Best EVER Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Best EVER Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are extremely moist, soft, and delicious. A perfect dessert for your next holiday party.

Reflecting back now onto my childhood, my “foodie” type attitude started a long time ago and I just didn’t know it. As I went to make these bars I started to think about all the times I ate them and can you guess where that was? Camping! My mom’s friend Jean made these every Christmas and for camping trips.

What I love about these bars is that they are light and fluffy in texture, yet moist. Whereas most pumpkin breads or cakes are dense, these are not. Then with the cream cheese frosting… well, it is making my mouth water even as I type this. This is the perfect pumpkin bar for really any occasion and I guarantee you won’t walk away feeling weighed down. Unless you eat the whole pan, that is, like I am about to do.

Enjoy! XOXO San

How do you make Best EVER Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting?

My favorite kitchen tools used to make Best EVER Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting:

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JELLY ROLL PAN: These are my favorite jelly roll pans. I love using these for many recipes like these bars.

MEASURING CUPS: Nothing beats a good set of measuring cups that last a long time. I love metal measuring cups because of their durability.

MEASURING SPOONS: I have to have a metal set of measuring spoons on hand. The plastic ones just don’t last long in our house thanks in large part to the garbage disposal.

KITCHENAID MIXER: I love my Kitchen-Aid mixer and use it almost daily. For cookies, bread, sauces, frostings and dough – I find many recipes that I can use my Kitchenaid to reduce prep time. I have two that I couldn’t live without.

OR

HAND MIXER: I love these for small batches or quick and easy recipes that don’t require a lot of ingredients. I love that you can have so many color options now, I love personally love teal

MIXING BOWLS: I love having a variety of sizes of mixing bowls. From small to large, I find that having at least 3 bowls of different sizes has been essential in my kitchen. I prefer Pyrex because of its durability.

Looking for more tasty Pumpkin desserts? Try these Iced Pumpkin Cookies, Pumpkin Crisp Pie, or Triple Chocolate Pumpkin Cake.

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Best EVER Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Best EVER Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting are extremely moist, soft, and delicious. A perfect dessert for your next holiday party.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Dessert

Servings: 16

Calories: 391kcal

Author: Sandra

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bars

• 4 eggs
• 1 cup canola oil
• 2 cups sugar
• 15 ounces canned pumpkin
• 2 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon cloves
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 1/2 cup unsalted butter softened
• 8 ounces cream cheese softened
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• 1 tablespoon almond extract
• 1 tablespoon milk

Instructions

Pumpkin Bars

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a jelly roll pan or if you prefer, a 9x13 pan.
• Mix eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin in a large bowl. Sift remaining ingredients and combine with the pumpkin mixture. Pour into prepared pan.
• If using a jelly roll pan, bake for 18-20 minutes. If using a 9x13, bake for 25-30 minutes.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• In a large bowl, beat together the butter and cream cheese with an electric mixer. With the mixer on low speed, add the powdered sugar a cup at a time until smooth and creamy. Beat in the vanilla extract.
• Cut cooled cake into bars. Frost and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 391kcal | Carbohydrates: 70g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Cholesterol: 63mg | Sodium: 154mg | Potassium: 172mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 56g | Vitamin A: 4450IU | Vitamin C: 1.2mg | Calcium: 63mg | Iron: 1.4mg

My review: As I mentioned I love this recipe because the texture is light and fluffy, yet extremely moist. We use almond extract which I think takes this pumpkin bar a step further.

Kids review: Of course they loved it but here was Aiden’s reaction, “Mom you know I hate frosting, but I just love this it just has this little yummy kick.” Okay, so I don’t know what he is referring to when he says “kick” but obviously a winner.

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