break up, remove them. Whisk again to combine.
Step 5: Add the vanilla extract and the pumpkin puree to the butter mixture and whisk until smooth.
Step 6: Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and whisk until just combined. Like with pumpkin cake and cookies, you don’t want to over-mix the batter at this stage.
Step 7: Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Even out with an offset spatula for an even bake. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
Mine baked for 22 minutes, but maybe my oven was running hot.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
Step 8: Beat together softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer until smooth.
The butter and cream cheese must be softened before mixing them. If you try to soften them together, the cream cheese will melt before the butter, leaving you with soupy frosting that still has lumps.
Step 9: Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix until completely smooth. Start on a low speed to prevent the powdered sugar from going everywhere.
If the powdered sugar is lumpy, sift it into the cream cheese mixture. I like to shift anyway as cheap insurance. Those lumps won’t come out once added.
Step 10: Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix to combine.
Step 11: Dollop the frosting on the cooled cake and spread it with an offset spatula. You can make it perfectly smooth or swirl it decoratively. Slice into bars and serve.
Chef Lindsey’s Recipe Tip
If you forgot or didn’t have time to soften the butter and cream cheese, you can soften them individually in a stand mixer. Start with the butter and beat on medium. Use a kitchen torch to heat the outside of the mixer bowl. Move the torch constantly to keep the butter from melting in one spot. Move the butter to a small bowl and repeat with the cream cheese. Add the butter back to the cream cheese and finish the frosting as written.
Frequently Asked Questions
Once frosted, store in the refrigerator in an airtight container. You can wrap well and store at room temperature, unfrosted, for up to 5 days. I found it tasted best for 3 days. You can freeze unfrosted cake well-wrapped for up to 2 months. You can freeze them when frosted, but I wouldn’t suggest it when thawed. The frosting will leach moisture and can cause the bars to be soggy.
Due to the varying moisture content, I would not suggest substituting homemade pumpkin puree. Canned pumpkin puree is tightly controlled within a certain percentage. Too much moisture will make the bar gummy and flat.
Absolutely. If you would like to stack the bars for a layered dessert, I suggest using my cream cheese frosting for cookies. It is more stable and will set more firmly.
While these pumpkin bars are perfect on their own, there are some fun ways to serve them, Such as caramel sauce, butter pecan ice cream, or a spiced creme anglaise.
If you tried this recipe and loved it please leave a 🌟 star rating and let me know how it goes in the comments below. I love hearing from you; your comments make my day!
Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Bars:
- 2 ¼ cup all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- 4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice *
- 2 large eggs
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree not pie mix
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- 1 cup dark brown sugar packed
- 1 cup unsalted butter melted and hot
For the frosting:
- 5 ounces cream cheese brick style, full fat, softened
- 4 ½ tablespoon unsalted butter softened
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
Pumpkin Bar Base:
- Preheat the oven to 325°F and line a 9×13 inch baking pan or dish with parchment. There should be an overhang on two sides.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, kosher salt, and pumpkin pie spice mix. Set aside.
- Melt the butter in a large microwave-safe bowl. You can also do this over a pot of simmering water.
- While the butter is still hot, whisk in the sugars until smooth. Then, add the eggs and egg yolks until smooth and emulsified.
- Add the vanilla extract and the pumpkin puree to the butter mixture and whisk until smooth.
- Add the flour mixture to the bowl with the pumpkin mixture and whisk until just combined. Like with cake and cookies, you don’t want to over-mix the batter at this stage.
- Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Even out with an offset spatula for an even bake. Bake for 25-28 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Place the cake pan on a wire rack and cool completely.
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- Beat together softened butter and cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment or in a large bowl with a hand mixer until smooth.
- Add the confectioner’s sugar and mix until completely smooth. Start on a low speed to prevent the powdered sugar from going everywhere.
- Add the vanilla extract and lemon juice and mix to combine.
- Dollop the frosting on the cooled cake and spread it with an offset spatula. You can make it perfectly smooth or swirl it decoratively. Slice into bars and serve.
Notes
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice Yield – 9×13 Baking Dish. Presentation – Once frosted, slice the cake with a knife dipped in hot water that has been wiped dry. Then, slice the cake while the knife is still warm, giving the frosting and cake a clean, attractive cut. Repeat between slices. Variations – Add toasted pecans to the batter and top with candied pecans for a delicious nutty variation. Storage –Once frosted, store in the refrigerator in an air-tight container. You can wrap well and store at room temperature, unfrosted, for up to 5 days. I found it tasted best for three days. You can freeze unfrosted cake well-wrapped for up to 2 months.
Nutrition
Before You Go
I hope you enjoyed this professional chef created recipe. Check out all our delicious pumpkin recipes, or peruse more Fall dessert recipes, brownies & bars recipes or the 25 Best Pumpkin Recipes to make this Fall!
