Pumpkin Pie Bars

These pumpkin pie bars are amazing! If you like pumpkin at all, you need to make this recipe. It hasn’t really felt like pumpkin-season here in Southern California (it’s still mainly t-shirt weather), but seeing as it is almost Thanksgiving, I decided to just go ahead and make something with pumpkin! I definitely chose a great recipe to make!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

1-1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup  granulated sugar, divided

1/2 cup packed brown sugar

3/4 cup  (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter

1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked

1/2 cup  chopped walnuts

1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened

3   eggs

1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin

1 Tbsp.  pumpkin pie spice**

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 teaspoons bourbon (optional)

a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips for sprinkling on top (optional)

Heat oven to 350°F. Line a 13×9-inch pan with foil–make sure ends of foil extend over sides. Grease the foil with butter.

Mix flour, 1/4 cup of granulated sugar and brown sugar in a medium bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbles.  Stir in oats and nuts.  Reserve 1 cup of oat mixture. Press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, pumpkin and spice with mixer until well blended. Pour over crust. Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips (if desired).

Bake for 25 minutes. Let cool for 10 minutes. Use foil to transfer from pan to wire rack and cool completely.

**Substitution for pumpkin pie spice: 1 tsp. each of ground cinnamon, ground nutmeg and allspice

Source: Joy the Baker

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