Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars

Image via FoodNetwork

Caralie and I made these today. She couldn't wait for them to cool off enough to eat. And I have to say they are moist and delicious. However, this is really more of a dense cake than "bars" in my opinion. Sprinkle some chopped nuts on top, if you like, to make it pretty and you've got a great dessert for a get-together. I made a couple of changes:

1) I used 1 tsp. cinnamon + 1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, and

2) I added an extra 1/2 cup of powdered sugar to the frosting because it was a little too cream-cheesy for me.

Next time I'll try substituting applesauce for the oil - I would have done that today but I am out of applesauce.

PAULA DEEN'S PUMPKIN BARS
from FoodNetwork.com

4 eggs
1 2/3 cup sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 inch baking pan.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin until light and fluffy. In a medium bowl, combine flour, baking powder, salt, baking soda, and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread over cooled bars.