Pumpkin Pecan Pie Bars – My Baking Dependancy

Pumpkin pecan pie bars are made with a home made sugar-cookie crust, pumpkin filling and a pecan streusel topping for one implausible Thanksgiving dessert. Recipe features a gluten-free possibility.

If there’s one factor we love about Thanksgiving, it’s the entire desserts.

In our household, we wish to have a mixture of some conventional pies, reminiscent of traditional pecan pie, and less-traditional favorites, reminiscent of pumpkin cheesecake or pumpkin cream cheese pie. 

This recipe for pumpkin pecan pie bars is one which comes from my buddy Erin over at Texanerin Baking. She shared the recipe with us a number of years in the past and I used to be just lately reminded at how a lot I like these bars.

I imply, combining two traditional Thanksgiving pies into one scrumptious bar dessert? That’s a tough combo to beat.

Fuss-free pumpkin pecan pie bars

I’ve been wanting to mix pumpkin and pecan pie for some time now. A mix of the 2 simply sounded extra scrumptious than an everyday pumpkin or pecan pie!

I initially needed to make a pumpkin pecan pie, however the filling plus topping was just a bit bit an excessive amount of for a pie dish. Then I went with mini pies, and although tremendous cute, they took without end to organize and form of caught to the muffin liners. 

So right here we now have the best and least fussy model – pumpkin pecan pie bars!

My favourite a part of these bars is the crust. I’ve by no means been a giant fan of crust (except we’re speaking chocolate cookie crust, like in these mini pumpkin cheesecakes!) however this isn’t your abnormal crust.

There’s half a cup of sugar in there, making this extra of a sugar cookie-like crust. And it’s superior.

When you have any gluten-free members of the family, this can be a nice deal with that you may simply make gluten-free. I like to make use of the Bob’s Pink Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour – it’s a simple sub for all-purpose flour

That’s all it’s good to make this recipe gluten-free! And actually, it’s simply as scrumptious because the all-purpose flour model. When you have that flour, then you may as well make my pumpkin cupcakes, that are actually the perfect pumpkin cupcakes I’ve ever had!

Learn how to make these pumpkin pecan pie bars

Although this recipe has 3 parts to make – the crust, the pumpkin pie filling, and the pecan topping – don’t stress. These bars are literally fairly simple to make! 

Substances you’ll want

As a substitute of a conventional pie crust, we’re going to make a sugar-cookie-like crust for these bars. You’ll want:

• ½ cup room-temperature unsalted butter
• ½ cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon high quality sea salt
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking combine for a gluten-free model

Be certain your butter is softened earlier than you combine the crust collectively. In the event you neglect to set it out forward of time, take a look at my suggestions for softening butter rapidly. 

Subsequent, we’ll make the pumpkin pie filling. For that, you will want:

• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup evenly packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon high quality sea salt
• 1 (5-ounce) can evaporated milk
• 2 giant room-temperature eggs

When shopping for your pumpkin, be sure you seize pumpkin puree and never pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin pie filling has further substances that can throw off the ratio for this recipe.

I like including some brown sugar to this filling. If you’re out of brown sugar, you can also make a fast brown sugar substitute to make use of as a substitute. 

Evaporated milk is available in 2 sizes: 5-ounce and 12-ounce cans. This recipe makes use of the smaller can dimension, so make it possible for’s what you’re grabbing on the retailer.

Lastly, we’ll combine collectively a easy pumpkin streusel for the pecan topping. That can want:

• ½ cup evenly packed brown sugar
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour, or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking combine for a gluten-free model
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon high quality sea salt
• ¼ cup room-temperature unsalted butter
• 1 1/2 cups chopped pecans

I like to make use of cinnamon for the pecan topping, however you would additionally use pumpkin pie spice if you wish to convey these ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove flavors by the complete dessert.

Making this recipe

Begin by making the sugar-cookie crust. Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar collectively till mild and fluffy. It will take about 3-5 minutes. 

Add the vanilla, salt, and flour and blend on low till mixed and crumbly.

Press the crust dough right into a parchment-lined 8×8-inch pan. Bake at 350°F for 15-17 minutes, simply till the crust begins to brown across the edges.

Set the crust apart to chill for about quarter-hour when you put together the pumpkin and pecan parts.

For the pumpkin pie filling, whisk collectively the entire substances aside from the eggs. As soon as the combination is properly mixed, add the eggs and whisk till included. Set this apart.

For the pecan topping, combine the sugar, flour, cinnamon, and salt in a bowl. Use your fingertips to combine the softened butter in, then stir within the pecans.

Pour the pumpkin filling evenly over the crust, then sprinkle the pecan streusel on prime. 

Bake the pumpkin pecan pie bars for 40 minutes. The topping ought to be crisp and the center ought to be set.

Let the bars cool utterly earlier than reducing and having fun with with a dollop of home made whipped cream. 

Regularly requested questions