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Easy Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

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Easy pumpkin barsย with cream cheese frosting are the perfect fall dessert, especially for the pumpkin lover.

The classic pumpkin bar recipe is easy to make and is a hit during the fall and winter holidays.

The smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves will fill your kitchen with the warmth of the season. 

The Best Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a delicious dessert for the winter holidays.

I absolutely love the fall and all that comes with it. Most of my growing up years were in Denver, and I lived for the beginning of fall.

The leaves are changing, the cool weather settling in, and the wonderful smells of pumpkin, cinnamon, nutmeg, and clove spices filled the air.

All of the stores start carrying pumpkin spice everything, and the world just seems to be at peace. At least in my little pumpkin fall world.

This easy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting recipe is the perfect treat to get in the mood for the holidays, or really for any time of the year. It’s just like cake, and I know y’all are going to love it.ย 

It’s a great pumpkin bar recipe with canned pumpkin that is perfect for parties and potlucks (or to just keep at home and eat).

Pumpkin spice cake recipe is easy and quick to make and has a delicious cream cheese frosting.

Ingredients Needed For Pumpkin Bars With Cream Cheese Frosting

Pumpkin bars

  • Eggs
  • Vegetable oil
  • Granulated sugar
  • Canned pumpkin
  • All-purpose flour
  • Baking soda
  • Baking powder
  • Salt
  • Cinnamon
  • Ground cloves
  • Nutmeg
  • Ground ginger

Frosting

  • Whipped cream cheese
  • Butter (softened)
  • Milk or heavy cream
  • Powdered sugar

How To Make Pumpkin Bars

  1. Add the eggs, oil, sugar, canned pumpkin, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices to a large bowl and mix well.
  2. Pour into a greased and floured 9″ x 13″ baking dish.
  3. Bake, cool, and top with frosting.

Printable recipe with measurements and instructions listed in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.

Step-By-Step Instructions

Pumpkin Spice Bars

Pumpkin spice bars is a great dessert.

Add the eggs to a large mixing bowl.

For this recipe, I used a stand mixer. If you use a stand mixer, the whisk attachment or paddle attachment works great.

You can also use a hand mixer if that’s what you have.

Oil and eggs in a pumpkin cake will add a lot of moisture for a delicious cake.

Next, add the vegetable oil.

You know the bars will be moist with the addition of oil and egg. Good stuff. 

Pumpkin spice cake is a wonderful holiday treat for the fall.

Pour the sugar into the bowl.

Pumpkin is a great addition to any cake and is perfect for the fall and Christmas holidays.

Add the canned pumpkin puree and mix it all up. 

Things just got good. Wouldn’t y’all say? If I just smell pumpkin and spice, I get super excited. Don’t y’all love the simple things?

They just make life worth living, and they bring back memories of our childhood helping in the kitchen.ย 

Pumpkin spice bars mix is a delicious dessert.

Add the flour. 

The fall and Christmas holidays are the perfect time to bake a pumpkin cake recipe.

Next, add the salt, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon, and mix it all together. 

Are you getting excited? 

I love the colors of fall, too. Browns and pumpkin orange. Makes me want to go get a sweater.

But alas, down here in Florida, it will be four more months before it gets chilly.ย 

Spices are the perfect addition to a pumpkin cake.

Add the nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. 

I really am in love with these spices. Whoever came up with this combination really should be rewarded. 

These are all pumpkin pie spice flavors. You can buy pumpkin pie spice if you like that, but I like to add the individual spices, as they add more flavor.

Pumpkin and cake mix go together perfectly.

Mix everything together.

Pour the pumpkin cake mix into the pan to bake.

Pour the pumpkin bars mix into a prepared pan.

You can either use a casserole dish or a 15 inch by 10 inch jelly roll pan for this mix.ย 

Bake the pumpkin spice cake mix for 35 to 40 minutes.

Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until the cake tester comes out clean. 

If you don’t have a cake tester, just use a knife or toothpick. If it comes out clean, you’re in great shape! 

Your kitchen should smell pretty amazing by now. Better than any candle could ever do. 

Pumpkin spice cake

Set the bars aside to cool. 

Ain’t it pretty? This easy pumpkin bars and cream cheese frosting recipe can feed quite a few people for dessert. 

Rich Cream Cheese Frosting

Y’all are gonna love this rich cream cheese frosting. It’s super easy and works great on a lot of cakes. You can even add a little bit of cinnamon for added zing.ย 

After the cake cools…

Cream cheese frosting is a great cake topper.

Add the cream cheese to a separate large bowl.ย 

Butter makes frostings creamy and adds a rich flavor.

Add the softened butter. 

Butter really adds a rich and creamy flavor to this frosting. You really can’t ever go wrong with butter. 

Milk, butter, and cream cheese create a very creamy and delicious cream cheese frosting.

Add the milk. 

I used 2% milk, but you can use skim if you’d like to save a few calories or add heavy cream to make it even richer.ย 

If you decide to use skim, it will still taste incredibly rich. 

Powdered sugar cream cheese frosting

Add the powdered sugar. 

I always feel like I don’t have enough liquid and that the powdered sugar will clump up. Mix it all up before you add anything to it because you’ll be surprised at how well it creams. 

If you need to, you can add a small amount of milk, but only add a tiny bit at a time, or you might end up with runny frosting. But in that case, you can add more powdered sugar.ย 

Does it almost feel like that time you cut your bangs crooked, and then you had to cut them again and again. You know how it ends.

But in this case, it ends well. Frosting always ends well, right?

OPTIONAL: If you want to add a touch more fall flavor to the icing, you can add a teaspoon of maple syrup or a teaspoon of ground cinnamon.

Cream cheese frosting is rich and creamy and easy to make.

The frosting gets a lovely sheen on top.

Spread the cream cheese frosting on the bars.

Quick and easy pumpkin spice cake

All done! 

So now your kitchen smells amazing, and you just have to decide if you want to take the pumpkin spice bars with cream cheese frosting to a party or keep them home all to yourself.

We have to make tough decisions in life. 

Pumpkin Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting is a delicious dessert for the winter and Christmas holidays

How To Store The Easy Pumpkin Bars

Store the pumpkin bars in an airtight container or cover with plastic wrap and keep them in the refrigerator.

More Delicious Pumpkin Desserts

  • Classic pumpkin pie – this might just be one of the all-time favorite pumpkin recipes with plenty of pumpkin spice flavor.
  • Cream cheese brownies with pumpkin – there’s nothing like rich chocolate and pumpkin mixed together in a delicious dessert.
  • Pumpkin dump cake – this might just become one of your fall favorites with plenty of decadent sweet pumpkin flavor.
  • Pumpkin roll – pumpkin roll is a fall staple. It’s the perfect dessert for that time of year when the leaves are falling, and you need a wonderful recipe.
  • Pumpkin cheesecake bars – the bars are perfect during pumpkin season and are a decadent treat.
  • Pumpkin sheet cake from Six Sisters’ Stuff is a recipe that is worthy of a Thanksgiving dessert.

The Best Pumpkin Bars

Delicious pumpkin bars are super easy to make, bring out the fall flavors, and are perfect for any gathering, including potlucks, fall parties, or a Halloween party.

This easy pumpkin bars with cream cheese is one of the easiest pumpkin desserts out there.

Easy Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

5 from 1 vote
Julie Pollitt
Easy pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting are a wonderful fall dessert. This is a quick and moist cake recipe that everyone will love during the winter holidays. The smells of cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves will fill your kitchen with the warmth of the season.ย 
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 35 minutes
Chill Time 30 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 25 minutes
Course Desserts
Cuisine American
Servings 20 pieces
Calories 271 kcal

Ingredients
  

Pumpkin bars

  • 4 eggs
  • 3/4 cup vegetable oil
  • 1-1/2 cups sugar
  • 15 ounce can pumpkin
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Frosting

  • 4 Tablespoons whipped cream cheese
  • 1 Tablespoon butter softened
  • 2 Tablespoons milk
  • 2 cups powdered sugar

Instructions
 

  • Preheat oven to 350-degrees and grease and flour a 9" x 13" casserole dish or 10 inch or 15 inch jelly roll pan.

Pumpkin Bars

  • Mix the eggs and oil together in a large bowl.
  • Add the sugar, pumpkin, flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and spices and mix well.
  • Bake for 35-40 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.
  • Let cake cool.

Frosting

  • Add the cream cheese, butter, and milk to a medium-sized bowl.
  • Add the powdered sugar and mix until creamy.
  • Spread on cake bars.

Notes

Nutrition includes cake and frosting.
If you want to add a little more flavor to the frosting you can add one teaspoon of maple syrup or one teaspoon of cinnamon.
You can use either a 10 inch by 15 inch jelly roll pan or a 9 inch by 13 inch baking dish for the recipe.

Nutrition

Serving: 1pieceCalories: 271kcalCarbohydrates: 42gProtein: 3gFat: 11gSaturated Fat: 2gPolyunsaturated Fat: 8gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 191mgFiber: 1gSugar: 31g
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

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