Featured comment
Bought an oven yesterday and made these pumpkin bars today as the firstfruits! Wow, SO MOIST! Unbelievable. Everyone loved them. 🙂
Once upon a time, I made a caramel frosting using a recipe from 1980.
This is a true story, by the way. I only tell true stories.
After I poured the frosting all over my face freshly baked pumpkin bars, I went in for the first taste test. That’s not counting the taste test(s) that happened while the butter and sugar were melting in the saucepan.
Frosting + pumpkin bar -> mouth.
Be still my beating heart.
I’m not trying to ignore the goodness of the pumpkin bars, but there is nothing quite like melted butter and brown sugar frosting that is somehow both creamy and glazey at the same time. It was made to go with pumpkiny cinnamony goodness. W-o-w.
Maybe pumpkin bars aren’t your thing. Which makes me wonder, who the heck are you? That’s a sad story.
Maybe you’re in love with cream cheese frosting. Get.over.it.
This old-fashioned caramel frosting? I won’t take no for an answer.
You need to make it, like, yesterday.
Pumpkin Bars with Old-Fashioned Caramel Frosting
- Total Time: 1 hour 5 minutes
- Yield: 20 1x
Description
These pumpkin bars are moist and so addicting when topped with this old-fashioned caramel frosting. Always a crowd-pleaser!
Ingredients
- 2 cups brown sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 4 eggs
- 1 cup flour
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 1/2 cup melted butter
- 1/2 cup firm butter
- 1 cup brown sugar
- 1/4 cup milk
- 1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
Instructions
- Mix together bar ingredients (brown sugar through melted butter), adding melted butter last. Pour into a 10 1/2 by 16 inch pan. Bake at 350 until the cake springs back when lightly touched, about 40 minutes.
- For the frosting, boil the butter and brown sugar for two minutes. Add the milk. Bring it to a boil again and add powdered sugar. Whisk until smooth and pour over cooled cake immediately. Frosting will set very fast, so just pour it over the cake evenly to avoid having to spread with a spatula.
Notes
I halved the recipe and made it in a smaller pan – still works beautifully! But it was gone way too fast.
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 50 mins
- Category: Dessert
- Cuisine: American
Keywords: pumpkin bars, caramel glaze, pumpkin dessert
Sorry for posting back-to-back sweet baked recipes.
But not really.
Aaaah I had a cake just like this at a brunch (what?! You can totally have a cake at a brunch!) last weekend. I would like to eat that frosting out of the bowl, with a spoon, meditating on the blissfulness of brown sugary caramel goodness. Nom.
Yes, you can have cake at brunch. And it’s awesome.
Um, yum! The cake looks awesome and I want to take a bath in that frosting.
Couldn’t have said it better myself.
Caramel frosting? Yes please.
You had me at caramel frosting 🙂
That was my plan. 🙂
Well would ya look. at. that. YUM
These bars look ridiculously good! And the caramel frosting looks awesome, I can imagine the pairing of the two is just as good as you describe. Love it!
This looks amazing! Thanks for sharing!
What I wouldnt give to have this as my afternoon snack!
Me, too! Too bad they’re all gone. 🙁
You and your old fashioned frosting. I love it! 🙂
I’m an old soul. Especially when it comes to frosting.
I love anything pumpkin, these look sooo delicious!
I’m all over the pumpkin right now, too!
That looks so delicious! 🙂
That frosting has my vote. I cannot wait to make it. Yum.
You will not be dissapointed! 🙂
WOW!! I was able to wait 15 min. Before cutting into them! This is a winner!! I love caramel everything…..I will be taking these bars with me to all my Thanksgiving stops this year. Thanks for the great recipe and I love your blog!
Thanks so much! That frosting is a winner, isn’t it?
this sounds fantastic!!
oh my – I think I need to go into the kitchen and make pumpkin bars. I’ve had a HUGE sweet tooth lately, it must be the cooler air and the warm spices everywhere that make me crave sweets and comfort foods! The caramel frosting looks thick and divine…
I must be doing my job right if I can get the healthy girl to crave frosting. 🙂
I find caramel to be a very underrated flavor. This sounds – well – this just sounds like the frosting might never meet the bar if I made them 🙂 And cue a sick stomach!
Making these right now and they smell amazing. I’m a cream cheese frosting girl, but I’m taking your advice andjust getting over it. Because I’m a caramel girl too… Quick question – do you pour the frosting on these while the cake is still warm or is it necessary to cool it first. Or can I just live one the wild side and do it however I want??
Just saw that it says cooled cake!
I just made some pumpkin bars on Sunday but now I want to make these asap!
And you should. 🙂
Bought an oven yesterday and made these pumpkin bars today as the firstfruits! Wow, SO MOIST! Unbelievable. Everyone loved them. 🙂
I’m flattered that they were the first baked goods to come out of your new oven! What a great way to break it in. 😉
What do you mean by cup of pumpkin, I have a pumpkin do I just cut it up into little chunks or am I misunderstanding the recipe?
Pumpkin puree, canned pumpkin, etc. Not the pie filling, though.
Okay thanks I’ll find out how to turn my pumpkin into puree, can’t wait to try these, I think the topping would be great on top of gingerbread too, thanks for the recipe.
Do you have a food processor or blender? If you cook the raw pumpkin and then purée it in the food processor, that usually works. I have done that with squash many times. 🙂 and you will love the frosting. Great idea about the gingerbread!
Does this pumpkin bar have more of a chewy or cakey taste?
I think it’s more cakey.
i just want to say thank you! i never bake, but these looked SO good and i really wanted to try. i figured i would fail, but they turned out so wonderfully and i’m so happy 🙂 thanks for an amazing recipe!
That’s great, Kayla! I’m so glad you liked them!
I’ve been eyeing this recipe since I found it after making the Raisin Bran muffins (also AMAZING) and finally did tonight. These will not last long. I just told my husband I didn’t trust him to be alone with them while I am at work tomorrow!!!
Can I please have this in my mouth, like yesterday!? Shew! I am definitely making this one tomorrow 🙂