Pumpkin Bars with Creamy Cinnamon Frosting

Even though apple is my favorite Fall flavor, spiced pumpkin is a very close second!

I’ve been making these bars for years, so I thought it was high time I shared them here on the website.

They’re so tender and moist, and easy to make!

And if you love cream cheese frosting, this cinnamon spiced cream cheese frosting is so out of this world irresistible.

I hope these pumpkin bars make an appearance in your Fall baking line up; I know you’ll love them!

What do I need to make this recipe?

• Flour – nothing fancy, just regular all purpose flour.
• Baking powder – this is one type of chemical leavener, which allows the bars to rise and be light.
• Ground cinnamon – you may notice cinnamon is in the photo twice; that’s because it’s used in both the bars, and the frosting.
• Baking soda – another type of chemical leavener, which contributes to the fluffiness of the bars.
• Ground nutmeg – nutmeg adds a subtle warmth and depth of flavor to the bars.
• Salt – salt is crucial in baking recipes, as it elevates all of the other flavors, enhancing the sweet flavor.
• Eggs – this recipe was developed and tested using large eggs.
• Granulated sugar – this sugar is used to sweeten the pumpkin bars.
• Oil – vegetable oil is the preferred oil to use, as it’s neutral in flavor.
• Pumpkin – make sure you aren’t using canned pumpkin pie filling; you can’t use that in this recipe, just 100% pure pumpkin puree!
• Cream cheese – this recipe was developed and tested using full fat cream cheese (Philadelphia brand is my favorite).
• Butter – I prefer to use unsalted butter, so the frosting doesn’t end up slightly salty.
• Vanilla – real vanilla extract is best, rather than the clear imitation stuff.
• Powdered sugar – this type of sugar is used in the frosting, as it won’t give the frosting a grainy texture.

How to make pumpkin bars with cinnamon frosting:

This is just an overview; the full ingredients and directions are in the recipe card toward the bottom of this post.

1. Whisk dry ingredients. This may seem like an unnecessary step, but it allows the dry ingredients to incorporate better into the batter later.
2. Mix wet ingredients. In this recipe, that’s the eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin.
3. Combine. Add the dry ingredients into the wet, and mix until just combined.
4. Transfer to baking pan. I love to use my pan release to grease the pan, so the bars will just pop right out.
5. Bake. All ovens baked differently, so use the baking time listed in the recipe card below as a guideline.
6. Mix butter and cream cheese. Beating them with a mixer combines them until fluffy and smooth.
7. Add sugar and cinnamon. Beat in slowly so the sugar doesn’t get everywhere.
8. Frost and serve. Use a butter knife, spoon, rubber spatula, or offset spatula to spread the frosting onto the cooled bars.

Variations of this recipe

• Different frosting – try experimenting with different frosting flavors if you’d like. This browned butter frosting from my pumpkin whoopie pies goes perfectly with these bars.
• Drizzled – if you feel like being extra decadent, try drizzling some chocolate or caramel sauce (this homemade caramel is our favorite!) over the top of these bars!
• Toppings – some candied almonds or pecans are a great topping sprinkled over the top of the frosting.
• Spices – everyone has their own preferences when it comes to the amount of seasonings and spices, so please feel free to adjust the amounts of cinnamon and nutmeg.

Making pumpkin bars ahead of time

These pumpkin bars stay pretty moist for a few days, so if you’d like to make them entirely ahead of time, you certainly can.

You could also make the bars and store them unfrosted in an airtight container, and make the frosting and keep it refrigerated in an airtight container.

Give the frosting a quick blitz with a hand mixer to re-whip it, then spread over the bars and serve!

Freezing

Good news, despite the frosting, these bars can be frozen!

Cream cheese frosting has a high fat content, and the higher the fat content in dairy, the better it is to freeze.

I prefer to place the sliced and frosted bars on a parchment/wax paper lined baking sheet and freeze for an hour or two, or until hard.

This way, when you wrap the individual bars in plastic wrap, the wrap doesn’t stick to the frosting.

Then place the wrapped bars in an airtight container and freeze for up to 3-6 months. Thaw in the refrigerator and enjoy!

Storage

Leftover bars should be refrigerated in an airtight container for up to 5 days.

Normally I don’t recommend storing baked goods in the refrigerator (since it can potentially cause them to dry out), but with the cream cheese frosting, they need refrigerated.