Pumpkin is upon us.
It’s a fact friends. Deal with it.
I went a little pumpkin crazy at the store this week. Something comes over me when the seasons change. Because I live in a city where the weather insists on staying virtually the same temperature all year round, and the palm trees know nothing of seasonal changes, I feel like I’m forced to express the change of season in very outward, often very expensive ways.
When early October hits, and the hint of a cool night beckons me to turn my bedroom fan off, inevitably, the next day I’m out shopping for scarves, tights, knee high boots, and yes….. pumpkin.
We had a chilly night this past weekend (I’m talking low 60′s) which prompted me to take out my winter coat (yes I have one, and it’s fantastic). This also prompted me to go on a pumpkin bender at the grocery store.
I’m giving you the heads up. It’s pumpkin time people. Are you with me?
Consider this pumpkin recipe as your Fall lemon bar. Think of this pumpkin recipe as reason not to have to roll out a pie crust. Think of this pumpkin recipe when you want a nip from the Bourbon bottle while you’re baking. Is that a crime? I think not.
Pumpkin Pie Bars
adapted from Kraft
HEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides; grease foil. Mix flour, 1/4 granulated sugar and brown sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and nuts.
RESERVE 1 cup oat mixture; press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan. Bake 15 min. Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips (if desired).
BAKE 25 min.; cool 10 min. Use foil to transfer dessert from pan to wire rack; cool completely.
{ 83 comments… read them below or add one }
This recipe looks fabulous! I must try it this weekend!
Definitely marking these as a potential dessert to take for Thanksgiving… something that even the kids will enjoy!
I’ve been on a pumpkin kick too. These look interesting. I wonder how they would work with pecans in the crust instead of walnuts..I have a lot of pecans I need to use up.
And thank you for at least including the “recipe” for pumpkin pie spice. I can’t stand it when a recipe calls for “pumpkin pie spice” or “apple pie spice”–I have 3 kinds of cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, mace, ginger, allspice, etc on hand for holiday baking, and I refuse to buy a blend when the standalones are so much more useful!
Maybe it’s a regional thing -like pulling your WINTER coat when it’s in the 60s? :) – but I think one of the best things about canned pumpkin is that it’s often the least expensive seasonal baking ingredient there is. But please please I don’t think I’m making fun of you…if you did, you might stop sharing recipes like this, and all your others! (Thanks!)
I am into pumpkin these days! Your bars look like the cream of the crop!!
Bring it on! I’m all about pumpkin these days and would love to add a few more recipes to my arsenal. This one looks divine!
Mmmm, I am more than happy that pumpkin time is upon us.
Yay, bring on the pumpkin!!! I like pumpkin-y desserts better than I like apple filled ones.
Yum! Your photos are pumpkin-licious!!
~ingrid
I love pumpkin and these look great!
Wow, someone just gave me a recipe for Pumpkin Brownies. I made a pumpkin cheesecake for work the other day. I am all pumpkin’d out!
But, you know I am going to try to make these haha
yummy these look good, And its fall yeahhhhhhhh pumpkin :)
oh my!! adding this to my delicious bookmarks immediately!!!
I am right there with you…I am craving everything and anything pumpkin related. Or squash related. Or apple cider related. Really anything that screams fall! Best season!
(And by the way, this looks beyond delicious!)
Those look delicious!
I am so with you! Last Christmas I baked loaves of pumpkin bread as gifts and accidentally bought -way- more pumpkin than I needed. Bring on the pumpkin recipes!
Oh, I love it. Pumpkin me up, girl. If I could dress up as a pumpkin for halloween, I totally would. I think that the worse part about California is that sometimes your season blend together, and then all of a sudden it’s winter.
This is what I’ve been looking for! I knew I wanted to make something pumpkin for my clients next week and just couldn’t come up with anything that excited me. Thanks so much for the idea and the recipe!
these look great! i’ll have to try them in a couple weeks. we’ve had pumpkin cheesecake and pumpkin muffins all week so we’re a bit pumpkin’d out :)
Woah. These are the perfect use for my can of pumpkin. Droooool.
Can we see the knee high boots? And I’ll give you an emphatic yes . . . I’m with you . . . it’s pumpkin time!
Yum! I love pumpkin in baking. It’s so nice to see other pumpkin recipes rather than pies! thanks for the yummy post, I can’t wait to try it!
If I didn’t have 12 dozen cupcakes to bake tomorrow, I would be making a batch of these… WANT.
Never seen canned pumpkin here in South Africa. How much fresh cooked pumpkin will i need?
That looks really awesome. I’ve never seen pumpkin bars done before, but I really like this. And I’m 100% with you on the seasons–it may still be in the 80s/90s here, but I’ll play pretend by overindulging in pumpkin and squash so that I can keep on the calendar with the rest of the world. And is it bad that I’d use the inclusion of oats as a justification to myself that this is breakfast food?
I love pumpkin recipes! I love New England in October!
Did I mention I love Joy the Baker?
I have been addicted to your blog for the last 6 months
amazing food pics, delicious recipes, and funny funny, too!
These look too yummy not to make immediately,
or maybe tomorrow, but definitely soon!!!
Joy! As usual you amaze me!
Kristi- These bars would totally be awesome with pecans instead of walnuts!
FRM- Be good!
Trixi- 15 ounces or just under 2 cups. Does that help?
Mike- Yes! Yes!! Anything with oats is automatically a breakfast food.
Heather- I’m glad you’re here!
Jerry- Thanks!
I love anything pumpkin flavored! YUM!
Those look so good! What an amazing pumpkin colour!
I’m with you. Getting ready start baking some pumpkin dishes myself. These pumpkin pie bars look fantastic, I gotta say, it looks like you pulled them off to perfection! Great photos as well.
These look great! I’ve been looking for a recipe like this…now I have it! I can’t wait to give these a try soon…very soon!!
Wow, these look tasty! Just found your site, and I love it. I’ll trade places with you – it’s 33 degrees outside my house this morning. I’m so not ready for winter coats, but am loving the pumpkin (and maple!).
I think you read my mind. I was in need of a pumpkin bar recipe and now I am looking at one that makes my mouth water. I can’t wait to make this…THANKS
Yum! I’m getting a little tired of all the typical pumpkin recipes floating around, but these sound a little different and super delicious.
I made these bars today. My oven took a little longer to bake- about 33 minutes until they were done. I used pecans instead of walnuts. I used a few to top the bars as well. Instead of burbon I used 2 tsp of maple extract, delicious :-)
These look so good. I’ve also been in a pumpkin mood lately. Can’t wait to try these out.
Made these for my ladies night out-they were a hit along with your pumpkin cookies. Thank you for sharing-pumpkin will always get my vote. Maybe McCain and Obama should campaign with pumpkin recipes…
Wow, these sound delicious. I have a feeling if I made these, the whole pan would be gone by the end of the day.
The picture made me want to lick my screen, so instead, I made these for a Halloween party yesterday. Of course, leftovers are the best, cold pumpking pie from the fridge.
I used roasted almonds instead of walnuts and I’m a purist, so I like it better without the chocolate on top. My 4 year old son on the other hand, ate just the chocolate chips then gave me his pumpkin bar, so we make a good pair.
I made these bars this last weekend for a party on SUnday. They were a total hit. Every last one of them gone. And the taste testing guys in the house loved them too. I will make these again. Thank you very much for sharing these.
These look delicious and I love the butterscotch chips!
I made these for about 100 people at a church function. They were easy and delicious! I had many requests for the recipe. Since it was church I doubled the vanilla and skipped the bourbon. If you like pumpkin, make these today. They are that good!
My kids hate butterscotch chips :(
I love pumpkin and I am always looking for new recipes to try. I will try this soon.
Oh my goodness. I made these for the first time on Saturday night, and everyone in my family (including my parents, who are doing a low-carb thing but sacrificed their diet to try a bar) loved them! I substituted brandy for the bourbon, simply because we don’t keep bourbon in the house, and Heath brand chocolate/toffee chips for the butterscotch chips, and it was delicious.
These will definitely be repeated over and over again. Thank you for this recipe!
That looks utterly delicious! I might be tempted to give it a go!
These look great and I love pumpkin!
There you go again with the pumpkin and butterscotch! Looks so yummy. And I’m jealous of your weather. It’s rainy and 50 degrees right now. Gloomy, but at least I get to turn on the fire. Yes, turn it on. I’m lazy. No real fire wood for me.
How do i get in touch with the beautiful woman in the upper right corner of this page?
These look amazing. I’m going to make them…maybe Fri.
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