Gooey Pumpkin Bars.
Introducing my long time love: pumpkin gooey bars!
Okay guys. I know I’ve told you about the pumpkin dream cake and how fantastic it is, but I’m coming in hot with ANOTHER pumpkin dessert this year that you are going to love. Seriously, everyone will freak.
These bars are a staple in my kitchen and once you make them, everyone asks for the recipe. They are DELISH.
I’m getting ridiculously excited that Thanksgiving is so close. It might just be my favorite day of the entire year. I ordered my turkeys, my lists are made and I’ll be sharing everything with you in just a few days.
Let’s hope this year I don’t dump 10 gallons of turkey brine on my kitchen floor, you know?
While I’m busy debating if I can wear a jewel-studded headband that may make me look like I’m 11 years old as well as contemplating what sort of centerpiece to put in the table that people will actually appreciate, I figured it was high time you know about these bars. Because I love them.
They are… THEEEEE bars.
Here’s the deal.
This was the dessert of the year for us last year. I made these bars just about a billion times – they were a HUGE hit! If you follow me on instagram, you probably know this. I made them and served them on Thanksgiving – the chocolate pumpkin combo hits the spot. Then I made them for my cookie boxes and cut them into tiny squares. I made them on Christmas Eve for our huge cookie tray.
Basically, they were the only dessert I made for the last two months of 2018. You will want them.
They sort of remind me of seven layer bars, but they are better than that. They have a graham cracker-ish crust. The gooey pumpkin center is reminiscent of cheesecake. But it’s gooeier and softer and it’s not overly spiced, which you know I love.
On top of that, flaked coconut and chocolate chips, which toast and melt in the oven respectively, creating one of the best flavor combinations known to man. Yes yes yes.
These are just to die for. Give them a test run this weekend!
Pumpkin Gooey Bars
Pumpkin Gooey Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
- 8 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 8-ounce block cream cheese, softened
- ¾ cup pumpkin butter
- ½ cup brown sugar
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- pinch freshly grated nutmeg
- 1 ½ cups dark chocolate chips
- 1 ½ cups unsweetened, flaked coconut
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray a 9x13 inch baking dish with nonstick spray.
- In a large bowl, stir together the graham crumbs and butter until the mixture is moistened. Press the grahams into the bottom of the baking dish to create a crust.
- Place the cream cheese in the bowl of your electric mixer. Beat until creamy, then beat in the pumpkin butter, brown sugar, eggs, vanilla, cinnamon, salt and nutmeg. Beat on medium speed until creamy and combined and no lumps remain. Pour the mixture on top of the graham crust.
- Sprinkle the chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20 minutes, then remove the dish and sprinkle the coconut on top. Bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, until the coconut is golden and the center of the bars is barely jiggly (it still might jiggle the tiniest big but most of it should be firm!).
- Let cool completely. I love to make these the day ahead of time, store them in the fridge and then slice. I also like to keep them stored in the fridge, but they are fine to sit out on a dessert plate!
Notes
Did you make this recipe?
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34 Comments on “Gooey Pumpkin Bars.”
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these look amazing! can you use pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin butter? i don’t think we have pumpkin butter in scotland!!
i don’t think i’d use pumpkin puree, only because it will yield a more cakey result and isn’t quite as condensed with flavor! but you can make your own pumpkin butter easily!
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/how-to-make-pumpkin-butter-with-canned-pumpkin-recipe.html
I don’t have pumpkin butter, but can you use a can of pumpkin instead?
Thanks,
hi casey!
i don’t think i’d use pumpkin puree, only because it will yield a more cakey result and isn’t quite as condensed with flavor! but you can make your own pumpkin butter easily!
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/how-to-make-pumpkin-butter-with-canned-pumpkin-recipe.html
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Same question: Substitute for pumpkin butter??
Dying to make these !!
hi hi!
i don’t think i’d use pumpkin puree, only because it will yield a more cakey result and isn’t quite as condensed with flavor! but you can make your own pumpkin butter easily!
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/how-to-make-pumpkin-butter-with-canned-pumpkin-recipe.html
Dying to make these, but pumpkin butter huh?? I have never seen this in Canada but I have some homemade pumpkin purée waiting to be used up!
Williams Sonoma usually has pumpkin butter or you can make your own. It’s basically pumpkin purée that is sweetened and spiced and then cooked down a bit probably to concentrate the flavors and eliminate some of the water. There are lots of recipes out there for it.
hi!
you can def try the puree, though I can’t guarantee what that layer will come out like! it may need to cook longer and you might want to use less, but add spices? it may yield a more cakey result and isn’t quite as condensed with flavor! but you can make your own pumpkin butter easily with that puree!
https://www.seriouseats.com/recipes/2010/10/how-to-make-pumpkin-butter-with-canned-pumpkin-recipe.html
I made these yesterday and used the butter. Everyone is raving over them
I made these yesterday too and my family loved them. I really wanted to buy some pumpkin butter mostly because I felt lazy but when I couldn’t find any at 2 different stores I just googled pumpkin butter and made it. It is a really awesome recipe! I did substitute pecans for the coconut and really liked the addition! Thank you for all the joy you bring in your blog!💗
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Okay so I had to make these because they sounded AMAZING! I made pumpkin butter and am currently devouring the pan of ooey gooey pumpkin bars. These are amazing!! Thanks for the awesome recipe and helping me to discover pumpkin butter!
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Thank you so much for disclosing you spilled your brine last year. I too spilled my brine. Attempting to get my turkey out of the tub, the bag inside of my tin burst forth and spilled all over inside my fridge and all over my floor. I was especially grossed out since it was also containing raw turkey juice. On Thanksgiving Day… with only hours till all the relatives showed up. Everything turned out in the end (it was your brine recipe!), but it was not the best start to my day!
Do you think you could use ginger snap crumbs instead of graham cracker crumbs? I love them so much especially with pumpkin
I think this would be a great addition!!
I just made a batch with gingersnap coolie crumbs (Trader Joe’s triple ginger cookies to be exact), and they are EXCELLENT. I’ve also used speculoos, which is probably my favorite version.
These look amazing!! Any advice on adapting to bake in graham cracker pie crust instead of in bar form?
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Can I use milk chocolate instead of dark chocolate?
Omg these are INCREDIBLE. I thought the crust was going to be too thin but it was absolutely perfect. Served a little warm with hot fudge on top. Still dreaming about it.
Trader Joe’s has pumpkin butter. Are these really flat? Could they be baked in a smaller pan? Thanks!
Can I use some of my fresh-cooked pumpkin instead of pumpkin butter?
no unfortunately pumpkin puree does not work in this recipe. you need pumpkin butter.
How do make pumpkin butter?
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