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 unbelievable Thanksgiving dessert. Recipe features a gluten-free choice.

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

In our household, we prefer 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 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 mixture of the 2 simply sounded extra scrumptious than an everyday pumpkin or pecan pie!

I initially wished 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 perpetually to arrange and type of caught to the muffin liners. 

So right here we’ve 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 unusual 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’ve got any gluten-free members of the family, it is a nice deal with which you can simply make gluten-free. I like to make use of the Bob’s Crimson Mill 1-to-1 gluten-free flour – it’s a simple sub for all-purpose flour

That’s all you must make this recipe gluten-free! And actually, it’s simply as scrumptious because the all-purpose flour model. When you’ve got that flour, then you may also make my pumpkin cupcakes, that are actually one of the best pumpkin cupcakes I’ve ever had!

Find out 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 straightforward to make! 

Components you’ll want

As a substitute of a standard 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 positive sea salt
• 1 cup + 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour, or 1-to-1 gluten-free baking combine for a gluten-free model

Ensure that your butter is softened earlier than you combine the crust collectively. For those who neglect to set it out forward of time, take a look at my ideas for softening butter rapidly. 

Subsequent, we’ll make the pumpkin pie filling. For that, you have to:

• 1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin puree
• ⅓ cup granulated sugar
• ⅓ cup flippantly packed brown sugar
• 2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon positive 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 elements 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 measurement, so be sure that’s what you’re grabbing on the retailer.

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

• ½ cup flippantly 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 positive 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 may additionally use pumpkin pie spice if you wish to carry these ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and clove flavors via your entire dessert.

Making this recipe

Begin by making the sugar-cookie crust. Use a mixer to cream the butter and sugar collectively till gentle and fluffy. This can 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 whilst you put together the pumpkin and pecan parts.

For the pumpkin pie filling, whisk collectively all the elements apart from the eggs. As soon as the combination is properly mixed, add the eggs and whisk till integrated. 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. 

Ceaselessly requested questions