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Soft pumpkin spice cookie bars with tangy maple cream cheese frosting and a beautiful two-tone finish. Perfect for fall gatherings!
Know Before You Scroll
What You’ll Need
Canned pumpkin, butter, brown sugar, flour, warm spices, cream cheese, maple syrup, and orange gel food coloring.
Flavor Profile
Warm pumpkin spice, brown sugar, tangy cream cheese, vanilla bean, and a subtle hint of maple.
Difficulty Level
Easy. The frosting looks fancy, but the decorating technique is surprisingly simple.
Equipment Needed
9×13-inch metal baking pan, electric mixer, parchment paper, two piping bags, and a small offset spatula.
Top Tip
If the frosting feels too soft to pipe, refrigerate it for 15–20 minutes before decorating. This helps the design hold its shape without making the frosting overly sweet.
Time-Saving Tips
Insert here
Ingredient Swaps
Vanilla extract works instead of vanilla bean paste, and you can leave out the cardamom if you don’t have any.
The first sign of fall always makes me crave pumpkin spice. There’s something about those warm, fragrant spices mixed with the richness of pumpkin that makes me want to get straight into the kitchen and start baking.
These Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars have everything I love about fall baking. They’re soft, moist, full of warm spices, and topped with a generous layer of tangy maple cream cheese frosting. For me, it’s that combination of spiced pumpkin and rich cream cheese that makes them so good.
And can we talk about that frosting? The two-tone design makes these look like something you’d find in a bakery, but I promise it’s easier than it looks! They’re just as lovely for an afternoon treat with coffee as they are for Halloween parties, fall gatherings, or a Thanksgiving dessert table.
In The Test Kitchen
When developing these bars, I wanted a soft pumpkin cookie bar rather than something that tastes like pumpkin cake. Pumpkin adds a lot of moisture, so I kept it to ¾ cup and used equal amounts of granulated and brown sugar. The brown sugar adds a deeper caramel flavor and helps give the bars a little more substance.
I also wanted the spices to complement the pumpkin rather than overpower it. Cinnamon takes the lead, with smaller amounts of ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom. That little bit of cardamom adds a lovely warmth that makes the spice blend more interesting.
The frosting is where these really come together. I prefer my cream cheese frosting tangy rather than overly sweet, so I kept the confectioners’ sugar on the lower side and added vanilla bean paste, a little maple syrup, and salt to balance everything.
The maple syrup and food coloring can soften the frosting slightly, so if you’re planning to pipe the two-tone design, make sure it’s thick enough to hold its shape. A short rest in the refrigerator can help without having to add lots more sugar.
Ingredient Notes
Canned Pumpkin
Best Choice
Use 100% pure canned pumpkin for consistent moisture and flavor. Avoid pumpkin pie filling, which contains added sugar and spices.
Substitutions
Homemade pumpkin puree works if it’s thick and well-drained, but the moisture content can vary.
Warm Spices
Best Choice
Cinnamon provides the main flavor, while ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom add warmth and depth. The cardamom gives the blend a subtle floral note.
Substitutions
Leave out the cardamom if you don’t have it. The other spices provide plenty of flavor.
Cream Cheese
Best Choice
Full-fat block cream cheese makes a rich, tangy frosting that’s thick enough for piping. Soften it before mixing, but don’t let it get too warm.
Substitutions
I don’t recommend whipped or spreadable cream cheese, as the extra moisture can make the frosting too soft.
Where to Find
Insert here
Orange Gel Food Coloring
Best Choice
Gel food coloring gives the frosting color without adding too much liquid. Use a tiny amount for the pale beige shade and gradually add more for the brighter orange.
Substitutions
Skip the coloring and spread the frosting over the bars for a simpler finish.
Where to Find
Insert here
You can find the full, printable recipe at the top of this post, but you can read the detailed instructions with photos for each step below.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1
Prepare the Pan
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang to lift the bars out later.
2
Cream the Butter and Sugars
Beat the softened butter with the granulated and brown sugars for a full 3 minutes, until lighter and fluffy.
Don’t rush this step. Properly creaming the butter and sugar helps create an even texture.
3
Add the Pumpkin
Beat in the egg, followed by the canned pumpkin and vanilla extract.
The mixture may look slightly curdled after adding the pumpkin. Don’t worry! That’s normal because pumpkin contains a lot of water. Everything will come together once you add the flour.
4
Add the Dry Ingredients
In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix on low speed just until combined.
The dough will be thicker than a typical cake batter.
5
Bake the Bars
Spread the dough evenly into the prepared pan, smoothing the top with a spatula.
Bake for approximately 22–27 minutes, checking toward the end of the baking time.
I like to give the pan a gentle shake to check for doneness. Once the center no longer jiggles, check with a toothpick. A few moist crumbs are fine, but there shouldn’t be any wet batter.
Let the bars cool completely before frosting.
6
Make the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
Beat the softened cream cheese and butter together until smooth and creamy.
Add 2 cups of confectioners’ sugar, the vanilla bean paste, maple syrup, and salt. Beat until light and fluffy.
Check the consistency before adding more sugar. You want a thick, pipeable frosting that still has plenty of cream cheese tang.
If it seems too soft, try chilling it briefly before adding more confectioners’ sugar.
7
Color the Frosting
Divide the frosting evenly between two bowls.
Add a tiny amount of orange gel food coloring to one bowl and mix until you have a pale beige-orange shade.
Add more orange gel coloring to the second bowl, a little at a time, until you have a brighter pumpkin-orange color.
8
Create the Two-Tone Design
Transfer each color to a separate piping bag fitted with a large round tip.
Pipe alternating dollops of frosting across the completely cooled bars.
Using a small offset spatula, gently drag each dollop in the same direction to create overlapping, petal-like shapes.
Continue until the entire surface is covered.
It might look complicated, but once you get the hang of the first row, it goes surprisingly quickly.
And if decorating isn’t your thing, you can simply spread the frosting over the bars. They’ll taste exactly the same!
9
Chill and Serve
Refrigerate the frosted bars briefly to help the decoration firm up before slicing.
Cut into 16 bars with a sharp knife, wiping the blade between cuts for neat edges.
For the best flavor and texture, take the bars out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving.
Pumpkin Recipes
Recipe
Frosted Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars
Ingredients
For the Pumpkin Cookie Bars
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- ¾ cup granulated sugar
- ¾ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 large egg (at room temperature)
- ¾ cup canned pure pumpkin
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2½ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- ¼ teaspoon ground cardamom
For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- 8 oz full-fat block cream cheese (softened)
- ½ cup unsalted butter (softened)
- 2 to 2½ cups confectioners’ sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
- 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- Ground cinnamon (for finishing)
Instructions
For the Pumpkin Cookie Bars
- Prepare the pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×13-inch metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving enough overhang on the sides to lift the bars out once cooled.
- Cream the butter and sugars. Add the softened butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar to a large mixing bowl. Beat with an electric mixer for a good 3 minutes, until noticeably lighter and fluffy. Don’t rush this part.
- Add the wet ingredients. Beat in the egg until fully incorporated. Add the pumpkin and vanilla and mix just until combined. Don’t worry if the mixture looks slightly curdled after adding the pumpkin—that’s normal.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and cardamom.
- Make the dough. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix on low just until no streaks of flour remain. Avoid overmixing.
- Spread in the pan. Transfer the dough to the prepared pan. It will be thicker than cake batter, so spread it evenly into the corners and smooth the top.
- Bake. Bake for 22 to 27 minutes. To check them, gently shake the pan. When the center has stopped jiggling, they’re ready. If you’re unsure, insert a toothpick into the center—it should come out with a few moist crumbs rather than wet batter. Don’t wait for a completely dry toothpick or the bars can overbake.
- Cool completely. Set the pan on a wire rack and let the bars cool completely before frosting.
For the Maple Cream Cheese Frosting
- Make the frosting. Beat the cream cheese and butter together until completely smooth and creamy. Add 2 cups confectioners’ sugar, the vanilla bean paste, maple syrup, and salt. Beat until smooth and fluffy. Add up to another ½ cup confectioners’ sugar only if needed to give the frosting a thick, spreadable consistency. We want this frosting tangy, not overly sweet.
- Frost and finish. Lift the cooled bars from the pan and spread the frosting generously over the top. Finish with a light dusting of cinnamon.
- Cut and serve. Cut into 16 bars and serve at room temperature.
Tips
Erren’s Top Tips
- Cream the butter and sugars for 3 full minutes. This helps create an even texture and shouldn’t be rushed.
- Don’t add extra pumpkin. Pumpkin contains a lot of moisture, and adding more can make the bars too cakey.
- Measure your flour carefully. Spoon it into your measuring cup and level it off rather than scooping directly from the bag.
- Don’t overmix the dough. Once the flour goes in, mix only until everything comes together.
- Use the shake test. The center should be set and no longer jiggle when the bars are ready.
- Cool completely before frosting. Warm bars will soften the cream cheese frosting and make the decoration difficult.
- Chill soft frosting before piping. The maple syrup and food coloring add a little moisture. Refrigerating the frosting for 15–20 minutes can help it hold its shape.
- Add food coloring gradually. Gel colors can be surprisingly concentrated, so start with a tiny amount.
- Serve at room temperature. Take the bars out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving so the frosting becomes creamy and the spices really shine.
Variations
Keep the Frosting Simple If you’re short on time, skip the food coloring and piping bags. Spread the maple cream cheese frosting evenly over the cooled bars with an offset spatula. You’ll get all the same delicious flavors without the extra decorating. Add Toasted Pecans For a little crunch, fold ½ cup chopped toasted pecans into the dough before baking. They work especially well with the brown sugar and warm spices. Skip the Cardamom If you don’t have cardamom, simply leave it out. The cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves will still give the bars plenty of fall flavor. Make Classic Cream Cheese Frosting Leave out the maple syrup if you prefer a traditional cream cheese frosting. The vanilla bean paste will still add plenty of flavor.Storage & Freezing
Refrigerator: Because of the cream cheese frosting, store the bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. Don’t leave them at room temperature for more than 2 hours. Serving: Remove the bars from the refrigerator about 30 minutes before serving. This gives the frosting time to soften and lets the warm pumpkin spice flavors come through. Freezing: For the best appearance, freeze the bars without frosting. Wrap them tightly and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw completely before frosting and decorating. Make Ahead: You can bake the bars a day ahead, let them cool completely, and store them covered. Make the frosting and decorate the following day.
Save to favoritesYour saved recipes will be right here waiting for you every time you visit, so you can easily find and make the meals you love.FAQs
Are pumpkin cookie bars supposed to be soft?
Yes! Pumpkin adds moisture, so these bars are naturally soft and tender. The brown sugar also helps keep them moist, while the flour gives them enough structure to cut into squares.
Can I use pumpkin pie filling instead of canned pumpkin?
No. Pumpkin pie filling already contains sugar and spices, which will change the recipe. Use 100% pure canned pumpkin.
Why does my pumpkin mixture look curdled?
Pumpkin contains a lot of water, which doesn’t always blend smoothly with creamed butter. It’s completely normal for the mixture to look slightly separated before adding the flour.
How do I keep cream cheese frosting firm enough for piping?
Start with full-fat block cream cheese and make sure the butter and cream cheese are softened but not overly warm. If the frosting becomes too soft, refrigerate it for 15–20 minutes before piping.
Do I have to make the two-tone frosting?
Not at all! The decoration is completely optional. You can spread the frosting over the bars instead, and they’ll taste just as good.
Can I make these pumpkin bars ahead of time?
Yes. Bake the bars a day ahead and keep them covered. Frost and decorate them the following day, then refrigerate until ready to serve.
Do pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting need to be refrigerated?
Yes. Store them in the refrigerator because the frosting contains cream cheese. For the best flavor and texture, remove them about 30 minutes before serving.
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