Recipe: Pumpkin pie crumb bars

This bar features a layer of pumpkin pie between what is essentially two oatmeal cookies.

Posted 1:46 a.m. Nov 8, 2013 — Updated 1:46 a.m. Nov 8, 2013

Sarah Lindenfeld Hall

I love anything pumpkin. Check that ... I love anything pumpkin except for the pumpkin alfredo pasta I made a couple of years ago. That never needs to go into my mouth again.

I've shared my recipe for pumpkin chocolate chip bread, a favorite which I also turn into muffins and mini muffins. And I'm a big fan of pumpkin pie, pumpkin soups and pumpkin cake.

But I was looking for something else pumpkin related to mix up my usual fall baking. I did my usual Google search and landed on this recipe for a pumpkin pie bar from CookingClassy.com. This bar features a layer of pumpkin pie between what is essentially two oatmeal cookies.

It's sweet and delicious and has me thinking very seriously about trying the Lemon Creme Crumb Bars also on the site. (And, I'll add, with the extra pumpkin I had left over in the can, I made a bunch of pumpkin chocolate chip mini muffins).

This recipe takes a little bit more effort than I usually make when baking, but it's well worth it.

Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars

Source: CookingClassy.com

Ingredients

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups quick or old fashioned oatmeal (I used old fashioned).

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed-light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1 pinch ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups canned pureed pumpkin

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half and half (I used evaporated milk and it came out just fine)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt and baking soda for 30 seconds. Add in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar an mix until no clumps remain. Combine melted butter and vanilla and add to mixture, then stir with a spoon until evenly moistened. Gently press half of the mixture into a greased 8 by 8-inch baking dish (a 9 by 9-inch baking dish works, but you'll need to bake it a little less) and bake in preheated oven 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir until blended. Mix in pumpkin then milk. Pour mixture over baked cookie portion and return to oven to bake 15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cookie crumb mixture over top while breaking the crumb into small bits. Transfer oven rack closer to the top-center (not directly beneath but a few levels below) and return to oven to bake about 20 - 25 minutes longer until golden on top and center only jiggles slightly. Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 hour at room temperature, then transfer to refrigerator to cool 1 hour longer.

CookingClassy.com recommends eating them warm with ice cream or topping the cooled bars with whipped cream, which we did, though it really doesn't need that extra sweetness.

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