Fall is for pumpkin. Pumpkin carving, lattes, coffee, cake, pies and bars. Buying pumpkin puree in a can, in bulk, helps you to be able to make everything pumpkin to your heart’s desire. This Saturday was beautifully sunny and warm, and as a treat to our four kids and a thanks for their help raking, I made these cream cheese frosted Pumpkin Bars.

Disclosure
Published November 11, 2022
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Cost breakdown for this recipe

As far as recipes go, with the amount you get, this one is fairly inexpensive. Below is a breakdown for the cost of each ingredient used to make a sheet-pan full of Pumpkin Bars. All of these prices are from a local ALDI.

4 eggs $1.16
1 cup oil $0.64
2 cups sugar $0.58
1 cup pumpkin $1.45
1/2 tsp salt $0.01
2 tsp cinnamon $0.06
1 tsp baking soda $0.01
1 tsp baking powder $0.03
2 cups flour $0.30
3-oz cream cheese $0.87
4 Tbsp vegetable shortening $0.36
1 tsp milk $0.01
3/4-lbs powdered sugar $0.58

The total cost for this recipe was only $6.06.
We were able to get 32 Pumpkin Bars making each cost $0.18. Mind you, this was a baking sheet that was 10″ X 15″.
One slice of Starbucks Pumpkin Pepita Loaf costs $2-$3. Click the link for more pricing and information.

In comparison, at ALDI, they sell pumpkin sliced loaf cake for $3.85, which weighs 13.3 ounces making each slice $0.48, not frosted, and more of a cake than a moist bar.

I cannot really find a similar bar for a comparison in any other local store except Festival Foods, where a 6-count of frosted pumpkin bars costs $4.99. If you were to buy enough that this recipe makes, you would then pay $39.92. Festival Foods is a local grocery store that is in the Midwest. Very much a Midwest staple.

What if you run out of powdered sugar?!

Before starting this recipe, there was a realization that there was no powdered sugar in the pantry cabinet. How can one make cream cheese frosting without powdered sugar?!

Did you know powdered sugar is just finely ground granulated sugar? If you run out of powdered sugar, you can just blend sugar to make your own. When done with the blade attachment in a food processor, you can then make short work of this time-consuming job. Blending 2 cups of granulated sugar took almost 5-minutes using my Cuisinart Food Processor with the blade attachment.
Pro-Tip – place a towel over the food processor during this time as the powdered sugar will then want to become aerosolized and float into the room.

Recipe

Pumpkin Bars Ingredients

4 eggs
1 cup oil
2 cups sugar
1 cup pumpkin
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups flour
3-oz cream cheese
4 Tbsp vegetable shortening
1 tsp milk
3/4-lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Directions for Pumpkin Bars

1. Firstly, preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit, then lay a piece of parchment paper on a baking sheet and set aside. The parchment paper will then help to remove the bars from the baking sheet easily and without a huge mess.

2. Secondly, in a small bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Add the flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder and salt, making sure to NOT add the sugar yet, as it will then be mixed with the eggs at a different time.

Granulated sugar is technically a “wet ingredient”, as you traditionally add it to the other liquids before adding it to the rest of the mix.

Sifting the dry ingredients together not only mixes them, but also helps to reduce any clumps. When all of the other ingredients have been sifted and you have clumps left, use the rounded side of a spoon and press the clumps to break them up.

3. Then crack four eggs into a KitchenAid bowl and beat them.

4. To the eggs in the KitchenAid mixer bowl, add 2 cups sugar and mix well until slightly fluffy. By adding the sugar to the eggs, the sugar will actually dissolve into the eggs, and you will not be left with a grainy Pumpkin Bar.

5. Add 1 cup oil to the egg mixture and then mix well to combine.

6. To the egg mixture, add a whole can of pure pumpkin puree, and then blend well to combine.

7. To the pumpkin mixture in the bowl, add the dry ingredients in two small batches; add half, mix until just combined, and then add the rest and mix well until all of the dry ingredients are fully incorporated to the wet. You may have to use a spatula to scrape the sides down and then blend again.

Add half, mix until just combined, and then add the rest and mix well until all of the dry ingredients are fully incorporated to the wet. You may have to use a spatula to scrape the sides down and then blend again.

8. Dump out the pumpkin bar batter out onto the prepared baking sheet and then spread it out evenly with a spatula.

9. Lift one side of the baking sheet and gently tap it onto the countertop to level the batter and remove any bubbles, then, do the same to the other side of the baking sheet.

Bake the Pumpkin Bars

Bake the Pumpkin Bars in the preheated oven for 20-25 minutes, or until the center springs back when touched.
This baking sheet was 10″X15″ and additionally took 27 minutes to fully look baked with the middle to spring back.
At 24 minutes, there was still a small spot that still looked uncooked. Don’t pull it out too soon, or you may have spots that are uncooked and then will fall flat.

11. When done, remove the baking sheet from the oven and then let the Pumpkin Bars cool completely.

You can also help the bars cool by carefully lifting the parchment paper and then slide the bars onto a cooling rack, which can help to evenly cool the bars on all sides quicker.

Frosting Ingredients

3-oz cream cheese
4 Tbsp shortening
1 tsp milk
3/4-lbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Make the Cream Cheese Frosting

Making cream cheese frosting is quite easy, resulting in a delicious and creamy topping for these moist Pumpkin Bars. Just add all of the ingredients to a bowl and then using an electric hand beater or KitchenAid mixer, mix the ingredients well until fluffy.

1. Measure and then add powdered sugar to a medium bowl.

2. Measure and then add 3-oz cream cheese to the powdered sugar in the mixing bowl.

3. Next, measure and then add 4 Tbsp vegetable shortening to the powdered sugar.

4. Measure and then add 1 tsp milk to the bowl.

5. Finally, add 1 tsp vanilla extract to the ingredients, and then whisk until fluffy and fully combined, using a spatula to scrape the sides to make sure all of the ingredients are incorporated well.

As we were out of vanilla extract, and still waiting for homemade vanilla extract to mature, butter and Rum extracts were used instead. Hindsight, only the butter extract should have been used as the Rum was just a bit too much.

Finishing the Pumpkin Bars

Once the pumpkin bars were completely cooled, and by cooled, they need to NOT be warm, it is then time to frost them.
Use a spatula to place dollops of cream cheese frosting over the completely cooled Pumpkin Bars.

Then, use an offset spatula to spread the cream cheese frosting evenly over the entire top of the pumpkin bars.

Finally, cut and then enjoy!
~Monica

Pumpkin Bars Recipe