Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting

I’m always excited when we go to a family gathering and someone has made pumpkin bars for dessert. They’re so tasty, and the cream cheese icing is the perfect accompaniment.

I once branched out and made an intriguing pumpkin bar recipe from The Naptime Chef that included maple syrup in the icing. And friends, I did not look back. The recipe below is our family-favorite bars, modified slightly, and with the inclusion of maple syrup in the icing. Feel free to leave it out – they’ll still be delicious! – but if you like maple, give it a shot. You won’t be sorry.

~Katie

What you need:

ingredients for bars

ingredients for frosting

Ingredients

For the pumpkin bars:

• 2 c. flour
• 2 t. baking powder (store-bought or homemade)
• 1 t. baking soda
• 1 t. cinnamon
• 1/2 t. ginger
• 1/4 t. allspice
• 1/4 t. nutmeg
• 1 t. salt
• 4 eggs
• 1 c. sugar
• 2/3 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. oil, or 1/2 c. oil + 1/2 c. applesauce
• 16 oz. can pumpkin

For the maple cream cheese icing:

• 6 oz. cream cheese, softened
• 1 1/2 sticks (12 oz.) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 1/2 t. vanilla (store-bought or homemade)
• 3 c. confectioner’s sugar
• 3 T. maple syrup

Equipment

• medium bowl and whisk
• stand mixer with paddle attachment
• measuring cups and spoons
• 13″x9″ baking dish

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ingredients for bars

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

ingredients for frosting

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

Pumpkin Bars

pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting

Time: 15 minutes prep +

Freezeable: Un-iced bars are freezeable. After icing, don’t freeze them.

Serves: A crowd, maybe 24.

Multiplying the recipe: Bake each batch in a separate pan.

Pumpkin Bars with Maple Cream Cheese Icing:

To make the bars: Preheat the oven to 350F. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the eggs, sugars, oil, and pumpkin. Beat until light and fluffy.

Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer bowl and mix thoroughly. Spread the batter in a 13″x9″ baking dish. Bake for 25-30 minutes. Cool completely before frosting.

To make the icing: Beat the cream cheese and butter in the bowl of a stand mixer for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the vanilla and maple syrup. Slowly add the sugar,  beating until the mixture is smooth.

Frost the bars. Store frosted bars, covered, in the refrigerator.

pumpkin bars with maple cream cheese frosting