Brown Butter Pumpkin Bars with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting
 
 
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.
Recipe by Just J.Faye at https://www.justjfaye.com/2014/11/09/brown-butter-pumpkin-bars-with-cream-cheese-frosting/