Pumpkin Bars

I know you need another pumpkin recipe like you need a hole in your head. I am currently working on a pumpkin angel food cake recipe for a friend and had a little pumpkin left over that I had to use right away.

I have a recipe for pumpkin bars but it called for more pumpkin than I had. What to do? “Google” pumpkin bars of course!

I found this recipe on the Cooking Light website. It’s actually not that bad for you; very little fat for the amount of bars it yields. The recipe title is misleading though, when I think of bars, I think brownies or blondies. These little “bars” are more like cake, …pumpkin snack cake maybe? What ever these are they are quite delicious with a cup of coffee. Happy baking!

Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients
6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 package (8 oz.) cream cheese, at room temperature

Preparation
1. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar until smooth. Beat in 2 eggs, pumpkin, and 1/3 cup water until well blended, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. In another bowl, mix flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg; stir or beat into butter mixture until well blended. Spread batter evenly in a buttered and floured 10- by 15-inch baking pan. [I used a 15x10x2 pan]

2. In a bowl, with an electric mixer on medium speed, beat cream cheese, remaining egg, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar until smooth.

3. Drop cream cheese mixture in 24 evenly spaced 1-tablespoon portions over batter. Pull a knife tip through filling to swirl slightly into batter.

4. Bake in a 350° oven until center of pumpkin batter (not cream cheese mixture) springs back when touched, about 30 minutes. Let cool completely in pan, then cut into 24 bars.

Makes 24 bar