Pumpkin and spice come together in these yummy cookie bars. They are quick and easy to make and taste like fall!
Pumpkin cookies with yummy frosting are always a popular fall treat. But if scooping and frosting all those individual cookies seems like a little too much, don’t despair.
We can make a yummy pan of cookie bars and skip those steps! These tasty pumpkin spice cookie bars are fabulous way to get those flavors you are craving with a fraction of the effort. They are fun, festive and oh so good!
Have you been doing extra baking this year? I feel like we have. I think it’s the extra time at home and wanting something to keep our hands busy.
If I’m being perfectly honest, I think there is some stress eating involved too. But whatever the genesis, there have been lots of pumpkin treats this fall.
It has been kind of fun to really focus on pumpkin lately. Usually most of my fall baking revolves around apple recipes with just a few pumpkin treats sprinkled in.
This year we have gone whole hog on that orange beauty. I thought we were done with pumpkin treats, but Little Dude insisted we whip up some pumpkin puree from the pie pumpkin we got at the pumpkin patch.
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We made a quick video of the pumpkin puree making process and put it on YouTube if you care to see it. Once you make puree, you want to go ahead and make a treat… so here we are!
I originally shared this recipe back in 2015. So Little Dude and I thought it was high time to revisit the post and freshen it up.
Making bars instead of individual cookies cuts a lot of time and effort out of the process. It is so much easier to pat it into the pan and bake it than scoop individual cookies.
Not only do you not have to scoop them all, but you can skip the chilling time because the sides of the pan will keep the cookie from spreading. Plus then you don’t have to keep rotating the pans in and out of the oven.
Frosting the cookies gets a lot easier as well. Just spread it over the pan and add sprinkles if desired. Easy peasy!
We really like marshmallow fluff buttercream on these cookies, but it would also be great with cinnamon brown sugar cream cheese frosting, or caramel buttercream.
Then just cut your cookies into bars and serve. They are perfect for a family gathering or party.
Storage
As long as your frosting is able to stay at room temperature, you can store these cookie bars on the counter for up to a week. Cover them with plastic wrap to keep them from drying out.
If you want to save some for later, you can freeze them for up to three months. Let the frosting set and put wax paper between the layers to keep them from sticking to each other.
Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter softened
- 1 cup light brown sugar packed
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 cups white whole wheat flour
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 3½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 375°F
- Cream together 1 cup butter, 1 cup light brown sugar, and 1 cup granulated sugar.
- Add 4 large eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.
- Stir in 2 teaspoons vanilla extract and 1 cup pumpkin puree until combined.
- Add 2 cups white whole wheat flour, 3½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 1 teaspoon baking soda and 3½ teaspoons pumpkin pie spice. Stir until just combined.
- Spread into a 10×15-inch bar pan. The dough should be thick like cookie dough and thus a little hard to spread. Try to get it relatively uniform.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Allow to cool completely and then spread marshmallow buttercream or your favorite frosting over the top. MMM!
Notes
Video
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Do you have to use white whole wheat flour or can I use unbleached white flour for all of the flour required?
You can use unbleached white flour, that won’t be a problem at all! I was going through a whole wheat flour phase when I developed this recipe. 😉
My pumpkin spice loving heart thanks you for these! I love how pretty the frosting looks! Have a wonderful and sunshiny weekend!
Thank you, Andrea!
These sound amazing! YUM!
Thanks!
Hi Carlee, I love your pumpkin bars and thanks for sharing the recipe at C&C with J&J! 🙂
Yummy! Thanks so much for sharing at Inspiration Thursday. These cookie bars look so easy to make and I think my family would love them.
They are easy and delicious!
YUM!!
Bar cookies are my favorite kind of cookie to make! These are perfect for fall! Thanks for sharing them with us at #FoodieFriDIY…sending some foodie love your way!
Thank you so much!
Yum, yum, yum- these are amazing!
Sarah (Sadie Seasongoods)
They were pretty darn good! I will certainly be stopping by again this weekend with a new crop of yummies!
Oh goodness! I love pumpkin everything!
Me too! Especially when it is chilly out.