Vanilla frosted pumpkin bars with walnuts are the best! These can also be frozen with or without the frosting, for later use.
Yes, the name is a bit misleading, as these are not bars, but cake. The only reason this matters is that these "bars" are best served like a sheet cake, on a plate, with a fork. I wouldn't call these a grab-and-go type thing. Nonetheless, I was entirely pleased with these. While I do like pumpkin bars/cakes made with vegetable oil, I did appreciate that this was made with butter and the taste difference is noticeable and pleasant. I'm not a big fan of nutmeg, and the recipe seemed a little short on spice, so in addition to the cinnamon I substituted 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice for the 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. And, because I'm kind of tired of the same ol' cream cheese frosting I made a caramel frosting instead, and sprinkled some crushed cinnamon cookies over the top. It was a great flavor combination, but this cake is so moist and flavorful it would be great with no frosting at all.
Read MoreAs other reviewers have said, this is a cake not a bar. It's good and fairly moist, I liked the frosting, but it was nothing amazing. There are other pumpkin cake recipes on this site that I like better.
Read More Yes, the name is a bit misleading, as these are not bars, but cake. The only reason this matters is that these "bars" are best served like a sheet cake, on a plate, with a fork. I wouldn't call these a grab-and-go type thing. Nonetheless, I was entirely pleased with these. While I do like pumpkin bars/cakes made with vegetable oil, I did appreciate that this was made with butter and the taste difference is noticeable and pleasant. I'm not a big fan of nutmeg, and the recipe seemed a little short on spice, so in addition to the cinnamon I substituted 1 tsp. of pumpkin pie spice for the 1/4 tsp. nutmeg. And, because I'm kind of tired of the same ol' cream cheese frosting I made a caramel frosting instead, and sprinkled some crushed cinnamon cookies over the top. It was a great flavor combination, but this cake is so moist and flavorful it would be great with no frosting at all.
Excellent, but it is more of a cake than a cookie bar. I made it with fresh pumpkin puree and substituted 1 cup brown sugar for the white sugar and added 1/2 tsp of allspice. It was moist and delicious and doesn't even need the frosting!
It was very easy to prepare foolproof! I did not want the frosting to be extremely sweet and only used 2 cups of confectioner's sugar and 6oz. of cream cheese. It was great! My whole family enjoyed it and it made my sister-in-law jealous!
I made this with and without the nuts, I liked it better without the nuts. It was very moist and everyone loved it! For the frosting, the receipe calls for one 3 oz package cream cheese, make sure you use one 8 oz package of cream cheese.
These are very good. Mine were cooked to perfection in 28 minutes, so I would recommend checking them early. Also, if you like lots of frosting you may want to consider doubling the frosting; I was barely able to cover them with a thin layer.
Save this frosting recipe! This turned out more like a spice/pumpkin cake than dense bars. I've tried it both in a 9x13 and jelly roll pan, both work out. It's a keeper.
This recipe was a big hit! I omitted the walnuts, because my father can't eat them. However I added crumbled up Gingersnap Cookies instead. I had nothing but raves. I brought a few bars to work and was told I needed to make them for the Holiday bakeoff. And I think I will.
I made this for thanksgiving dinner and it was a huge hit. It does turn out more like a dense cake but is moist and the icing is fabulous. A nice change from the standard pumpkin pie.
I made this recipe about four years ago for a fall house warming party. Everyone loved it. Now I make it all the time. I even make the batter into mini muffins and leave the frosting off for the kids to take to school for snack. Great recipe!
A great fall recipe or for the holidays. I have some frozen in the fridge as I type. I love how easy it is and how well it bakes. Just lovely!
I made these because of the picture on the front page of allrecipes.com page and it was absolutely easy and sooo darn tasty. The frosting is perfect (I thought it might be too thick) but after letting the cake cool to room temperature it spread on it perfectly to just the right amount. The cake itself is wonderful with that hint of cinnamon and nutmeg, I wouldn't change a thing. Pefect to serve for your company!
Nice, moist bars. I used 1/2 butter, 1/2 applesauce. The cream cheese frosting goes very well. I opted to not use the nuts, but sprinkled dried cranberries on top.
We loved this recipe! It turned out more of a bread than bars. We skipped the frosting. We made more after Thanksgiving and replaced the sugar with honey and maple syrup, this made a great warm breakfast. Thanks!
Wow...YUMMY!! Like many other people have said, this recipe is more like a cake than a bar, however WHO CARES!...it's DELICIOUS!! I followed the recipe as written with the exception of adding raisins instead of walnuts. This cake is SOOO MOIST. I will be making this again and again. Thanks for sharing this wonderful recipe! =)
The kids loved this recipe! The maple in the frosting is delicious! Double the frosting recipe & add a little extra cinnamon to the pumpkin batter does the trick!
As other reviewers have said, this is a cake not a bar. It's good and fairly moist, I liked the frosting, but it was nothing amazing. There are other pumpkin cake recipes on this site that I like better.
EXCELLENT RECIPE...CAME OUT PERFECTLY THE FIRST TIME...SO MOIST..GREAT FLAVOR...I DID USE HALF BROWN/HALF WHITE SUGAR, AND AS A TWIST I ADDED 1/4CUP MAPLE SYRUP TO THE BATTER AND A TOUCH OF MAPLE TO THE FROSTING..AND YES DOUBLE THE FROSTING..WAS NOT ENOUGH FOR US!..SIMPLE RECIPE!
I made these for a bake auction at our church - They sold at high prices. Everybody loved them. They are like carrot cake but it's pumpkin. Very Good!!!
I made this and took it to my mom's house for Thanksgiving, and she decided that I'd have to make it every time I visit her from now on. Hmmm... maybe I really should have rated it a 1 star. Anyways, it's a really great recipe.
The cake is delicious and moist. The icing was way too dry and sugary with only 3 ounces of cream cheese, so I kept adding cream cheese and butter until it was the right consistency and the right cream cheese taste.
been using this recipe for a couple years now.it is to die for!!! OK so it's not a "bar" who cares!! it's great and a hit with friends and family and the frosting is PERFECT!!! the bars come out so moist! it's 5 stars and mouth watering!!!
I used pecans instead of walnuts. This cake has hardly any flavour. The cream cheese frosting makes it taste good. mmm...
Hmmm reading the previous reviews I was a bit hesitant to make these but to my surprise they turned out excellent and held their shape very solid. I did not find these to be cumbly at all and I was able to pick each cut bar up without it falling apart. I added more spices because I like everything with lots of flavor, but the texture of these bars is excellent. I did refrigerate mine and maybe that made a difference?
These were bland even though I increased the cinnamon by almost double. The texture was fair, I pulled them from the oven 4-5 minutes early to keep them moist. I think an oil recipe would have allowed the pumpkin flavor to come through better. After tasting, I topped the frosting w/crushed skor and a butterscoth swirl to try and salvage them. This made them beautiful, and tasty in my kids opinion, but they were not salvagable.
I tried this recipe using fresh pumpkin, but was still not impressed. Although they were very moist, I would call this "Colonial Pumpkin Cake", as it needs a plate and fork, not just fingers. Also I thought it was lacking in flavor. In it's defense, my husband and in-laws thought it was good.
My rating really isn't accurate since both batches of these bars were gone before I could get so much as a bite, but from what I hear, they're wonderful! They were very easy to make and I didn't change a thing!
These are very moist and delicious! However, I didn't frost them with the cream cheese frosting. I took the advice of another reviewer and used a caramel frosting (Caramel Frosting II from AR). I also baked them in a 13x9 pan. I must have eaten half of them myself last night!
As other reviewers have said, it was pretty good but it was too thick and cake-like to be a bar. I don' think I'd make this again.
I have horrible luck with baking, and last year I made a round of failed pumpkin cookies and breads, but this cake-like snack actually turned out well! It's not exactly a finger food, though. I like it just fine without the icing!
This was delicious! I made it for treats at church and it was a big hit. Very moist - I had a lot of requests for the recipe.
This recipe was easy to prepare and turned out perfectly. Yielding to family preference, I left out the nuts, but the results were terrific. Thanks.
This dessert is amazing! The only thing I did differently was put it in a 9 x 13 pan. It's great!
These were excellant, will use this recipe again and again! I disagree with another reviewer, this makes the perfect amount of frosting. The frosting is pretty sweet so I would not want any more.
Really good cake. Not a very good "bar." Like one of the other reviewers, I was looking for something more like a finger food and this really needs a fork. As a cake though, it is very yummy. Will try again. Doubled the frosting. May try with a little clove and ginger.
Definitely more of a cake than a bar, but it doesn't matter; because it is DELICIOUS!!! I can't say how many requests I got for this when I made it 3 years ago for Thanksgiving. I've been making it ever since!
I found the bars to be more like cake than like a cookie bar. They were way too rich for me and I had trouble cutting them neatly. They were pretty messy and although I wanted to use them as a finger food, I wasn't able to.
This is a good bar recipe. It holds up fine. I think the butter made it more cake like but that is good because sometimes the oil based bar recipes get too greasy. The pumpkim and spice flavor is mild so everyone is sure to like them.
This recipe is easy and tastey. I even served it w/o the frosting (to reduce the fat). Instead I just sprinkled on a couple TB of a yellow cake mix. This recipe also works with oil instead of butter.
It was good, went over well at the office. Very dense and took a long time to cook. I added nuts.
This recipe is a winner in my family. I added 1 cup of raisens, and I didnt have a jellyroll pan, so i used 2 - 7X11 pans and it worked just fine. Very easy to make, and soooo tasty. :)
These are great bars!! I always tweek recipes a bit so I used 50/50 white and brown sugar, fresh pureed pumpkin and cut out the walnuts in the bars and cut 1 cup of sugar out of the frosting. They came out beautifully!! Everyone loved them. I also used a stone pan instead of metal or glass. Very tasty, like pumpkin pie bars!!
This is the awesome pumpkin recipe! Very moist. Took some to work and everyone love them. they all wanted the recipe too!
Cut oil in half and substitute applesauce and you can also cut back on sugar with no drastic effects. I add 1 tsp. of ginger as well and also sometimes a tablespoon of granted orange rind. This gives an otherwise ordinary cake/bar a more interesting flavor. Usually do not add the orange zest if adding ginger.......enjoy
My family thought these bars were wonderful. I used only 2 cups of confectioners sugar in the frosting, though. I put some in my son's (age 7) lunch yesterday, and he said his friends were SO excited when they saw the bars, that he ended up giving them away and didn't get any himself! So, today, I sent two packages: one for him and another for his friends!
Very tasty!! Gave it my own twist, I took a small orange and peeled it about 3/4 of the way and thru it into a processor and added that. It gave it a little zip. Served it like cake, will definately make again!!!
Good, but needs a little more spice. Perhaps I should have used more pumpkin puree or pumpkin pie spice.
I didnt have cream cheese frosting so i used vanilla (just as good)...My co-workers loved them. Not a crumb left. Great flavor and I don't like pumpkin, made them for halloween. VERY MOIST
I made these to take along to work with a soup lunch we were having, they were delicious and we ate every one. a definite keeper.
I had to try a bite before I frosted these and they are wonderful! They do not fall apart when cut and they flavor is very good. I did use half brown sugar, half white and tweaked the spices only a little after reading other reviews. I'm sure they'd be excellent just as the recipe is written. I truly appreciate the fact that the recipe was written using butter, not vegetable oil. I wish I could search Allrecipes to avoid ingredients like vegetable oil, which I no longer use. Thanks so much for a keeper!
Yummy! These pumpkin bars were super delicious and moist. Keep them covered and they'll be even better the next day.
I thought these were really good. I did throw in a shake of cloves and one of ginger. Then when the bars were done and still hot I poked holes in them with a toothpick and smeared them with soft butter mixed with cinnamon and sugar for a little added flavor and moistness. I did use a whole 8 oz of cream cheese in the frosting and left everything else the same...it was super creamy and delicious!
Excellent treat the walnuts make it really good, I used French vanilla frosting and they were still good.
You can't go wrong with this one for a fall or winter bring along dessert. It's the perfect pumpkin pie bar.
Very good and moist. I did put in a larger pan (cookie sheet used for sheet cakes) and cooked about 22 minutes. I then put in the refrigerator and chilled before frosting. I doubled the frosting recipe and added in a little bit of maple syrup. I had a little bit of frosting left over for sugar cookies tomorrow :) After frosting, I chilled again. They cut into bars nicely. I sprinkled nuts on top instead of putting in the mix and served them on a platter for a potluck. Very moist and yummy.
These were okay... They tasted fine, but the consistency left something to be desired. I wouldn't make them again because we weren't impressed...
These were easy to make, baked up nicely and cut well. I would have liked it if they had a more pronounced pumpkin flavour. Thanks!
This recipe is to die for with a little modification!! I do reduce sugar and butter content (too buttery and sweet for me if you put the full amount). I also add more spice and use a 9 x 13 pan and it turns out like a yummy moist pumpkin cake. Double the frosting recipe if you like lots of cream cheese.
Made this recipe tonight: I thought the bars would turn out with the consistency of quick bread, instead they come out like a very moist sheet cake. The cake bars using a Jelly roll pan were about 1&1/2" thick and have good flavor. the only difference I made in the recipe and what I did was because I used what I had 2 cups of pumpkin puree instead of canned and all spice instead of nutmeg, plus I forgot to add the chopped walnuts. This recipe is a keeper with-in 2 hours of baking my family was enjoying them. You know it is good when my son went back at least twice for more!
OMG, this is FAB-U-LOUS!!!!!! I added whole cranberries to this and frosted it with cream cheese frosting and YUMMMMMMMY! My kids and Husband LOVED it!
Very good! Moist and delicious! A good "spice" bar.
These were delicious! I used one and a half cups of sucanat in place of the white sugar and baked them in a 9" X 13" baking dish. Became a very moist sheet cake. Next time I'll use the jelly roll pan. My husband loves pumpkin, so these will quickly become a favorite. Thanks for sharing this recipe.
Pretty good. I baked them in two mini muffin tins. 24 total. I still have leftover batter. I took them to a party and they all were eaten!
I've been making these bars for several years, but just joined AllRecipes. Every time I make them, people rave about them and ask for the recipe. Most recently, a coworker said, "I don't like pumpkin, but this is like cake. Really good cake." Highly recommend this recipe!
