In recent months, I have come to learn that Halloween is my daughter’s favorite holiday. Last year was her first time trick or treating and she was nervous. The idea of talking to strangers and asking them for something was a bit much. We didn’t want her to miss out on all the fun so we practiced with her. We sat down and explained how trick or treating works and then literally pretended to go through the motions with her. She was still hesitant but on the big night but she put a brave foot forward and rocked it out.
Yes, the costumes and the candy are part of the fun at Halloween. BUT, my girl loves everything about this season. She has fun making jack-o-lanterns, checking out neighborhood decorations, and eating all the pumpkin treats. Last year, she asked for my homemade pumpkin bread on a weekly basis. This year, I’m giving her another homemade option with these pumpkin bars. Thick crust, smooth pumpkin filling, crumble topping, maple glaze. I know my daughter is going to love this! I’m also confident you and yours will love it.
Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
Crust
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- ¾ cup unsalted butter, softened
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Pumpkin Filling
- 15 oz canned pumpkin puree (not pie filling)
- 1 large egg
- 3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¾ teaspoon ground allspice
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
Crumble Topping
- ⅓ cup flour
- ⅓ cup old fashioned oats
- ⅓ cup brown sugar, packed
- ¼ cup raw pecan pieces
- ¼ cup unsalted butter, melted
- ¼ teaspoon salt
Maple Glaze
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
- 1 tablespoon milk
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350° F. Line a 8×8 baking pan with parchment paper and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
- In a medium bowl, stir together all crust ingredients – mixture will be crumbly. Press mixture into pan and bake 25 minutes. While crust cools, prepare the filling and topping. Keep oven heated to 350° F.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together all pumpkin filling ingredients until smooth. In another medium bowl, stir all crumble topping ingredients together. Spread pumpkin filling over crust. Sprinkle crumble topping over pumpkin filling. Bake 45 minutes. Let cool completely.
- Once cooled, whisk maple glaze ingredients together in a small mixing bowl then drizzle over pumpkin bars. Use parchment paper to lift bars out of the pan and place on cutting board. Cut bars into 16 squares.
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