Entering my mother in law’s kitchen and viewing a huge jelly roll pan of pumpkin bars gracing her counter top is the first memory I have of holidays in her home. Isn’t it amazing how smells, sights, and a great recipe can bring back a flood of memories to the forefront?
This easy pumpkin bar recipe has been in the family for a long time. In fact, the only recipe I have of it is just the ingredients scribbled on a piece of scratch paper – no directions.
Since I wanted to also provide some Healthy Holiday Recipes for you all, I had fun experimenting with this tried and true pumpkin bar recipe, so I’m giving you my original and the healthier version.
The results? A delightful product with less fat, lower sugar content, but still an amazingly moist and irresistible pumpkin bar. I still make the original for my family, but when I am in the mood for a quick treat. I’ll cut the oil.
If you want to dress your Pumpkin Bars up a bit, consider my easy Pumpkin Roll Recipe. Honestly, I always thought it would be so tedious, but it’s basically taking an extra minute and voila, you have a beautiful Pumpkin roll recipe that you can find here.
Recipe: Easy Pumpkin Bars
Summary: An easy and deliciously moist pumpkin bar recipe, full of flavor, yet easily altered to a healthy option.
Ingredients
- Healthier option is located within the parenthesis.
- 4 eggs, beaten
- 1 cup oil (Substitute 1/2 cup applesauce and 1/2 cup canola oil)
- 2 cups sugar (Reduce the sugar content to 1 1/2 cup sugar or fructose for healthier option.)
- 15 ounce can of pumpkin
- 2 cups flour (Substitute whole wheat pastry flour, if desired)
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. salt
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1/2 tsp. cloves
- 1/2 tsp. nutmeg
Instructions
- Mix the first four ingredients.
- Sift and add the dry ingredients. Increase the amount of spices if you desire stronger flavors. ( I am all about easy clean up, so rather than mix my dry ingredients in a separate bowl, my “sifting” quick tip is to just add all the wet ingredients, and then mix the dry ingredients together on top before stirring into the wet. Shh…don’t tell the professional bakers. )
- Pour into greased jelly roll pan and bake at 350° for 25 -30 minutes.
- Let cool before frosting. (These are delicious, and could be served as a breakfast treat without any frosting. If you desire to take it to dessert status, try my easy cream cheese frosting recipe.)
Preparation time: 5 minute(s)
Cooking time: 25 minute(s
Words of caution as you make this recipe.
Your children will be SO excited to devour them that they will NOT wait until the bars have cooled before they apply the frosting. This results in delicious tasting bars, but not award winning, photo worthy bars. 🙂
I originally posted this recipe five years ago and it’s been a blog favorite for many.
I’ve made it so many times and I can not believe I haven’t updated the pictures.
Unrelated comment but thank you. I’ve been wondering how to add the “you might also like:” thumbnails to my blog and today, looking for the linky, I clicked linkwithin and finally figured it out. Hurray.
(and we have delicious tasting but not award-winning photo episodes regularly around here too! LOL)
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Jens Reply:
November 15th, 2010 at 9:50 pm
YEa – glad you figured it out. 🙂 Tasty Tuesday will go up tomorrow morning.
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I love pumpkin bars! Its one of my favorite treats of the holiday season!
Looks delicious!
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These look deeeeelicious!!! Your photos are absolutely beautiful…wish I had a slice of that this very moment 🙂 That pup is so sweet!
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I will take into advisement the words of caution. They look wonderful! I’ve been so loving pumpkin this year!
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If I had one of those yummy looking bars in front of me, I wouldn’t be the cranky wife who is driving my poor husband bonkers tonight.
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Hey, looks like we both had pumpkin on the brain this week. I made pumpkin spice thumbprints and will link them up to tasty tuesdays tomorrow when it goes up. Your pumpkin bars sounds deliciously spicy and that frosting makes them so tempting. Love your healthy changes to them.
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Jen,
I have missed visiting your site…. you always have such delicious and fun posts!! Those bars look so yum!!
xo
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I LOVE pumpkin bars. I especially love that you worked with a recipe that has such special meaning and made it healthier with just a few tweaks. Anxious to try your version and am reminded to pull out MY mother-in-law’s recipe for next week. Thanks! Have a super day…
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You had me at “easy” 😉
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I want to tell you first that I love your blog! you make things so easy and fun to try and I love the fact that you put God first and know with out him nothing is possible. I look so forward to opening up your emails. I have just a select few I get and love. I have obviously blog hopped around and even though I have come across some really cool one’s when they start cussing (I mean seriously is that needed) on their blog it just turns me away, saddest part is I have been known to say a few cuss words here and there more than once,twice a million times but I will tell you seeing it in writing (hello??? stupid!) is almost as bad as hearing it, so it does remind me to watch my mouth and to thank God above for the little reminders in life that he gives us. I didn’t plan on leaving such a long message..sorry 🙂 oh and we have a dog just like yours she is almost 8 and her name is Molly and she soooo loves hotdogs! hahaha! I am sure she will want to try the pumkin bars too.
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Thank you for sharing, these really were easy and delicious. I halved the recipe and baked it in a 9×13 pan, since there are only 3 of us. Somehow we managed not to eat the whole thing in one day. Happy Thanksgiving!
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These freeze really well too!
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Could you substitute pumpkin pie filling, reduce the sugar and omit the spices?
I have three cans of pumpkin pie filling I need to use and am craving Pumpkin bread or anything that closely resembles it.
Thanks,
Julie
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Jen Reply:
September 19th, 2012 at 12:05 pm
It definitely calls for just pumpkin, but I think that you could experiment and it would probably work. Worst case scenario, it might fall apart , but you could put it in a bowl, add some ice cream and be good to go. Let me know how it turns out. 🙂
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Can you substitute pumpkin pie spice for the spices? I have a boatload of if, and no cloves. If so, how much should I use? Thanks.. looks fabulous!
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Jen Reply:
September 23rd, 2012 at 10:56 am
I would definitely think you could. I haven’t tried it but it’s basically a mixture of the other spices, so just add the amount of spices together from the recipe and do the same amount of your pumpkin pie spices. Let me know how it works, but I don’t think you can go wrong. 🙂
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Thanks. Also, what size jelly roll pan.. we have several! 🙂
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Jen Reply:
September 23rd, 2012 at 4:14 pm
I have a fairly large one. I don’t know the exact size. It makes a good bunch, but if you have a smaller one, you could always just take the extra and spread it onto another pan. Sorry, I don’t know the exact same size.
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