Pumpkin pie snickerdoodle bars

Last year, when there was a pumpkin shortage, I snagged a few cans of pumpkin and stocked my pantry. Unfortunately, my grocery store only had the large cans left, so I grabbed one. Since it's officially pumpkin season, I wanted to make some pumpkin desserts, and I finally broke into the large can of deliciousness.

The first recipe I made with the pumpkin was pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The second recipe I made was pumpkin whoopie pies. Then I made some pumpkin pancakes (those photos were horrible, so I am not sharing that recipe yet). Believe it or not, but I still had pumpkin left over! What's a girl to do?

I went to my trusty baking source to look for a pumpkin recipe that would use up the rest of the can.  If you haven't guessed by now, I went to Beantown Baker and found this amazing looking bar. It's half snickerdoodle and half pumpkin pie. Yum! Needless to say, this was a huge hit with my coworkers, and several of them have asked for the recipe.

One note to keep in mind with these bars is that the pumpkin layer might be a bit soft, but that's ok.  It's supposed to resemble a pumpkin pie, after all, so don't worry if it doesn't seem as done as the rest of the layers.

Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Layer

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Topping

• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Drizzle

• 1 oz white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. The parchment paper is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later. Note: I did not do this and just baked in my 9x13 pan.

Snickerdoodle layer:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (you can use your hands if you want).

To make pumpkin pie filling:
In the same mixer bowl, mix together butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. This layer will be less thick and more pourable. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake for 33-40 minutes (I baked for 35 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer. The bars that are closer to the edges of the pan will be more firm.

After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in a covered container.


Source:  Beantown Baker

Last year, when there was a pumpkin shortage, I snagged a few cans of pumpkin and stocked my pantry. Unfortunately, my grocery store only had the large cans left, so I grabbed one. Since it's officially pumpkin season, I wanted to make some pumpkin desserts, and I finally broke into the large can of deliciousness.

The first recipe I made with the pumpkin was pumpkin chocolate chip cookies. The second recipe I made was pumpkin whoopie pies. Then I made some pumpkin pancakes (those photos were horrible, so I am not sharing that recipe yet). Believe it or not, but I still had pumpkin left over! What's a girl to do?

I went to my trusty baking source to look for a pumpkin recipe that would use up the rest of the can.  If you haven't guessed by now, I went to Beantown Baker and found this amazing looking bar. It's half snickerdoodle and half pumpkin pie. Yum! Needless to say, this was a huge hit with my coworkers, and several of them have asked for the recipe.

One note to keep in mind with these bars is that the pumpkin layer might be a bit soft, but that's ok.  It's supposed to resemble a pumpkin pie, after all, so don't worry if it doesn't seem as done as the rest of the layers.

Ingredients
Snickerdoodle Layer

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups packed brown sugar
• 1 cup butter, at room temperature
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Layer

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup white sugar
• 1 stick butter, at room temperature
• 1 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
• 2 eggs, at room temperature
• 1 1/2 cups canned pumpkin

Topping

• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 2 teaspoons cinnamon

Drizzle

• 1 oz white chocolate, chopped
• 1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Directions
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease a 9x13 inch pan and lay a piece of parchment paper across the pan, so that it extends the pan slightly. The parchment paper is an optional step, but it will make it easier to get the bars out later. Note: I did not do this and just baked in my 9x13 pan.

Snickerdoodle layer:
Sift together flour, baking powder and salt and set aside. In large bowl, beat together butter, sugar, egg and vanilla until smooth.

Stir in the flour mixture until well blended. Spread evenly in prepared pan (you can use your hands if you want).

To make pumpkin pie filling:
In the same mixer bowl, mix together butter and sugar. Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until well combined. This layer will be less thick and more pourable. Pour over the snickerdoodle layer, smoothing out the top.

Combine white sugar and cinnamon in a little bowl. Evenly sprinkle cinnamon sugar mixture over the top of the batter.

Bake for 33-40 minutes (I baked for 35 minutes) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the pan comes out clean. Let the bars cool completely. They will deflate a bit and remain a bit pie-like on the top layer. The bars that are closer to the edges of the pan will be more firm.

After the bars are completely cool, place the chopped white chocolate into a bowl or zip-lock bag and melt on low power. When it's completely melted, add the pumpkin pie spice and mix (or knead if using a zip lock bag). Use a spoon or cut a small corner off the bag and drizzle the melted chocolate over the top of the bars and let it cool and harden.

Use the parchment paper to lift the bars out of the pan. Place on a cutting board and cut into bars. Store in a covered container.


Source:  Beantown Baker