Classic Spiced Pumpkin Bars with Zesty Cream Cheese Frosting

Classic Pumpkin Bar Dessert With Shortbread Crus

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Preparation time:35 Mins

Cooking time:55 Mins

Servings:24 bars

Ingredients:

• 1 ¾ cups All-Purpose Flour
• ¼ cup Granulated Sugar (for crust)
• 1 tsp Baking Powder
• ½ tsp Fine Sea Salt
• 1 cup Unsalted Butter (Cold, Cubed)
• 1 Large Egg (for crust)
• 15 oz can Pumpkin Puree (Not Pie Filling)
• 3 Large Eggs (for filling)
• ¾ cup Granulated Sugar (White or Brown)
• ½ cup Evaporated Milk (or Heavy Cream)
• 2 tsp Ground Cinnamon
• 1 tsp Ground Ginger
• ½ tsp Ground Nutmeg
• ¼ tsp Ground Cloves or Allspice
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (for filling)
• 8 oz block Cream Cheese (Full Fat, Softened)
• ½ cup Unsalted Butter (Softened) (for frosting)
• 3 cups Powdered/Icing Sugar
• 1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract (for frosting)
• 1 tsp Lemon Juice (Freshly Squeezed)

Instructions:

• Preheat oven to 350°F (175°C). Line a 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving generous overhang for easy lifting.
• In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the cold, cubed butter into the flour mixture using a pastry blender or your fingers until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Beat in the single egg until a shaggy dough forms.
• Press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Prick the base lightly with a fork (docking). Place the pan in the freezer or fridge for 15 minutes to firm up the butter. Bake the chilled crust for 15 minutes until lightly golden around the edges. Remove from the oven but keep the oven running.
• In a separate large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, and vanilla extract until smooth.
• Whisk in the three eggs, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Whisk thoroughly until the mixture is uniform and the sugar is dissolved.
• Pour the pumpkin filling over the warm, partially baked crust. Return the pan to the oven and bake for 35–40 minutes, until the edges are set but the center still has a slight wiggle. Do not overbake.
• Remove the pan and allow the bars to cool on a wire rack for at least 2 hours. They must be completely cool before frosting.
• Using an electric mixer, beat the softened cream cheese and softened butter together until completely smooth (about 3 minutes). Gradually add the powdered sugar, mixing on low speed until incorporated, then increase to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla extract and lemon juice.
• Spread the frosting evenly over the completely cooled pumpkin bars. Chill the frosted bars for at least 30 minutes to firm up the frosting.
• Lift the entire sheet of bars out of the pan using the parchment paper overhangs. Cut into 24 squares and serve.

Nutrition Facts

Calories:350 kcal

Protein:2.9 g

Fat:6.9 g

Carbs:29.7 g

Fiber:5.2 g

Sugar:0.0 g

Sodium:1725 mg

Recipe Info

Category:Dessert

Cuisine:American

Embracing Autumn's Best: Why This Pumpkin Bar Dessert Stands Out

The arrival of cooler weather demands certain essential baked goods, and few capture the season’s warmth quite like a superb Pumpkin Bar Dessert . Unlike their fussier cousin, the traditional pie, these spiced bars offer a dense, moist, and deeply fragrant experience that is infinitely easier to manage and serve. This particular recipe marries a crisp, buttery shortbread base with a lusciously spiced filling, creating a texture contrast that is truly addictive. It’s the quintessential comfort bake, delivering on every promise of autumn flavor.

The Perfect Marriage of Spice and Tang

What elevates this recipe above standard pumpkin bar dessert recipes is the masterful balance of flavors. The filling relies on a robust blend—heavy on the cinnamon and brightened with ginger, nutmeg, and clove—ensuring that the pumpkin flavor is rich and complex, never bland. This deep aromatic filling provides the ideal foundation for the crowning glory: a zesty, bright cream cheese frosting. The slight tang from the citrus in the frosting cuts beautifully through the sweetness and spice of the bar, providing a clean finish that leaves you reaching for another piece.

Ditching the Pie Plate: The Case for Bar Form

While traditional pie holds its nostalgic place, the bar format offers undeniable logistical advantages. When serving a crowd, a pumpkin pie bar dessert is exponentially simpler than wrangling wobbly slices of custard pie. Using a standard 9x13 inch pan allows you to effortlessly produce 24 perfect, uniform squares. The shortbread crust, which is blind-baked prior to filling, provides a sturdy, reliable base—eliminating the dreaded "soggy bottom" syndrome and ensuring that every piece of this delightful pumpkin squares dessert is neat, portable, and easy to eat without a fork.

A Quick Look at the Medium Difficulty Scale

We rate this recipe at a comfortable medium difficulty. While the individual steps (mixing the crust, whisking the filling, beating the frosting) are quite simple, the process requires patience and precision. The overall journey involves two distinct baking stages—a 15-minute blind bake for the crust and a 35–40 minute bake for the filling—followed by a crucial minimum two-hour cooling period. If you follow the temperature and timing cues carefully, this reliable pumpkin dessert squares recipe will turn out perfectly every time, making it an excellent skill-building project for intermediate bakers.

Essential Elements: Gathering Your Supplies for the Spiced Bars

Successful baking begins with mise en place, ensuring all ingredients are measured and ready, particularly those that require temperature specificity, such as cold butter for the crust and softened dairy for the frosting.

The Spice Blend Checklist: Achieving Deep Autumn Flavor

The depth of flavor in the filling comes from a generous application of warm spices. You’ll need 2 full teaspoons of ground cinnamon, 1 teaspoon of ginger, half a teaspoon of nutmeg, and a mere quarter teaspoon of cloves or allspice. Using spices that haven't been gathering dust in your pantry is essential for maximum potency. The creamy texture of the filling is achieved by combining three large eggs, ¾ cup of sugar, and half a cup of evaporated milk with the pumpkin purée.

Must-Have Kitchen Tools for a Flawless Bar Bake

The key pieces of equipment are few but necessary. You must have a 9x13 inch metal baking pan, and it is imperative that you line it with parchment paper, leaving high overhangs on the long sides. This overhang is your secret weapon for lifting the chilled bars out cleanly before cutting. A handheld or stand electric mixer is highly recommended for creating the smooth, airy consistency required for the cream cheese frosting, and a simple rubber spatula will be needed for scraping down the sides of the bowl.

Optimizing the Pumpkin Purée: Canned vs. Homemade

For an easy pumpkin bar dessert , high-quality canned pumpkin purée is your friend. This recipe calls for one 15-ounce can of purée (make absolutely certain it is pure pumpkin, not pre-spiced pie filling). If you opt for homemade purée, ensure it has been cooked down and strained thoroughly to eliminate excess water content. A watery filling can result in a soggy crust, even with the blind bake precaution.

Crafting the Base: Step-by-Step Assembly of the Pumpkin Bar Dessert

The foundation of these spiced bars is the buttery shortbread crust. Begin by whisking together 1 ¾ cups of all-purpose flour, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, salt, and baking powder. Next, you will use cold, cubed butter—a full cup—which must be cut into the dry mixture until it resembles coarse, wet sand. Adding one beaten egg binds the mixture into a shaggy dough. After pressing the dough firmly and evenly into your prepared 9x13 pan and docking it lightly with a fork, the crust must chill for 15 minutes to firm up the butter before it enters the preheated 350° F ( 175° C) oven for its initial 15-minute blind bake. Once that phase is complete, the oven stays on, ready for the main event. The creamy filling—comprised of the spices, eggs, sugar, evaporated milk, and purée—is whisked until uniform and then poured directly over the warm, partially baked crust, ready for its final bake.

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The Grand Finale: Whipping Up the Zesty Cream Cheese Frosting

The cream cheese frosting is the brilliant capstone to this delicious dessert, providing essential flavor contrast and texture.

Blending the Wet and Dry Ingredients for Maximum Lift

After pouring the filling over the warm crust, the bars bake for 35 to 40 minutes. You will know they are ready when the edges are set and slightly puffed, but the very center still retains a slight jiggle, akin to a wobbly pudding. This "wiggle test" is vital; removing them at this stage prevents the filling from cracking and becoming dry. Once out of the oven, the bars must cool entirely—at least two hours on a wire rack—before attempting to apply the creamy topping.

Achieving the Perfect Golden Bake (Temperature and Time Cues)

Maintaining the oven at 350° F ( 175° C) throughout the process is key. The total cooking time hovers around 50 to 55 minutes, split between the two stages. Do not be tempted to pull the filling out early, but rely on that gentle internal movement to indicate doneness.

Tips for Ultra-Fluffy Frosting Consistency

For a flawlessly smooth topping, the 8-ounce block of cream cheese and the half cup of butter must be genuinely soft and at room temperature. Beat these two ingredients together thoroughly with an electric mixer for about three minutes until they are perfectly homogenized and lump-free. Gradually add the 3 cups of powdered sugar, then beat high until the mixture is light and fluffy. The crucial final additions are vanilla extract and 1 teaspoon of fresh lemon juice; this simple citrus inclusion is what transforms standard frosting into a zesty counterpoint.

Cooling and Cutting Techniques for Clean Slices

Applying the frosting to bars that are even slightly warm will result in a messy, melted catastrophe. Once the Pumpkin Bar Dessert is completely cool, spread the frosting evenly across the top. To ensure magazine-worthy pumpkin squares dessert slices, the frosted pan should chill in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up the frosting. Then, use the parchment overhangs to lift the entire sheet of dessert out onto a cutting board, which allows you to make clean, precise cuts into 24 standard squares.

Maximizing Flavor and Longevity of Your Pumpkin Bar Dessert

Like many spice-heavy baked goods, these bars actually taste better the day after they are baked, allowing the spices to fully bloom and deepen into the creamy filling. They are delightful served alongside a strong black coffee or, for the ultimate autumn indulgence, paired with a small scoop of vanilla bean ice cream or a mug of warm, mulled apple cider. This recipe yields a generous amount, making it perfect for feeding a crowd or for enjoying over several days.

Customizing and Understanding the Nutritional Profile

Exploring variations on this classic recipe allows you to tailor the bake to dietary needs or specific flavor preferences.

Storing Unfrosted Bars for Long-Term Freshness

If you plan to prepare ahead, the unfrosted pumpkin bars are excellent candidates for freezing. Once baked and fully cooled, wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and aluminum foil. They can be frozen for up to three months. When ready to serve, thaw overnight in the refrigerator and then proceed with the frosting stage, ensuring they retain their fresh-baked quality.

Safe Refrigeration Guidelines for Frosted Desserts

Due to the cream cheese in the generous topping, all frosted Pumpkin Bar Dessert pieces must be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. They remain fresh and delicious for four to five days, though they seldom last that long!

Gluten-Free Swaps and Topping Variations

Achieving a slightly healthy pumpkin bar dessert profile can be accomplished by using a high-quality 1:1 gluten-free flour blend in place of the all-purpose flour for both the crust and the filling. If you are looking for a dairy alternative, substitute the evaporated milk with canned full-fat coconut milk and use plant-based butter and cream cheese in the frosting. For bakers who might enjoy pumpkin dessert bars with condensed milk , note that swapping the evaporated milk for sweetened condensed milk will yield a significantly sweeter and denser filling texture, making it an entirely different, richer indulgence. Another easy customization is skipping the frosting entirely and adding a brown sugar streusel topping before the final bake.

Calculating the Specific Nutrition Facts Per Slice

When cut into the recommended 24 squares, each serving of this Pumpkin Bar Dessert is estimated to contain approximately 285 calories, 15 grams of total fat, and 4 grams of protein. While this remains a decadent treat, baking at home allows full control over the ingredients, ensuring quality and fresh components superior to most store-bought options.