I’m going to keep this post short and sweet because these bars need no introduction. It’s Fall. Which means all things pumpkin. And this recipe needs to become a staple in your repertoire.
I have no real back story except the fact that I pinned this recipe back in November 2011 (2011!). You can still read my comment on Six Sister’s Stuff post, completely enamored with how amazing these bars looked. But somewhere along the lines this recipe got lost in the Pinterest shuffle and I never got around to making them.
Fast forward seven years and a lotta pins later, I somehow managed to scroll past the Pumpkin Roll Bars recipe and knew I just had to make them. As expected, Six Sisters did not disappoint. These bars are incredible: packed with pumpkin and spices, sweet and tangy cream cheese swirls, amazingly moist, and everything you could ever want in a quintessential Fall treat.
The only reason I’m kicking myself is because I’m thinking about all of the Fall seasons that were without this dessert. But I will assure you that the seven years was well worth the wait!
Pumpkin Roll Bars
Ingredients
Pumpkin Bars
- 6 tbsp. butter, melted
- 1-1/2 c. sugar
- 2 eggs
- 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp. vanilla extra or vanilla bean paste
- 1/4 c. water
- 2 c. all purpose flour
- 2 tsp. ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1/2 tsp. ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. baking powder
- 1/4 tsp. salt
Cream Cheese Swirl
- 1 (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
- 1 egg
- 1/4 c. sugar
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste
Instructions
- Heat oven to 350º F. Spray a 13×9-inch baking pan with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.
- In a large bowl, with mixer on medium speed, beat together butter and sugar until smooth.
- Add eggs, pumpkin puree, 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract/paste, and water. Mix until well blended.
- In a small bowl, whisk together flour, cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and blend until well combined.
- For the cream cheese mixture, in a small bow, beat together cream cheese, egg, sugar, and vanilla extract/paste until smooth.
- Spread 2/3 of the pumpkin batter into the prepared baking pan. Spread all of the cream cheese mixture over the pumpkin batter. Dollop the remaining pumpkin cake batter over the cream cheese mixture and spread as evenly as possible.
- Using the handle of a butter knife, swirl together the top layer of pumpkin batter and cream cheese mixture.
- Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until the center of the pumpkin bars spring back when touched. Cool completely in pan before cutting and serving.
Notes
- You can adjust the number of servings this recipe makes simply by the way you cut the bars. A 13×9-inch pan typically yields 24 bars, but I cut them a little larger so I only got 18 bars. Personally, I liked the bigger size for this recipe and I didn’t hear any complaints!
- I mentioned vanilla bean paste in the Homemade Funfetti Birthday Cake post and I’m going to keep mentioning it until you finally get it. I just love this special ingredient and think it gives a truly homemade look to everything!
- As with all things pumpkin and spices, this dessert really kicks it in gear the following day. I love when all of the flavors really meld together, so making these bars ahead of time will serve you well!
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