Like to eat pumpkin pie, but don't like to make pastry? Or want to serve pumpkin pie to a crowd? Try these bars instead. A traditional pumpkin filling, creamy and lightly sweet, rests on a sugar cookie crust that is easy to make, especially if you have a food processor.
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Makes a 9x13 or 11x15 inch baking pan (23x33 cm or 28x38 cm)
Part 1: Sugar Cookie Base
1 1/2 cup flour (6.6 oz / 188 g)
1/2 cup sugar (3.5 oz / 100 g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 6-8 slices (4 oz / 113 g)
1 egg yolk (set the white aside to use in the filling)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Set the oven to 350F / 175C. Evenly coat the baking pan with nonstick spray, butter, or shortening.
In a food processor fitted with a cutting blade, measure the dry ingredients and mix for 1-2 seconds. Scatter the slices of butter on top of the dry ingredients. Pulse the processor 4 to 6 times, 1 second per pulse, until mixture looks like coarse, dry sand. Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Pulse another 3 to 4 times, 1 second per pulse, until mix looks like clumpy damp sand.
Spread the "sand" over the bottom of a greased 9x13 or 11x15 pan and lightly pat smooth. Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. No need to wait until the oven comes to temperature -- prebake the cookie base while the oven is warming up.
Remove the pan from the oven, pour the filling over the cookie base, and finish baking as directed below.
Notes:
If you do not have a food processor, allow the butter to soften to cool room temperature and mix it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Lightly mix the vanilla and egg yolk into the mixture with a spatula.
This sugar cookie base is also good with pecan pie filling or rhubarb custard pie filling.
Part 2: Pumpkin Pie Filling
4 large eggs plus the egg white from the sugar cookie base
1-28 ounce can plain pumpkin OR 2-15 ounce cans (800-850 g)
2-14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk (800 g) (see Notes below)
1 to 2 Tablespoon cinnamon (to taste)
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon mace (or 1/4 tsp cloves)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Beat the eggs and white until well blended. Add all other ingredients and mix well until the filling is smooth and lump free. Pour over the prebaked cookie base.
Bake 45-55 minutes at 350F / 175C until center is just set. Don't over bake! The outside edges of the filling may puff up a bit, but the center should remain flat and look moist, not dry. An instant-read thermometer will read 180-185F / 82-85C in the center of the filling.
Serve at room temperature plain or with a dollop of whipped cream. Tastes best if eaten the day after baking to allow time for the flavors to mellow.
Notes:
I recommend using Eagle or Carnation sweetened condensed milk. These brands have a mild milky flavor that is ideal for this recipe. Bargain brands can add caramel or butterscotch notes that can overshadow the pumpkin and spice flavors.
If you prefer, you can substitute your own favorite pumpkin pie filling. Follow the directions for the cookie base. Make enough filling for two regular pies. Pour the filling over the prebaked cookie base and bake as directed above.
The pumpkin pie filling can be used to make two regular pies. Bake pies 15 min at 425F / 220C, then reduce the oven temperature to 350F / 175C and bake for an additional 25-35 min or until the center of each pie is just set as described above.
Pumpkin Pie Bars
Makes a 9x13 or 11x15 inch baking pan (23x33 cm or 28x38 cm)
Part 1: Sugar Cookie Base
1 1/2 cup flour (6.6 oz / 188 g)
1/2 cup sugar (3.5 oz / 100 g)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold butter, cut into 6-8 slices (4 oz / 113 g)
1 egg yolk (set the white aside to use in the filling)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
Set the oven to 350F / 175C. Evenly coat the baking pan with nonstick spray, butter, or shortening.
In a food processor fitted with a cutting blade, measure the dry ingredients and mix for 1-2 seconds. Scatter the slices of butter on top of the dry ingredients. Pulse the processor 4 to 6 times, 1 second per pulse, until mixture looks like coarse, dry sand. Add the egg yolk and vanilla. Pulse another 3 to 4 times, 1 second per pulse, until mix looks like clumpy damp sand.
Spread the "sand" over the bottom of a greased 9x13 or 11x15 pan and lightly pat smooth. Put the pan in the oven and bake for about 10 minutes while you prepare the filling. No need to wait until the oven comes to temperature -- prebake the cookie base while the oven is warming up.
Remove the pan from the oven, pour the filling over the cookie base, and finish baking as directed below.
Notes:
If you do not have a food processor, allow the butter to soften to cool room temperature and mix it into the dry ingredients with a pastry cutter or your fingers. Lightly mix the vanilla and egg yolk into the mixture with a spatula.
This sugar cookie base is also good with pecan pie filling or rhubarb custard pie filling.
Part 2: Pumpkin Pie Filling
4 large eggs plus the egg white from the sugar cookie base
1-28 ounce can plain pumpkin OR 2-15 ounce cans (800-850 g)
2-14 ounce cans sweetened condensed milk (800 g) (see Notes below)
1 to 2 Tablespoon cinnamon (to taste)
1 tsp ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon mace (or 1/4 tsp cloves)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
Beat the eggs and white until well blended. Add all other ingredients and mix well until the filling is smooth and lump free. Pour over the prebaked cookie base.
Bake 45-55 minutes at 350F / 175C until center is just set. Don't over bake! The outside edges of the filling may puff up a bit, but the center should remain flat and look moist, not dry. An instant-read thermometer will read 180-185F / 82-85C in the center of the filling.
Serve at room temperature plain or with a dollop of whipped cream. Tastes best if eaten the day after baking to allow time for the flavors to mellow.
Notes:
I recommend using Eagle or Carnation sweetened condensed milk. These brands have a mild milky flavor that is ideal for this recipe. Bargain brands can add caramel or butterscotch notes that can overshadow the pumpkin and spice flavors.
If you prefer, you can substitute your own favorite pumpkin pie filling. Follow the directions for the cookie base. Make enough filling for two regular pies. Pour the filling over the prebaked cookie base and bake as directed above.
The pumpkin pie filling can be used to make two regular pies. Bake pies 15 min at 425F / 220C, then reduce the oven temperature to 350F / 175C and bake for an additional 25-35 min or until the center of each pie is just set as described above.
But these bars are his all time favorite treat. The pan of bars looks exactly like a pumpkin pie except in a sheet pan, not a pie plate.
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