Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars

Name: Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 40 min
Yield: 20
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 4 eggs, room temperature; 1 2/3 cup sugar; 1 cup vegetable oil; 15 oz. can pumpkin; 2 cups all-purpose flour, sifted; 2 tsp. baking powder; 2 tsp. cinnamon; 1 tsp. salt; 1 tsp. baking soda; 8 oz. package cream cheese; 1/2 cup butter, softened at room temperature; 2 cups powdered sugar, sifted; 1 tsp. vanilla extract

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Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars are the best ever! Moist and lightly spiced, this recipe is a must for your fall baking list! Top these easy pumpkin bars with a delicious cream cheese icing and enjoy with a tall glass of milk or cup of tea!

Paula Deen's pumpkin bars, cut into squares and frosted with a cream cheese icing rosette sitting on a white plate.

Are you a pumpkin lover? If not, this recipe might just convert you!

I've tried many pumpkin bar recipes and this one is THE BEST EVER! I turned to Paula Deen for this wonderful recipe. The original recipe for Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars calls for spreading the frosting on the entire cake. We love to cut them up and pipe the icing on individually using a 1M piping tip. So easy!

You can do whatever you like with this delicious cream cheese icing. It can be spread over the cooled cake or piped into pretty rosettes.

Close up image of pumpkin bars on white plate.

If you haven't quite embraced the fact that FALL is around the corner, this pumpkin bar will definitely get you in the spirit!

If you're looking for other delicious pumpkin recipes, you have to try Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread. The recipe makes two loaves and it is out of this world!

YOU'LL LOVE THIS RECIPE!

I love how quick and easy it is to put together. Wet ingredients, dry ingredients, then add one to the other. What could be easier?
If you're looking for a fall baking recipe that will please the whole family, this is it!
the ingredients are pretty basic. I always like to keep a can of pumpkin on hand. If you don't have one, grab that and the cream cheese. Everything else is pantry staples.

INGREDIENTS & SUBSTITUTIONS

Ingredients for Pumpkin Bar Recipe in small bowls with text overlay on each ingredient.

Eggs - use large eggs at room temperature. Take the eggs out of the refrigerator about an hour before you being making the recipe.
Granulated Sugar
Vegetable oil
Pure Pumpkin - double check the label when you buy the pumpkin. It should say 'pure pumpkin' and not 'pumpkin pie filling'. The texture and flavors are completely different!
All Purpose flour
Baking powder
Ground cinnamon
Salt
Baking Soda
Cream Cheese - I like to use the regular cream cheese, however I've also used the light cream cheese for the frosting.
Butter - for the icing should be softened at room temperature. Take it out of the refrigerator one hour before you start the recipe.
Powdered sugar
Vanilla extract - I always recommend using pure vanilla extract. Artificial vanilla extract will also work just fine in a pinch.

STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Pumpkin, oil, eggs and sugar in mixing bowl of stand mixer with spatula.

I used my stand mixer for these pumpkin bars. You can also use a hand-held electric mixer, or even mix it by hand. (a bit of a workout).

Combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin and beat it until light and fluffy. I beat it for about a minute and half.

In a separate mixing bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda and salt.

dry ingredients are added to wet ingredients in stand mixer bowl.

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture all at once. Mix on low speed until combined.

Pumpkin bar batter is spread into a greased 9 x 13 inch baking dish.

Spread the batter into prepared 9×13 inch baking pan.

Bake in 350°F oven for 30 minutes.

Test with cake tester or toothpick to ensure that the bars are fully cooked in the middle of the baking dish. They may need an extra 5 minutes of baking time.

Let cool completely before frosting. If you don't cool completely and frost the bars while they're still too warm, the icing will be runny and not set properly.

Cream cheese, butter and powdered sugar in bowl from stand mixer with whisk attachment.

While bars are cooling make the cream cheese icing.

For the icing: I like to use the whisk attachment on my stand mixer or you can use the regular beaters on an electric hand mixer. You can also do it by hand if you don't have a mixer.

Beat the cream cheese and butter on medium-high speed until it's smooth.

Gradually add in the powdered sugar and mix at low speed until combined.

Add vanilla and give it a final mix on medium speed until it's nice and creamy and the right spreadable consistency.

Next, you have two options. You can either spread the icing on the bars, then cut into bars or pipe the icing using a 1M (or any large star piping tip) onto the tops of the bars.

If you like, give them a little dusting of cinnamon to make them even prettier!

Close up image of Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars with a rosette of cream cheese frosting.

Can you freeze pumpkin bars?

Yes, pumpkin bars can be frozen for up to two months. Freeze cooled bars, without icing in an airtight freezer-safe container.

Are pumpkin bars supposed to be refrigerated?

If the pumpkin bars are frosted with cream cheese icing, they should be refrigerated for up to four days.

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