Bars or cake? That's the question I always ask when it comes to Pumpkin Bars. Most recipes titled Pumpkin Bars are actually more like pumpkin flavored sheet cake. Betty Crocker has one called Pumpkin Cookie Bars that might be more like a bar cookie, but so many Pumpkin Bars are soft, cake-like and probably best eaten with a fork. The "Harvest Pumpkin Bars" from The King Arthur Cookie Companion fall into that category.
Harvest Pumpkin Bars are different from King Arthur's Pumpkin Cake Bars . For one thing, they are baked in a 9 inch square or a 7x11 inch pan. Harvest Pumpkin Bars call for a much higher ratio of pumpkin and slightly less oil, and they do not call for brown sugar. The result is a very brightly colored orange bar with a strong pumpkin flavor. The bars have a cream cheese frosting which we loved. At first I thought it might not be enough, but it turned out to be more than enough to cover a 9 inch square. We also enjoyed the addition of chopped crystallized ginger. I thought about leaving it off, but the zing of the ginger worked really well with the pumpkin flavor.
So the question remains -- bars or cake? Whatever you call them, the Harvest Pumpkin Bars are tasty and could pass as either a bar or cake. I made them in a 9 inch square pan, but next time I might make them in a 7x11 inch glass pan and serve them right out of the dish.
Recipe
Cream Cheese Frosted Harvest Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- ⅓ cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ginger
- ¼ tsp nutmeg
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
Cream Cheese Frosting
- ½ pack 4 oz softened cream cheese (114 grams)
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter 42 grams, softened
- 1 ¾ cups confectioners' sugar 210 grams
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- Optional ¼ cup diced crystallized ginger and/or chopped pecans
- Dried cranberries may also be sprinkled over the top.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour a 9 inch square baking pan or line with nonstick foil. Alternatively, you can use a 7x11 inch baking dish
- With an electric mixer, beat together oil, eggs, sugar, pumpkin, baking powder, salt, and spices.
- Add the flour and stir until blended.
- Pour batter into prepared pan and spread evenly.
- Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean -- about 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
- In a large bowl, beat softened cream cheese and butter until well combined. Add powdered sugar and mix until creamy, then beat until fluffy (it's fairly stiff). Beat in vanilla.
- Spread cream cheese over bars. If desired, sprinkle with nuts and crystallized ginger.
- Cut into 16 bars.
kathy says
Hi Can you tell us how much flour to use in recipe? Thank you
Stephanie Haly says
It is weird the nomenclature for pumpkin cake cut in squares to be called bars. It really is just cake and not cookie or bar like in texture.
d says
These look delicious!!
Sonya says
These look fabulous! They remind me of the pumpkin cake from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook, which uses crystallized ginger inside the cream cheese frosting. Atop is even prettier! It was KAF that introduced me to crystallized ginger, as they use it in SO many recipes in that cookbook! Anyway, thank-you for the education about pumpkin bars, and happy baking!
Anna says
Sue, I have another one back in the archives that is made in a 9 inch pan. It's just a half version of the one from The American Century Cookbook and it has a boiled icing so it's a little different. King Arthur's new one looks good, but you'd have to halve it. This one was good too.
Sue says
I made an old pumpkin bar recipe this last weekend and took them to a family gathering where they were referred to as cake more than once. That recipe calls for a 16 oz can of pumpkin which of course no longer exists. They turn out fine with the 15 oz can but I like the idea of this recipe with a higher ratio of pumpkin and smaller pan size. Thanks for reviewing it.