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    Home » Fall Favorite Recipes

    Pumpkin Pie Bars

    Published: Sep 19, 2019 · by Elizabeth Waterson · This post may contain affiliate links, which may pay me a small commission for my referral at no extra cost to you! Thank you for supporting Confessions of a Baking Queen!

    Jump to Recipe
    stack of pumpkin pie bars on a white marble surface

    The perfect fall treat for a party! A delicious oat pecan shortbread crust is filled with a creamy pumpkin filling, then topped with a crumble and butterscotch chips.

    stack of pumpkin pie bars on a white marble surface

    I first made these pumpkin pie bars back in 2012. They immediately became a fall favorite. And seven years later they still are! The beauty of these is they are simple to make and serve a crowd, perfect for your Halloween party or Friendsgiving!

    A simple oat shortbread is made with pecans for an extra crunch and utilized as both the crust and the crumble topping. Combining cream cheese and pumpkin creates a delicious creamy pumpkin filling and a sprinkling of butterscotch chips is a nice sweet flavor, perfect combined with pumpkin.

    Let's get to the recipe.

    Jump to:
    • What are the ingredients
    • How do you make pumpkin pie bars
    • Can you make pumpkin pie bars ahead of time
    • Craving more pumpkin recipes? Try these:
    • Recipe Card
    • Recipe Ratings & Comments
    pumpkin pie bar half eaten on top of another pumpkin pie bar

    What are the ingredients

    • All-Purpose Flour / Plain Flour 
    • Granulated Sugar 
    • Brown Sugar
    • Salted Butter, cold and cubed
    • Quick- Cooking Oats*
    • Pecans
    • Cream Cheese softened to room temperature 
    • Large Eggs, at room temperature
    • Pure Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
    • Pumpkin Pie Spice- you can make your own pumpkin pie spice by mixing 1 ½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, ½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg, ½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger, and ½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves together.
    • Pure Vanilla Extract
    • Butterscotch Chips

    How do you make pumpkin pie bars

    Preheat your oven to 350F/180C. Line a 9 X 13 inch pan with foil extending over the edges and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Lining the pan with foil will make it easier to pull the bars out of the pan.

    In a large bowl combine the flour and both sugars.

    Add the cubes of cold butter.

    sugars and flour in a large glass bowl
    chunks of butter added to flour and sugar mixture

    With a pastry blender or two knives mix in the cold butter until coarse crumbs form.

    hand cutting the butter info flour mixture with a pastry cutter

    You want thick clumps, but the butter evenly distributed.

    shortbread crust recipe batter in a glass bowl

    Stir in the oats and chopped pecans.

    oats and pecans added to shortbread batter in a glass bowl
    shortbread oat crust for pumpkin pie bars

    Set aside 1 cup of the oat mixture, this will be the crumble topping.

    Press the rest of the oat shortbread mixture into the pan and bake for 15 minutes. 

    shortbread oat crust pressed into a foil lined pan

    While the crust is baking make the filling. 

    In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment or a large bowl with a handheld mixer beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. If your cream cheese is not softened to room temperature you will end up with clumps, so it is imperative it is softened properly.

    When cream cheese is light and fluffy add the granulated sugar and vanilla extract beat until fully combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl as you go.

    cream cheese, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract in a metal bowl

    Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, and pumpkin pie spice.

    pumpkin puree, eggs, and spices added to cream cheese mixture in a metal bowl

    Mix until fully combined and smooth, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure it is all evenly combined.

    pumpkin cream filling in a metal bowl

    Pour pumpkin cream over the warm crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture and butterscotch chips on top.

    par baked shortbread crust in a metal pan
    pumpkin filling added to shortbread crust

    Bake the bars for 23-26 minutes, until the filling is completely set.

    oat crumble and butterscotch chips added on top of pumpkin pie bars

    Let pan cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then chill in the fridge for two hours before slicing. 

    pumpkin pie bars on a wire rack

    Can you make pumpkin pie bars ahead of time

    Yes, since the bars need to chill in the fridge for a couple of hours they are perfect to make the day before you want to serve them.

    Craving more pumpkin recipes? Try these:

    • Pumpkin Cheesecake
    • Pumpkin Nutella Tiramisu
    • Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bread
    • Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
    • Pumpkin Spice Snickerdoodles Recipe

    ★★★★★ Please let me know if you make this recipe by leaving a star rating and comment below!

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    Print

    Recipe Card

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    stack of pumpkin pie bars on a white marble surface

    Pumpkin Pie Bars

    ★★★★★

    5 from 2 reviews

    Print Recipe
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    The perfect fall treat for a party! A delicious oat pecan shortbread crust is filled with a creamy pumpkin filling, then topped with a crumble and butterscotch chips.

    • Total Time: 55 mins
    • Yield: 12 1x

    Ingredients

    Units Scale

    Crust 

    • 167 grams (1 ⅓ Cup) All-Purpose Flour / Plain Flour
    • 50 grams (¼ Cup) Granulated Sugar
    • 50 grams (¼ Cup) Brown Sugar
    • 6oz (¾ Cup) Salted Butter, cold and cubed
    • 100 grams (1 Cup) Quick- Cooking Oats*
    • 63 grams (½ Cup) Pecans

    Filling

    • 8oz Cream Cheese, softened to room temerature
    • 100 grams (½ Cup) Granulated Sugar
    • 3 Large Eggs, at room temperature
    • 15oz Pure Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
    • 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice**
    • 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
    • 75 grams (½ Cup) Butterscotch Chips

    Instructions

    1. Preheat oven to 350F/180C. Line a 9 X 13 inch pan with foil extending over the edges and spray with non-stick cooking spray.
    2. In a large bowl combine flour, granulted sugar, and brown sugar. With a pastry blender or two knives mix in the cold butter until coarse crumbs form. Stir in the oats and chopped pecans.
    3. Set aside 1 cup of oat mixture. Press the rest of the oat shortbread mixture into the pan and bake for 15 minutes. 
    4. While the crust is baking make the filling. In the bowl of an electric stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachement or a large bowl with a hand held mixer beat the cream cheese until light and fluffy. 
    5. Add the granulated sugar and vanilal extract, beat until fully combined, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the eggs, pumpkin, and pumpkin pie spice. Mix until fully combined and smooth, making sure to scrape the sides of the bowl to ensure it is all evenly combined. Pour over warm crust. Sprinkle remaining oat mixture and butterscotch chips on top.
    6. Bake for 23-26 minutes, until the filling is completely set. Let pan cool on a wire rack for 1 hour, then chill in the fridge for two hours before slicing. 

    Equipment

    9X13 fat daddios pan

    9X13 Pan

    Buy Now →

    Notes

    Recipe adapted from Joy The Baker, originally from Kraft

    *You can use Rolled Oats I just belnd them for 20 seconds to break them up a bit

    **You can subsitute 1 ½ Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon, ½ Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg, ½ Teaspoon Ground Ginger, and ½ Teaspoon Ground Cloves

    • Author: Elizabeth Waterson I Confessions of a Baking Queen
    • Prep Time: 15 mins
    • Cook Time: 40 mins
    • Category: Dessert
    • Method: Bake
    • Cuisine: American

    Keywords: pie bars, pumpkin recipe, fall dessert

    Did you make this recipe?

    Tag @confessionsofabakingqueen on Instagram and hashtag it #cbqbakes

    Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

    This recipe was originally posted on October 26, 2012, the text and photos have been updated as of September 2019.

    Pumpkin Pie Bars up close on a glass plate
    Pumpkin Pie Bars on a glass plate
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    1. Pam says

      September 24, 2019 at 8:50 pm

      WOW. these are crack, I made them for my kids and absolutely ate half of them myself. OOPS!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
    2. Meredith says

      October 06, 2021 at 3:27 am

      These are way better than the pumpkin pie, I will always make these now instead of pumpkin pie!! Thank you for the recipe!

      ★★★★★

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        October 07, 2021 at 1:11 am

        Hi Meredith, thank you SO Much for coming back to star rate and review the recipe. I truly appreciate it. So happy you enjoyed the bars!! Take care. XX Liz

        Reply
    3. Samantha says

      October 30, 2022 at 9:53 am

      150 oz of pumpkin?

      Reply
      • Elizabeth Waterson says

        October 30, 2022 at 8:11 pm

        I am so sorry for the confusion Samantha, it should be 15 ounces of pumpkin. The recipe card should reflect that now. Thank you so much for pointing it out. Please let me know if you have any other questions or if you try the recipe! XX Liz

        Reply

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    Waterson, Elizabeth Cropped Size Photo CAke copy 2

    Hiya! I am Elizabeth Waterson, welcome to my treat-filled site. After spending 15 years in the restaurant industry and growing up baking, I wanted to share my love of baking with you all. My step-by-step tutorials will help you learn how to bake at home. Confessions of a Baking Queen (CBQ) has been featured in CBS LA, HuffPost Taste, BuzzFeed, Taste of Home, and more! Here you will find loads of sweet recipes with a few savory ones for good measure. Feel free to message me with any questions! Happy Baking! 

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