Friday, June 24, 2011

Pumpkin Bars + Father's Day

I know it's not really the season for something pumpkin, but I made these as a fun treat for my hubby on Father's Day anyway. I thought he would like the surprise and he did! A friend of mine made these for our bible study dessert one week way back in the fall so I already knew the recipe was a winner. She got the recipe from Paula Deen. I did not make the icing. I wanted it to be more of a breakfast treat and thought the icing would make it a bit too sweet. It was delicious just like I remembered even without the icing and will definitely be used again come fall time.

Here is the recipe for Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars:

Ingredients: 
Bars: 
4 eggs
1 2/3 granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15 ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all purpose flour (I did not sift..)
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing: 
8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions: 
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.
Spread the batter into a greased 13x10 in baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool completely before frosting.
Cut into bars.
To make the icing:
Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again.
Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

I did not cut it into bars. We just cut as we ate them. :) It was yum and moist. I actually forgot to take a picture of it, but I did snap a few pictures of my little one helping me make something sweet for her daddy! :)



And then of the two of them on father's day. :)