I promise you are going to love this Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe! My mom made this for us for as long as I can remember. It is pure nostalgia!
We enjoy these bars several times each fall and even throughout the year. They do fit into the fall season, not only because of the pumpkin/squash element but also due to the cinnamon.
These bars are light, fluffy, and cake-like. They are a perfect consistency and they are absolutely delicious! I frequently made these when we lived in the Black Hills years ago. When we moved back, I brought them to a get-together and my very dear friend was so excited that I brought my pumpkin bars back with me
Now I may be beating a dead horse here but if you’ve read my take on using squash in place of pumpkin in my instructions on preserving blue hubbard squash, you’ll know this is an excellent candidate to use your squash, (or pumpkin for that matter).
But take my word for it, definitely call them pumpkin bars…squash bars do not sound nearly as appealing!
These bars are best baked in a half-sheet pan, which is 18X13-inches. You can bake them in a jelly roll pan or a 9X13-inch pan but you’ll need to adjust the baking time accordingly.
If you’re looking to dress up your bars, you can sprinkle a little cinnamon on top. Also, I recommend you consume these within the first few days of making them. Ours never lasted past the first few days. However, I’m going to experiment with freezing them and I’ll keep you posted on how that goes.
Without further adieu, here are my family’s pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting recipe…
Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter at room temperature
- 1 ⅔ cup sugar
- 4 eggs
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin or squash or scant 2 cups
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tsp. cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. baking powder
- ½ tsp. salt
Frosting
- 1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese softened
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- ½ cup butter softened
- 3 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
- Preheat oven for 350°F.
- Mix the butter and sugar together until thoroughly mixed.
- Add eggs, mix well. Stir in the remaining ingredients. Pour
- Pour into a greased 18 X 13 half-sheet pan.
- Bake for 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean.
To Make Frosting
- While the bars are cooling, cream together the softened cream cheese, butter, and vanilla extract with a mixer until an even consistency is reached.
- Slowly mix in the powdered sugar and whip until fluffy.
- Spread frosting on cooled bars.
- Sprinkle bars with cinnamon, if desired.
Nutrition
If you’re interested in more pumpkin/squash recipes, why not check out my pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin bread, or pumpkin cauliflower soup? (all of them work with squash as well!)
Hi Julie, the recipe looks great! For clarification purposed, is it a half sheet pan or jelly roll? A half sheet pan is 18×13 and a jelly roll is usually 10×15. Thanks
Thank you Beth! You are absolutely correct!
I checked my pan that I use for this recipe and it is a half sheet pan. 18X13 is the correct measurement. I’ve made the correction to the recipe as well.
Thanks so much!
I made the pumpkin bars yesterday and they were delicious. They are super moist. I did add 1 teaspoon of vanilla to the wet ingredient. LOVE them!!
So glad you enjoyed them! I’m not even ashamed to admit, we’ve made them 4 times already this fall! Blessings!
Did you have any luck freezing them? Thanks! They are super yummy!!!!
Hi Ruthie! I’m so glad you enjoy them too!! I had to ask my mom on this one because they never last long enough to warrant freezing. She has frozen her bars for many years. Per her recommendation, just freeze them in a single layer, covered. Once you defrost them, keep them in the refrigerator. She has frozen them for 2 months.