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.
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.
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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.
With a pastry blender or two knives mix in the cold butter until coarse crumbs form.
You want thick clumps, but the butter evenly distributed.
Stir in the oats and chopped pecans.
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.
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.
Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, 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 pumpkin cream over the warm crust. Sprinkle the remaining oat mixture and butterscotch chips on top.
Bake the bars 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.
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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Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Prep Time: 15 mins
- Cook Time: 40 mins
- Total Time: 55 mins
- Yield: 12 1x
- Category: Dessert
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
Description
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.
Ingredients
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
- 150z Pure Pumpkin Puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
- 1 Tablespoon Pumpkin Pie Spice**
- 2 Teaspoons Pure Vanilla Extract
- 75 Grams (½ Cup) Butterscotch Chips
Instructions
- 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.
- 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.
- Set aside 1 cup of oat mixture. Press the rest of the oat shortbread mixture into the pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
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
Keywords: pie bars, pumpkin recipe, fall dessert
This recipe was originally posted on October 26, 2012, the text and photos have been updated as of September 2019.
Pam says
WOW. these are crack, I made them for my kids and absolutely ate half of them myself. OOPS!
★★★★★