Ricky called for Lucy. Archie called for Edith. Rocky called for Adrienne. And pumpkin cake calls for cream cheese frosting. I feel like Dorothy when she tells Jerry MaGuire you had me at hello. Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting have me at hello. I made these for an event I catered several years ago, and it was one of the recipes I served that I heard the most about. For that event, I made them in a mini muffin pan and they were beautiful and delicious. But I find it quicker and easier to make them in one batch on a sheet pan. I still love serving them bite size, so I cut them into 1 1/2 squares and topped them with a swirl of frosting. I admit it. I used a ruler. I am jealous of people who can eyeball it.
When I am making them for my family at home, I just shmeer the frosting on the whole batch and serve it in huge squares, because realistically, we would eat a ton of the bite sized ones in our family. These bars are so moist and tender. I haven’t met a person that doesn’t like them. One of the things that makes these special is the frosting. It is just a little (3 ounces) of cream cheese and a 1/4 cup butter. So many times the cream cheese is overpowering in cream cheese frosting, but this combination is delicate and just right. I decided to try out the recipe from Deliciously Yum to see if they were better than mine, and guess what? It was pretty much the exact same recipe! I am telling you, this is a recipe you don’t want to miss. I look forward to fall just so I can have it again. Can you hear it? I can. These pumpkin bars are calling my name. Are they calling yours? I bet they are.
This pin rocks!
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients
- Cake
- 4 eggs
- 1-2/3 cups sugar
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 can 16 ounces pumpkin
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- Frosting
- 3 ounces cream cheese
- 2 cups confectioners sugar
- 1/4 cup butter softened
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 to 2 tablespoons milk
Instructions
- Mix together eggs, sugar and pumpkin. Combine dry ingredients and slowly add to pumpkin mixture. Pour into an ungreased rimmed sheet pan. Bake at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.
- For frosting: Beat cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla. Add enough milk to get desired consistency. *If piping frosting on, I like it a little thicker. Frost cooled cake by spreading over the whole pan and then slicing or piping frosting on each piece.
Click the pictures below for some more great fall ideas try:
This post has been linked with: Sweet Haute, The Real Coake, 52 Mantels, Living Well Spending Less, Gingerly Made, The Frugal Girls, Glued to My Crafts, Live Laugh Rowe, Lamberts Lately, Fireflies and Jellybeans
Are you kidding me? You had me at CREAM CHEESE FROSTING!!!! Yum!
Thanks so much for the amazing inspiration! My waist line, however, is cursing you out. Just saying …
🙂 Linda
This is one that truly lives up to the hype. This is the season for overindulgence, you know…
These are delicious bars! I made a half recipe, so I baked them in a greased 11 x 7 inch pan. I am curious why the recipe calls for the jelly roll pan to be ungreased. I just purchased my first jelly roll pan, but I haven’t used it yet. Are such pans typically not greased for recipes? Also, one small detail, in the instructions, it doesn’t say when to add the oil, but I assumed it gets mixed in with the pumpkin.
Thanks for a terrific recipe that my family asked me to save for future baking.
Glad you liked them Jocelyn. Thanks for letting me know I forgot to put the oil in the instructions, I have fixed that. I thought it seemed weird at first not to grease the pan, but there is so much oil and eggs in the recipe, that it is unnecessary. Also, it changes the texture of the bottom and it not as tender, in my opinion. So I prefer not to grease the pan. We love getting your comments, and feedback. You are awesome!
What size sheet pan did you use?
A half sheet pan, 18x12x1. Enjoy Judy, these are delicious!
So what utensil do you use to cut the cake to keep it looking so clean?
I used a sharp paring knife that I wiped clean after each cut. I also don’t drag the knife, but kind of move up and down. I hope that helps! They are just as good as they look, I promise!
Can you tell me what size tip you used to pipe on the beautiful flower etts ? [email protected] ASAP I’m making them right now !
Denise, I am sorry I didn’t get to you fast enough! It was a #21 Wilton for future reference. Can’t wait to hear how they turned out.
Delish ! I made larger portions and used a 1B Wilton, which worked well, but I will definitely file away the 21 for future reference. Thanks so much. This was enjoyed by many. 🙂