Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

I just love the scent of pumpkin spice. I crave the scents of  fall. These fabulous Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars from the blog Faithfulness Farm  are wonderful for a Thanksgiving dessert. The recipe makes a 10" x 15" pan, so be prepared to share.  I made a trial batch for my office, and I asked them to rate them. They gave the bars five stars out of five!!

Recipe for Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars:

Bars:

2-1/4 cups flour
1-1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
16 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup rolled quick oats

Filling:
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1-3/4 cups pumpkin puree
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1-1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 large eggs

Glaze drizzle:

1 cup confectioners' sugar

1 tablespoon butter, softened

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

1 to 2 tablespoons milk

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, pumpkin pie spice. In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and molasses until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl. Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10" x 15" baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray. Add the oats to the reserved mixture and mix until combined - set aside.

 

For the filling, in a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, pumpkin pie spice and mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top. Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

 

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

 

For glaze drizzle, in a small bowl, mix together confectioners' sugar, butter and vanilla. Mix in just enough milk until the mixture will easily flow from a spoon - drizzle over cooled bars.

I am joining Alison at The Polohouse for Favorite Thanksgiving Recipes and Rattlebridge Farm for Foodie Friday.
Thank you for stopping by!

 Debbie