Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Easy Pumpkin Bars

I love pumpkin bars. They are perfect for a simple dessert any night of the week. They are also great for a special breakfast treat. You can also include them in your brunch menu. No matter when you serve them, you can be assured that they will be amazing.

Can I use Pumpkin Pie Filling Instead of Pumpkin Puree?

When you are making these pumpkin bars, you want to make sure that you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie filling. The two are not interchangeable. Pumpkin pie filling has the extras in it, like the spices but also the evaporated milk, which makes it thin. It will not work in these bars.

Do These Pumpkin Bars Need to Be Refrigerated?

The bars themselves do not need to be refrigerated but the frosting on top does. Whenever you make a dessert that has cream cheese frosting on top, you always want to store it in the refrigerator. If you choose to not frost these bars, you can store them at room temperature, but as long as they are frosted, be sure to store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

How Long Do Pumpkin Bars last?

Pumpkin bars will stay fresh for about 5 days. It is important that they are stored correctly to help them last as long as possible. For best results, you want to store the pumpkin bars in the refrigerator in an air tight container. This will help the bars stay fresh the longest possible.

Can I use Store Bought Frosting for these Bars?

The cream cheese frosting recipe that I use with these pumpkin bars are incredibly easy to make. The flavor offers so much more than you can get from a store bought version. However, if you wanted to skip making the frosting from scratch, you can use store bought frosting instead. Depending on the brand of store bought cream cheese frosting you use, it might be a bit thinner than my version. If you prefer for the frosting to be thicker than it is from the container, you can add some powdered sugar to the frosting.

Can Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting be Frozen?

I love to freeze these pumpkin bars if I am not going to finish them before they go bad. It is a great way to increase the shelf life of this special treat. I like to freeze the bars before I wrap them so that the plastic wrap does not freeze to the plastic. I place the individual slice on a plate and then freeze them. Once the slices are hard and the plastic will not stick to the frosting, I wrap each one and then place them in a freezer bag. When it is time to thaw the bars, be sure to remove the plastic wrap first.

Ingredients Needed To Make Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

• Flour
• Baking powder, baking soda
• Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger
• Salt
• Eggs
• Pumpkin puree
• Sugar
• Brown sugar
• Vegetable oil
• Cream cheese
• Butter
• Vanilla
• Powdered sugar

How To Make Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

• Start out by preheating oven to 350°.
• To make the pumpkin bar, whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt together. Set aside.
• Using a large bowl, beat eggs, pumpkin, sugar, brown sugar and oil together on low until light and fluffy.
• Add dry ingredients and beat until combined.
• Pour into an ungreased 10 x 15 jelly roll pan and bake for 27-30 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
• Carefully remove from oven and place on wire rack to cool.
• To make the frosting, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla together in a large bow with an electric mixer then gradually add powdered sugar.
• Frost pumpkin bars after they have cooled completely and then cut bars into desired size.