Pumpkin Bars topped with light and fluffy cream cheese frosting is a Fall Favorite.

We have shared a bunch of pumpkin desserts and treats over the years, but these perfectly soft pumpkin bars with whipped cream cheese frosting are one of my favorites this time of year. The frosting just melts in your mouth. These pumpkin bars are so so good a must make this fall.

Ingredients:

For the Pumpkin Bars:

all-purpose flour
baking soda
salt
cinnamon
ground nutmeg
ground ginger
ground cloves
butter, cut into cubes
packed light brown sugar
granulated sugar
1 can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
2 eggs
vanilla extract
For the Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 8oz. package cream cheese, softened at room temperature
1 stick of butter, at room temperature
powdered sugar
vanilla extract

How to make Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting:

Preheat your oven to 350 F.
Grease a jelly roll pan. Rub the end of a cold stick of butter all over your baking pan to make it non stick.
Mix Together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves.
Melt the butter: melt the butter in the microwave for 1 minute. Let the butter cool before adding it to the wet ingredients.
Mix together the wet ingredients: brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla to the melted butter then whisk together until well combined.
Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir to combine.
Pour and spread: the pumpkin batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake: for 20-25 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, it is finished baking.
Out of the oven, let it cool completely in the pan.
Make the Cream Cheese Frosting: Using an electric stand mixer (or hand mixer): Add the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla to a large mixing bowl. Mix on low speed until combined. Once the powdered sugar is blended in, increase the speed to high and whip until the frosting is light and fluffy… about 2 to 3 minutes of mix time.
Spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled pumpkin bars. Cut into squares.

Store + Chill or Freeze:

Store these pumpkin bars in the fridge in the pan they are baked in. Cover with a lid that fits the pan or foil or plastic wrap over the top. When the frosting is still soft, it’s best to store them in a single layer.
Freeze: You can freeze these bars in the pan they come in, or once chilled, cut into squares and freeze in an airtight container. You can freeze up to 3 months.

Tips and Tricks for success with this recipe:

Let the butter and cream cheese come to room temperature. It takes about 30 minutes for both to come to room temperature out of the fridge.
Use a jelly pan, not a standard sheet pan. A jelly pan is 10×15 inches. A half sheet pan is 13×18 inches (this is what most people use).
Out of the oven, let the pumpkin bars cool completely, before frosting them, so the frosting doesn’t melt.
Make sure you are using pumpkin puree, and not canned pumpkin filling
Use pumpkin pie spice (if you prefer), one tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice can be swapped for the spices listed in the recipe.
Cut the bars before chilling in the fridge. These bars are easier to cut when they are at room temp.

Change it up with these recipe variations:

Add mini semi sweet chocolate chips to the batter (about 1 cup)
Add nuts (pecans or walnuts), you can add them into the batter before baking, or you can add them to the top of the frosted bars before the frosting is set.
Make browned butter. Rather than just melting the butter in the microwave, you can brown the butter in a sauce pan. This will add a nice flavor. Just make sure to let the butter cool before adding it to the wet ingredients (so the eggs don’t scramble).

Pumpkin Sheet Cake vs. Pumpkin Bars:

These pumpkin bars are really similar to a pumpkin sheet cake. To make them feel more like bars than cake, the trick is to let them chill in the fridge. Once chilled in the fridge, they firm up and then can be handheld to eat like a dessert bar. If you don’t want to wait for them to chill, enjoy them more like a cake and eat them on a plate with a fork.

The Best Pumpkin Bars

Perfectly soft pumpkin bars with whipped cream cheese frosting.

Course Dessert

Keyword pumpkin bars

Author Kami | NoBiggie.net

Ingredients

Pumpkin Bars:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup butter cut into cubes
1 cup light brown sugar packed
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 15oz. can pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Cream Cheese Frosting:

1 8oz. package cream cheese softened at room temperature
8 tablespoons butter (1 stick) at room temperature
3 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

For the Pumpkin Bars:

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Grease a 15x10inch jelly roll pan.
In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves. Set aside.
Place butter in a microwave safe bowl (covered with a paper napkin or paper towel). Heat in microwave until melted (1 minute +). Let the melted butter cool slightly.
Add brown sugar, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree, eggs and vanilla extract to melted butter and whisk until well combined.
Add the flour mixture in with the wet ingredients. Stir mixture with a rubber scraper until combined, scraping down the sides to make sure it's all mixed in.
Pour and spread the pumpkin batter evenly into the prepared baking pan.
Bake for 20-25 minutes. When a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, it is ready.
Out of the oven, let it cool completely in the pan.

For the Cream Cheese Frosting:

Using an electric stand mixer (or hand mixer), add the cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla into the mixing bowl.
Mix on low speed until combined. Once the powdered sugar is blended in, increase the speed to high and whip until the frosting is light and fluffy… about 2 to 3 minutes of mix time.
Spread the cream cheese frosting over the cooled pumpkin bars. Cut into squares.

Making This Recipe? Tag us on Instagram: @NoBiggie using the hashtag #NoBiggieRecipes, so we can see what you are making in the kitchen!