Frosted Pumpkin Bars

on
Monday, October 25, 2010
Apple 070


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Frosted Pumpkin Bars (Adapted from The Cookie Party Cookbook by Robin L. Olson)

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1 (16 oz) can pumpkin puree
4 large eggs
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, toasted

Frosting
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
2 2/3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tablespoon milk or cream
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Coat a 15x10x1 jelly roll pan with cooking spray.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice and cinnamon. In a large mixing bowl, using a mixer on medium speed, beat together butter, granulated sugar and pumpkin until creamy - about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs until well combined - about 2-3 minutes. Reduce mixer speed to low and gradually beat in flour mixture until just combined. Beat in walnuts until just combined.

Scrape and smooth batter into prepared pan. Bake 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into cake comes out with moist crumbs attached. Cool completely on a wire rack.

To make the frosting, beat cream cheese in a large mixing bowl using a mixer on medium speed until creamy. Beat in butter until creamy. Beat in confectioners' sugar, cream and vanilla until well combined and smooth - about 2-3 minutes. Spread frosting over cake, sprinkle with extra cinnamon if desired, and slice into bars.

Makes 4 dozen bars
48 comments on "Frosted Pumpkin Bars"
  1. If only I lived nearby, I'd definitely do a cookie exchange with you, especially knowing how you always come up with some stellar recipe. I've been making pumpkin bars too. Strangely enough, I inadvertently made yummy pumpkin blondies by omitting the baking soda from my pumpkin bread recipe.

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  2. That's so exciting! Lucky you. How did you get into this? Your bars look fabulous...so yummily frosted.

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  3. I want that cookbook. :) I'd love to host a cookie exchange- great idea!

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  4. So much pumpkin recipes and so little pumpkin! I need to buy more! Thanks for this one, the pictures are incredible!

    -Amalia

    http://buttersweetmelody.wordpress.com/

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  5. As the saying goes, you've got a friend in me! I'll do that cookie exchange :) haha.

    Love the festive bars!

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  6. Ooh, I would totally host a transatlantic cookie exchange with you if that were even possible! Your pumpkin bars look perfect for a cookie exchange with yourself--no sharing!!

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  7. I would totally love to be in your cookie exchange! Maybe we could do one through the mail. Wait, that sort of takes away from the fun of getting together, doesn't it. Sadly, I never feel like I have enough friends (that bake anyways) to host one either. Sad.

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  8. I had a large can of pumpkin that I needed to use up. I made a pumpkin pasta that I threw out so it would have been much better to make something sweet and seasonal like these bars.

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  9. All you would have to do is to post the time and place of your cookie exchange on your blog and you would have TONS of people. The only thing is everyone would be expecting YOU to make all the cookies.

    By the way, those sneaky canned pumpkin folks make the cans FIFTEEN ounces now, not 16.

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  10. Sounds like a great cookbook! And your pictures are so good! You make them look so delicious. I love frosted pumpkin bars. Cream cheese goes really well with pumpkin.

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  11. I would love a online cookie exchange, that would be great! Exchange recipes and grade which ones are the best! Sounds like a great idea to me. These look so delicious!

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  12. Yum, these look so great! I love pumpkin everything. If I lived near, I'd totally come to your cookie exchange. I've never been to one or hosted one...but maybe I could this year.

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  13. I have this book to review, too - I can't wait to get started. Especially after seeing these bars!

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  14. Why wait until December? I'm sure there are plenty of strangers at the bars that would love to get a few drinks in you tonight.

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  15. Yum! I have totally be doing a lot of pumpkin recipes recently. They really do better for bars than actual cookies. Haven't ever had a cookie exchange but that would be so much fun. This looks like a great book.

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  16. How delicious! I'm totally craving these now!

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  17. Aw, I wish I lived nearby...I'd definitely be there! I'd hope that you'd have these cookies there too. I went to a cookie exchange that a mom of a girl in my dtr's class had a couple years ago. It was a little uncomfortable but the cookies helped ease the pain :)

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  18. I love cookie exchanges! :) My friends and I had one last winter. The only rule was to bring something homemade, so we did have some non-cookie-ish entities but it was all still delicious.

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  19. My parents live in Springfield (and I grew up there), I would totally go to a cookie exchange. Your pumpkin bars look yummy. I made some recently (for the first time), and like the other poster, loved the cream cheese frosting w/pumpkin. Great combo!

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  20. My parents live in Springfield (and I grew up there), I would totally go to a cookie exchange. Your pumpkin bars look yummy. I made some recently (for the first time), and like the other poster, loved the cream cheese frosting w/pumpkin. Great combo!

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  21. omg, those look quite good. i just wanna lick off the frosting. or stick my face in it. whatever.

    emily, if you were closer (meaning anywhere in the greater LA area), i would TOTALLY come to your cookie exchange, regardless of level of awkwardness! i feel like our love for culinary delights would be more than enough of a topic to tide us over. besides, then we could hit up cheesecake factory (of which there are many in my 'hood) and get us some pumpkin cheesecake!! (is the pumpkin cheesecake one of your exceptions to the rule?)

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  22. Looks like a fun book - and the bars you made sound scru,ptious. He, he - you have tempted me to start reading the Little House on the Prairie books - I watched the TV series way back when, but have never read the books.

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  23. I would totally do a cookie exchange in Springfield!

    Kara

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  24. These look delish! I love all things pumpkin this time of year! So cool you got do review this cookie book!

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  25. What a perfect recipe for this time of year. And yes, I'd have to taste one of these then quickly send them to work with hubby.

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  26. Ooh, the icing looks luscious. Cookie exchanges are fun, though I've never participated in one to know for real. *cue violin*

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  27. Uhh...I live in Springfield, AND I think it would be fun to go to a bar and then eat cookies!

    I love frosted anything, but those pumpkin bars look fabulously delicious. :)

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  28. those bars speak nothing of but crackly orange leaves of the Fall. yum!

    http://greenoatsandjam.wordpress.com

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  29. oooooh waw, Emily!! the bars look amazing & that frosting is quite special too!

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  30. If only I could go to a cookie exchange that you were also attending. That would be the best cookie exchange ever!

    You should get yourself a copy of the Little House Cookbook. It will combine your two favorite types of books. I remember checking it out of the library when I was a kid. They try very hard to replicate the recipes in the books, including blackbird pie - with actual blackbirds!

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  31. If only I could go to a cookie exchange that you were also attending. That would be the best cookie exchange ever!

    You should get yourself a copy of the Little House Cookbook. It will combine your two favorite types of books. I remember checking it out of the library when I was a kid. They try very hard to replicate the recipes in the books, including blackbird pie - with actual blackbirds!

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  32. Hi Emily,
    Thanks for doing a nice review of my new cookbook! I felt badly about your comment about not enough friends to do a CE... I do have a solution for y u to find like minded, local cookies swappers... on my message board there's probably over 100 (who knows maybe 200?) hostesses looking for attendees and and hopeful attendees looking CE hosts. The newest posts are on the bottom of page 8. Good Luck!
    ~Robin Olson

    FIND AND JOIN A LOCAL COOKIE SWAP!
    http://robinsboard.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=cookies

    PS) I'm going to send my friend Becky to your page... since you made her pumpkin bars. :)

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  33. I would totally do a cookie exchange and I am in Springfield... maybe we should do cookies and wine:) take the edge off! hehe!

    But seriously, I love cookies and christmas time so if you would like too, I would love too! and I'm not a creepy person either!

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  34. Those are such pretty bars! You always have the nicest presentation of your food :-)

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  35. uhhh... i'd come to your cookie exchange :) especially if you made these!

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  36. I love the cookie exchange idea!! Not sure about the bar and cookie exchange... ;) these bars look fab! Gotta check out this book!

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  37. excellent choice. not only is this recipe less time-swallowing than cookies (yay bars!)(both definitions of the word!), but bonus--they're frosted!

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  38. Thanks everyone! I've been bad lately with follow-up comments. :( Okay, Springfield readers. Email me if you're serious about a cookie exchange. Not at a bar, though. Coffee shop?

    Sue, WHAT?! That's outrageous.

    t, yes!!

    Rachel, I remember the blackbird pie!

    Robin, wow! Thank you so much for stopping by! I'm flattered. Becky's bars were excellent. I changed the frosting just a tad... I think I added more cream cheese. I wrote the recipe out just how I write recipes, so I didn't used the exact wording. That's very useful! I should check that out.

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  39. I agree--cookie cookbooks are one of the best for sure! I most likely would have bookmarked the pumpkin bar recipe--sounds delish! :-)

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  40. I've not done a cookie exchange, but would love to try this. Will do so, someday.

    The frosted pumpkin bars looked great!

    Carmen

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  41. Hi Emily,
    More cream cheese ...always makes everything better. :) Let me know if you pull a cookie exchange party together.

    Once you have a CE, you'll always want to do it and the holidays wouldn't be the same with it!
    Robin

    PS) If your friends are not bakers, just send them some recipes listed as easy from TCPC.

    Get ideas from the CE Photo Gallery, over 300 parties online.

    http://www.cookie-exchange.com/exchanges/index.html

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  42. These look awesome! A cookie exchange sounds awesome! I'm in the Ft. Leonard Wood area and could participate but am going to be gone most of December. :-( Good luck though. And thanks for the book review. It looks awesome!

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  43. That is pretty awesome you get asked to review cookbooks!! These bars look super yummy!

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  44. I made these pumpkin bars for my husband's football team and they were a huge hit! I almost didn't get one for myself.

    Hey, how about hosting a virtual cookie exchange here on your blog?

    I love your site. Thank you!

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  45. Ahhhh, it's pumpkin madness--run for your life (to Emily's place)! ;)

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