Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

I saw this yummy Paula Dean recipe on The Sisters' Cafe and decided to give it a try for my church recipe swap this week (which had a "pumpkin recipe" theme - check out the other recipes here). I have always loved the combination of pumpkin and cheesecake and these bars were delicious...and you know they were easy to make if I didn't mess them up :-)!
(I followed Mindy's suggestion to split the batter between 2 9x13 pans and thought they turned out perfectly)

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan (I used 9x13). Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

2 comments:

Heidi said...

YUMMY!

Shari said...

I'm linking a post to this recipe today on my blog. These look amazing. Check it out when you get the chance. :)