Just J.Faye

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Brown Butter Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

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Are you sick of pumpkin yet? I really, really hope not, because you need to make these pumpkin bars. They are so so so so so so so so sooooooo good.

brown butter pumpkin bars Trust me.

Brown butter. Cream Cheese. Toasted Walnuts. PUMPKIN. Gaaahhhhh. You just can’t go wrong here.

My mom makes these pumpkin bars every year. They are amazing as is, but let’s just face it, brown butter makes everything better sooooo… I re-created them with brown butter. Then I threw in brown sugar and walnuts too for the heck of it. Hey, why not?! We’re gettin’ cray in the kitchen.

Speaking of cray, don’t freak out, there are five sticks of butter in this recipe. I know, I know, that’s a lot of butter; however, this recipe makes A LOT of bars, so it kind of evens out. Plus, they are just too good to not eat. YOLO. Run an extra few miles this week.

Butter is back anyways, right? It’s ok.

brown butter pumpkin bars The bars itself are not too sweet and have the perfect amount of pumpkiny-spice flavor. They are soft, moist (sorry if you hate that word), and cakey with just a little bit of crunch from the walnuts.

Then there is the frosting. Ooohhhh, this frosting! Cream cheese frosting is always incredible, but with the addition of brown butter… incredible to the max. I kid you not.

brown butter pumpkin bars Make these. Eat five. Save six more for yourself. Then bring the remaining to work/bake sale/Friendsgiving/Thanksgiving/wherever people accept baked goods. Since the recipe makes so many bars no one will even know that you hoarded some for yourself.

brown butter pumpkin bars You should have them for dessert after eating this soup. Pumpkin, pumpkin everywhere.

Make sure to add in a few workouts (like this, this, or this) to sweat out some of that brown butter. Life is a balance.  brown butter pumpkin bars

Brown Butter Pumpkin Bars with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
 
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These pumpkin bars are so good. They are super soft and have tons of flavor from the brown butter in both the bar and the cream cheese frosting. This recipe makes a lot of bars, so you'll be able to keep some for yourself and share with friends.
Ingredients
For the bars:
  • 2 cups walnuts
  • 1¼ cups butter (2 ½ sticks)
  • 3 eggs
  • 1 cup brown sugar
  • ⅔ cup white sugar
  • 29-ounce can pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1 teaspoons baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • ¼ teaspoon cloves
  • ¼ teaspoon all spice
  • ¼ teaspoon nutmeg
For the frosting:
  • 1¼ cups butter (2 ½ sticks)
  • 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 2-4 cups powdered sugar
Instructions
  1. Pre-heat the oven to 350° F. Grease an 11x17-inch jelly roll pan.
  2. To toast the nuts: spread walnuts on a baking sheet and bake for about 10-15 minutes until golden brown. Stir them around occasionally (every 5 minutes or so) to ensure they are not burning. Once toasted, chop roughly and set aside.
  3. To brown the butter: melt butter in a medium saucepan. Whisk the melted butter until brown specks appear at the bottom, it will froth and foam a bit. Watch closely and be careful not to burn. It should be a light brown color and have a nutty aroma. Save one cup for the bars and one cup for the frosting.
  4. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices. Set aside.
  5. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine 1 cup of brown butter, the eggs, sugars, and pumpkin. Mix on medium until lights and fluffy, about 3 minutes.
  6. Add in the dry ingredients and mix until thoroughly combined. Stir in the walnuts.
  7. Spread the batter in the prepared pan and bake for 27-30 minutes. Let the bars cool completely.
  8. To make the frosting: cream together the cream cheese and butter, about 3 minutes. Stir in vanilla. Add 2 cups of the powdered sugar and beat until smooth. Add the remaining powdered sugar ½ cup at a time until desired consistency is reached.
  9. When the bars have cooled completely, spread the frosting evenly over the bars. Cut into squares and serve! Store leftovers in the refrigerator.
Notes
You can substitute all the spices with 1 teaspoon of cinnamon and 2 teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice.

Slightly adapted from allrecipes.com.

PS- I took a break from knitting and watching Christmas movies on Hallmark to write this. Is that bad? I might be getting too far ahead of myself.

brown butter pumpkin bars PPS- no, I’m not 80-years old. Knitting is cool.

 

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