Easy Pumpkin Bars
TIPS: I usually frost these right in the pan. It’s best to have all your ingredients at room temperature. Be sure to aerate your flour before measuring.- Jenny Jones
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes
Makes: 12 -16 bars
Ingredients:
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2/3 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup vegetable oil (I use avocado oil)
- 2 eggs
- Frosting:
- 1 ounce cream cheese at room temperature
- 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 3-4 teaspoons milk
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 350° F.
- Line a 9-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper.
- Sift the dry ingredients onto wax paper or into a bowl. Set aside.
- With an electric hand mixer, beat the pumpkin, sugar, oil & eggs for 30 seconds.
- On low speed stir in the dry ingredients, mixing for 30 seconds until smooth.
- Spread evenly into pan, smoothing the top. Bake for 18 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool completely and frost. Keep refrigerated.
- Frosting: In a small bowl, beat the first 4 ingredients and slowly add the milk until it's spreading consistency.
Note: I can never get the top to bake perfectly smooth but it does not affect the great taste.
I’m thinking of making this in a loaf pan. Any thoughts on how that would turn out? PS love all your recipes!
Jenny Jones,
Hi,I just copied down your easy pumpkin bars recipe and I am going to make your bars at home as soon as I buy the better,vegetable oil or avocado oil and after I finish baking it I will let you know how much my family and guests enjoy eating the bars.
These pumpkin bars are wonderful. I highly recommend them.
Do you have a recipe for whole wheat crackers ?
Bless You Jenny & Happy New Year. Your are so generous for taking such great care of us who enjoy baking….your recipes are “the” place to go. Made this recipe 2 times – 2 ways over the holiday and it came out perfectly —- everyone loved it.
FIRST BAKE: Made exactly as published (square pan – cut to 16 servings).
SECOND BAKE: Made sugar-free version for people on a special diet & made changes that were really VERY easy (*described in reply to Glenda’s question below on Nov 11). Also added 2 Cups of FRESH Cranberries & 1/2 Cup Semisweet Mini Morsels (leftovers from other recipes). Batter amount grew, so baked in a 10″ round pan at same temp and kept checking until the toothpick was clean. Cut in squares like “Chicago-Style Pizza” so I could get the most slices possible. Your recipes just plain WORK!
THANKYOU THANKYOU THANKYOU for simple and delicious recipes that work every time.
PaulaWI am a diabetic type 2,how did you make the pumpkin bars with no sugar.What did you use in place of sugar.
Kim
Thank you for all your wonderful and easy recipes!
i am a diabete and would like thecalorie count
You’d need to have the carb count. You know you can’t have sugar, but what would you be able to substitute.
Scrumptious!! Just the right everything. Toasted some walnuts and sprinkled them liberally on top. Will try pecans next time. Big hit with the family. Thank you, Jennie, for a healthier, delicious cake!
Love to have your lemon bar recipe
Would doubling this recipe and making this into a “loaf” instead of bars work well?
Love all of the bread & cake recipes so much, but the recipes are on the small side for our family. I tripled the coconut cake (mmmm?) recipe and the 3 cakes were excellent! Thanks Jenny, YOU’RE THE BEST!
This past Thanksgiving I’d got the ingredients to make your pumpkin pie Jenny only to realize we couldn’t have folks in due to the UNOWHATDEMIC….Along comes this perfect recipe, so I’ll get to use the pumpkin AND guess what folks will be getting as baked goods for Christmas even if I have to leave it on their doorstep. Enjoy your cooksite lotss!!!!
Glad that I found you again , please keep up with the recipes love your bubbly personality .
I added some chopped fresh cranberries to boost some adfitional vitamins. lol
My Easy Pumpkin Bars did not turn out. Maybe it was the size can of pumpkin I was taking 2/3rds from. What size can are you referring to? Mine end result was like a heavy pumpkin pie, not a bread like lite texture. It took 40 minutes to cook.
2/3 cup not can…. try again William!
Easy Mistake..
Donna
It was 2/3 cup, not 2/3 of the can.
It calls for be 2/3 cup not 2/3 of a can. That’s why they did t come out
I’ve made it 5 times!!!
Love it
Dear Jenny
I can’t eat for more than 3 years due to several surgeries in my mouth for recurrent cancer but I always enjoy watching you on You tube for all your recipes and your upbeat attitudes. Please keep it going.
I love your recipes, Jenny, keep them coming.my husband and I grow pumpkins and winter squash every year and sell them.I going to use some of our pumpkins for this recipe.
how can l make this without any sugar?
Try half light brown sugar and half Splenda light brown sugar and increase baking powder to 1 tsp and baking powder to 3/4 tsp. Using all Splenda will work but the cake rise will be less.
Brown sugar is sugar.
Can us honey instead right?
Hi Glenda,
These pumpkin bars are supposed to be easy…..and my suggestions might make it less so:
1. For the icing, you can use one of many powdered sugar-free sweeteners found on the web. My suggestion (what I would use) for natural sweetener and to keep the cost down a little is to buy granulated Erythritol or Lakanto (monk fruit and erythritol) and use a blender (I use Vitamix). to powder what you need. Then use the leftover as needed for upcoming recipes (in either granulated or powdered form).
2. For the cake, use granulated form of the sweetener, as packaged.
This will be truly sugar free (zero calorie, even though Erythritol is a sugar alcahol).
.Hope this helps and happy baking…..
– Paula
This looks amazing, and I’ll be trying it this week. HOWEVER, I won’t add chocolate chips. Much as I love those little jewels in so many applications, some recipes are just fine without them. I couldn’t imagine adding them to anything pumpkin, but that’s just me. You’re a royal treasure, Jenny, keep doing what you’re doing. Happy Holidays!
I agree with all of the above. But Jenny, your making out good with the choc chip incentive!
Try butterscotch chips instead. So good with pumpkin!
Her recipe above the comments, doesn’t have chocolate chips in it.
I’ve been making your (now my) lemon bars. Sometimes, orange or lime or combined. I have the recipe
by now. We’re getting some pumpkin this week and am looking forward to more success.
Mahalo (we live in Hawaii)
Rose
Jenny, I made these today. They were sooooo good. Frosting and all was just perfect. I did add some chopped walnuts on my piece. O.K. two pieces…:)
Just what we were hungry for! Thank you so much.
I made this cake today in an 8×8 pan. Had to bake 5 minutes longer. It turned out great and will be a keeper. Thanks for the recipe.
So did I and I had to bake it a little longer.
Sounds delicious Jenny and I think I’ll try using carrots instead of pumpkin. I’ve had a hankering for carrot cake!!
Just made these in an 8 x 8 pan – took 35 mins. at 350. They were OK next time definitely bump up the spices.
Oh these look too delicious to wait for Thanksgiving. I have to try to bake these tomorrow. I will post again after I make them.
No questions Jenny.
Just a great big huge Thank you..
You’re GREAT.
Jenny you are the best. I have always loved you in the past and will continue to adore you and I love all your recipes and videos. I have never had a bad recipe outcome from you. Keep them coming.
Most Fondly,
Lynn
Jenny, you are a gem. Your recipes actually work every single time (!), your generosity and humanity are refreshing, and your style is somehow relatable yet inspiring…you are a gift, and we appreciate you!
Jenny, you crack me up. I also love your recipes and your videos (just wish you’d do more of them)!
I make a 9×9 cake almost identical to this but I use whole wheat pastry flour. I like to add 1/2 C. raisins. I refrigerate it overnight and then it is so moist.
Thanks for all the recipes, Jenny – I love your style of cooking!!
And I just froze 20, 3c bags of pumpkin for my winter pies!
Guess I’ll just have to make a BIG pan of squares.
These look great, but I think nuts would be a nice addition rather than chocolate. Naturally I love walnuts (even white raisins) – pecans would work too.
Yes! I just stocked up on canned pumpkin. Jenny, I used to bake oatmeal pumpkin cookies by the hundreds of dozens for the high school football team my husband used to coach. The original recipe called for chocolate chips but I used BUTTERSCOTCH chips instead. I think the color and flavor of butterscotch blends better with pumpkin, and so did the football team! Thx for the pumpkin bar recipe! ?
Hi Jody,
Would you share your oatmeal pumpkin cookie recipe??
It sounds wonderful!!
Happy holidays!!
Thanks Jenny, ‘tis the pumpkin season and I’ll be trying these real soon. They look delicious!!!!
Stay healthy.
That sounds so good, im going to get a try. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
Yum! I baked 2 pans which used all the canned pumpkin & made my 80 year old neighbors quite happy 😉
I skipped the frosting, dusting with spiced powdered sugar instead. I also added chopped & floured medjool dates to my keeper…tho choc. chips were tempting!
Good, easy, fragrant ~ atta girl, Jenny!!
Oooohhh, dates sound like a perfect match.
yes can i make this recipe gluen free
I have doubled this recipe for 9×13 pan..used parchment paper..tripled the frosting ingredients…very good
How long did you bake the 9 x 12?
Baked at 350 for how long?
Sounds wonderful. Will be making these pumpkin bars soon.
Thank you!
I have doubled this recipe for 9×13 pan..used parchment paper..tripled the frosting ingredients…very good
Thanks Jenny. Perfect timing for a pumpkin recipe, especially an easy one. Love you!!