The Best Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

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One of the best recipes to make during the Fall months are Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting! They truly hit every Fall dessert craving you will ever have. A spiced pumpkin cake is slathered with the most delicious cream cheese frosting resulting in the perfect Fall dessert!

I’ve been making pumpkin bars since I was a kid. My Grandma made them, my mom made them, we made them together. It’s just one of those nostalgic Fall recipes we made every year. There are several reasons why this dessert is SO good.

Why You’ll Love This Recipe

• Easy to make – the recipe is not complicated at all. It’s very straight forward and can easily made in a pinch.
• Feeds a crowd – It’s a great Fall dessert to bring to family gatherings, parties, events and more.
• The cream cheese frosting – It’s the perfect complement to the spiced pumpkin bar. It’s creamy, sweet and slightly tangy. This frosting would be amazing on all sorts of desserts…like red velvet cupcakes, carrot cake, or even on brownies!
• The texture is so moist – The cake itself is so moist and the crumb is tender. You can see it in the pictures below.

How to Make Pumpkin Bars

The process is simple. You’re essentially making a cake. All you need is a mixer, bowl, and a baking pan.

1. First mix the wet ingredients: Mix together the eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin puree and vanilla. If you don’t want to use vegetable oil, you can use refined coconut oil instead.
2. Add the dry ingredients: I like to mix my dry ingredients together before adding them to the wet ingredients. It helps the ingredients incorporate evenly. In a bowl whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Then add it to the bowl of wet ingredinets and mix only until incorporated.
3. Bake: Dump the batter into a greased 9×13 inch pan. You can also line it with parchment paper so it can easily be removed from the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. The edges should pull away from the sides and the center should be set. You can always check by inserting a knife or toothpick in the center of the cake. If it comes out clean, it’s done. Let the cake cool then frost.
4. Make the cream cheese frosting: Add room temperature butter and cream cheese to a mixer. Mix on medium speed until smooth. With the mixer on low-speed, slowly add the confectioners sugar and finish with the vanilla. Turn mixer on high and whip for 20 seconds.

Storage and Serving

• Store them in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. They’re delicious cold!
• Garnish the bars with cinnamon or top each bar with candy pumpkins or candy corn for a festive touch.
• Once the bars have cooled, refrigerate for an hour before slicing into them. This helps get nice, clean cuts.
• The recipe makes 12 large bars or 24 smaller ones. They are thick so slicing into 18-24 pieces will still be a nice sized serving.

If you love baking with pumpkin, I have so many good recipes for you to try that are similar to these pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting. This Pumpkin Bundt Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a crowd pleaser! It’s absolutely beautiful. My Pumpkin Coffee Cake with Streusel might be the best thing to wake up to Thanksgiving morning. It’s buttery, full of warm flavors and amazing with coffee.

Can we all agree that pumpkin desserts are one of the most comforting treats to enjoy? I hope you make these for your holiday gatherings or just because you want to!

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Yield: 12 large bars

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

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This recipe for pumpkin bars is so simple. It comes together quickly and results in a very moist, tender crumb. The cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement to the spiced dessert!

Prep Time 10 minutes

Cook Time 40 minutes

Total Time 50 minutes

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bars

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• 4 eggs
• 1⅔ cups granulated sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil (sub refined coconut oil if needed)
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 15 ounce can pure pumpkin
• 2 cups sifted all-purpose flour (measure flour first then sift)
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking soda

Cream Cheese Frosting

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• 16 ounces cream cheese (2 blocks), room temperature
• 1 stick (8 tablespoons) unsalted better, room temperature
• 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and spray a 9x13 inch baking pan with non-stick baking spray. You can also use parchment paper – this is helpful when taking the bars out of the pan to cut them. Simply spray the bottom of your pan, lay the parchment paper on top, some will be hanging over the edges. You use the edges to carefully remove the bars from the pan to easily slice them.
2. In a stand-alone mixer fitted with a paddle attachment (hand-held mixer works, too) combine the eggs, sugar, oil, pumpkin and vanilla until light and fluffy.
3. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt
4. Add the dry ingredients to the wet pumpkin mixture and mix at low-speed until thoroughly combined. Spread the batter into a greased 9×13 inch baking pan. Bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting.
5. To make the cream cheese frosting, beat together cream cheese and butter until smooth. Turn your mixer down to low and add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Finally add vanilla and mix on high until fluffy, about 20 seconds. Spread over cooled bars. Refrigerate then cut!

Notes

Refrigerate the bars in a sealed container for up to 5 days. Cream cheese frosting should not be left out overnight, however it’s ok for serving at room temperature after bringing to room temperature.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

12

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving:Calories: 601Total Fat: 33gSaturated Fat: 11gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 20gCholesterol: 100mgSodium: 506mgCarbohydrates: 71gFiber: 1gSugar: 53gProtein: 7g

Nutrition information is automatically calculated. Use as an approximation only.

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