MAKES: 36 servings TESTED BY: Sammy M.
085 Pumpkin Bars
TASTING COMMENTS:
Oil is the key to the moist tenderness of these bars. Unlike melted butter, oil does not firm up when combined with the other ingredients, so it coats the flour granules for a more evenly textured bar.—SM
prep 25 minutes bake 25 minutes at 350°F cool 2 hourS
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1½ cups granulated sugar
- 2 tsp. baking powder
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- ½ tsp. salt
- ¼ tsp. ground cloves
- 4 eggs, lightly beaten
- 1 15-oz. can pumpkin
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 recipe Browned Butter Frosting or Cream Cheese Frosting (see recipe)
Unlike butter, the mild flavor of oil allows strong feature flavors, such as pumpkin and spices, to shine through in bars and cakes. Butter is better in recipes with mild feature flavors, such as yellow cake.
1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large bowl stir together the first seven ingredients (through cloves). Add eggs, pumpkin, and oil; stir until combined. Spread batter in an ungreased 15×10-inch baking pan.
2. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool in pan on a wire rack 2 hours.
3. Spread with Browned Butter Frosting. Cut into bars. Cover and store bars in the refrigerator up to 3 days.
Browned Butter Frosting In a small saucepan heat ⅓ cup butter over low heat until melted. Continue heating until butter turns a light golden brown, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. In a large mixing bowl combine 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 Tbsp. milk, and 1 tsp. vanilla. Add browned butter. Beat with a mixer on medium until spreading consistency, adding additional milk if necessary. Makes about 1½ cups.
Per serving 178 cal., 8 g fat (2 g sat. fat), 28 mg chol., 109 mg sodium, 25 g carb., 1 g fiber, 19 g sugars, 2 g pro.
Applesauce-Cranberry Bars Prepare Pumpkin Bars as directed, except substitute ½ cup honey for ½ cup of the granulated sugar, substitute one 15-oz. jar (1¾ cups) applesauce for the pumpkin, and stir 1 cup dried cranberries and/or dried tart cherries into the batter. Lightly sprinkle frosted bars with ground cinnamon.
Cream Cheese Swirl-Pumpkin Bars Prepare as directed in Step 1. In a medium bowl combine half of an 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened, and ¼ cup granulated sugar. Beat on medium until combined. Beat in 1 egg and 1 Tbsp. milk. Drizzle cream cheese mixture over pumpkin batter. Using a table knife or thin metal spatula, gently cut through batters to swirl them (do not overmix). Sprinkle batter with ½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate baking pieces. Continue as directed in Steps 2 and 3, except omit Browned Butter Frosting.
Nutty Caramel-Pumpkin Bars Prepare Pumpkin Bars as directed in Step 1. In a small bowl stir together 1½ cups chopped pecans, toasted (see tip), and ⅓ cup caramel ice cream topping. Spoon nut mixture over batter. Continue as directed in Steps 2 and 3, except use only half of the Browned Butter Frosting (chill or freeze the remaining frosting and use it to frost your favorite cupcakes). Stir milk into frosting to make drizzling consistency. Drizzle over cooled bars.
TESTING NOTES
1. It sounds fancy, but browned butter is simply butter melted on the stove top until the milk solids begin to turn a lovely golden brown color. Once it starts to brown, it can go from just right to burned quickly, so pull the pan off the heat as soon as it gets to the right color.
2. Your frosting should be smooth, spreadable, and soft enough that it doesn’t pull up the top of the bars as you apply the frosting. If your frosting seems too stiff, just add additional milk, 1 Tbsp. at a time, to reach the desired consistency.
