With a deliciously spiced pumpkin pie on the bottom and buttery swirled cake topping this super EASY Pumpkin Pie Bars will be your favorite holiday dessert! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year, and any day perfect!
Just before we left for England in early November, I made this Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars for my family. I was planning to post this earlier but because of the family emergency we had, everything, naturally, had to take the backseat.
Nonetheless, at the back of my mind, I haven’t forgotten about this truly delightful recipe and made sure to post this at least before Thanksgiving.
Besides, who says pumpkin desserts are only for Fall or Thanksgiving? I love pumpkin-based desserts so much, I don’t even mind having them during the hottest days of summer – so for me, every season is a good season for Pumpkins!!! Agree? 🙂
I discovered this super-easy and super-yummy dessert – and yes, it’s really super – in the cookbook made by the ladies of our church in Holland, Michigan.
I remember reading quite a few delicious sounding recipes for fall there and thought it’s about time I try them out! It’s only been 10 years since I had a copy of that and I have barely scratched the surface when it comes to making the yummy recipes there – although I have tried quite a few which had become a staple in our household.
After trying this (I must confess I had a few slices!!!), I have been blaming myself for not making this years ago!! My kids totally loved these pie bars and had a few slices between them, too! Oh, well better late than never.
Doesn’t it look so good? I get sweet cravings everytime I see this dessert!
What you need to make these Pumpkin Pie Bars
- 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack Pumpkin puree
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated Milk
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 package (18 3/4 oz) Yellow Cake Mix
- 3/4 cup Butter, melted
How do you make these Pumpkin Pie Bars
What I love is the ease of preparation, hardly any, really. It’s similar to a dump cake in a sense. The only major mixing involve is simply combining the pumpkin puree with the pie spice, sugar, milk and eggs.
After that, it’s really just spooning everything in the baking dish! I did swirl the topping a little bit to create a lovely texture and to make it look quite pretty as you can see above although pardon the late afternoon photo which, I think, did not do much justice to the pretty cake!
Easy-peasy deliciousness indeed!
Anyway, as you can see it crazy easy that even my children can do this on their own. And it’s unbelievably DELISH!!! So, if by chance you want to try a different dessert for Thanksgiving, Christmas or New Year, I totally and absolutely recommend this!!!
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Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars
By: Manila Spoon
Published: 11/22/2016
With a deliciously spiced pumpkin pie on the bottom and buttery swirled cake topping this super EASY Pumpkin Pie Bars will be your favorite holiday dessert! Thanksgiving, Christmas, New Year perfect!
Ingredients
- 1 can (15 oz) solid-pack Pumpkin puree
- 1 can (12 oz) evaporated Milk
- 3 Eggs
- 1 cup Sugar
- 3 teaspoons Pumpkin Pie Spice
- 1 package (18 3/4 oz) Yellow Cake Mix
- 3/4 cup Butter, melted
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9 x 13 baking pan. In a mixing bowl, combine the first five ingredients. Transfer to the prepared pan.
- Sprinkle with the dry cake mix and drizzle all over with butter. Using a butter knife make a swirly pattern on the cake. Bake in the preheated oven for 50-60 minutes or until a tester inserted near the center comes out clean. Serve warm with ice cream on top, if desired!
Yield: 16-20 slices
Prep Time: 00 hrs. 10 mins.
Cook time: 01 hrs. 00 mins.
Total time: 1 hrs. 10 mins.
Tags: American, Christmas, Recipes, Cookie Bars, Desserts, Holidays, Pumpkin, Pumpkin pie, Thanksgiving, New Year
Yes, I can see making these lovely pumpkin bars every month of the year! They look delicious!
Works well with a gluten free cake mix, such as Pamela’s…
Author
That’s good to know! Have to try that! Thanks!
Do you totally mix the cake mix into the liquid? I’m guessing not as you need to have some of the crumbly topping show through once baked.
Author
No. Just mostly on top.
Could these be made using a Spice Cake Mix?
Author
I haven’t used a spice cake mix because I already add pumpkin spice and a lot of it and I wonder if that would be too much spice if you used a spice cake mixture. Perhaps it’s worth trying though. Let us know. Thanks!
Do you think you could use sweet potatoes instead of pumpkin? This looks so good, but I’m a sweet potato lover.
Author
You could certainly try and let us know. Thanks!
Does it freeze well?
Author
To be honest, I haven’t tried it because we always finish it and share it with friends, if there are left-overs. I personally think, it’s better fresh but who knows? If you try it, let us know. Thanks!
I cannot find pumpkin purée in any store.I find cans of pumpkin,same thing??
Author
Yes, canned pumpkin puree is what I use. Use your favorite brand. Enjoy!
Can you use sugar free sweetener instead of sugar?
Author
I have not tried this with a sugar-free sweetener so I’m not sure how it would turn out. Perhaps use a sweetener that does a cup for cup measure. Anyway, do let us know ’cause we’d love to know if it works. Thanks!
Can I use whole milk instead of evaporated
Author
That should be fine. Evaporated milk is creamier and has more flavor but regular whole milk should be fine, too. Enjoy.