Pumpkin Pie Bars

 

my pumpkin yard flag

 

Hello! First of all I would like to thank everyone for all your well wishes. I'm happy to say that I am feeling much better and aside from a lingering (and very annoying) cough, I'm on the road to recovery. No more fevers in our house! We are all back to normal and feeling great! Welcome to cold and flu season. It started out with a bang! : )

 

 

 

view from my living room window...

So what have you all been up to? I went shopping this weekend.  I stepped into a Khols and was shocked to see Christmas trees, lighted garlands hanging from the rafters, and It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas being piped through the store.  Are we rushing this a bit?  There is no doubt I am a huger lover of Christmas, but this might be pushing it a little - even for me.  Can we at least get through Halloween first?  I feel like we get a little more rushed every year.  How can we stop this? How do we stop the rush?

 

 

morning light in the kitchen...

 

 

OK, I'll admit I did take a little peek.  I browsed the aisle of ornaments and I even admired the Victorian Village houses (I really love those : ).  I hummed a few carols and since I was in that mode I started to mentally prepare a Christmas list.  It will come fast.  But no,  I'm not ready yet.  I haven't had enough of Fall yet. After all, it's only just begun.  I've only made one pumpkin bread so far.  That's not nearly enough to fill a whole season.

 

 

 

tea and pumpkin bread...mmm

 

 

So here's what I did.  I left that store and went to the Party Store to get the final touches of my son's Halloween costume (he has a Halloween dance coming up!). I stopped at Starbucks and treated myself to a salted caramel mocha coffee (OMG  Crazy Good!) and then went home and baked these pumpkin pie bars. 

 

It's beginning to feel a lot like Fall now! Boy do I feel better!

 

 

 

Recipe from Joy the Baker (www.joythebaker.com)

1 1/3 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar (divided)
1/2 cup brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) cold butter
1 cup old-fashioned or quick oats
1 pkg. (8 oz.) cream cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 can (15oz) pumpkin
1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla
2 tsp bourbon (optional)
a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips for sprinkling on top

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line 13x9 in pan with foil, with ends of foil extending over sides.  Grease or spray foil with nonstick spray. 

Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, and brown sugar in medium bowl.  Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

Stir in oats. 

Reserve 1 cup of oat mixture and put to the side.  Press remaining onto bottom of prepared pan.  Bake 15 minutes.

Beat cream cheese, remaining sugar, eggs, vanilla, bourbon, pumpkin, and spice with mixer until well blended. 

Pour over crust.  Sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture and a handful of butterscotch or chocolate chips.  (I used butterscotch : )

Bake 25 minutes.  Cool 10 minutes.  Use foil to transfer from pan to wire rack.  Cool completely before cutting.  I suggest refrigerate overnight to set.  It makes them much easier to cut. 

If you don't have pumpkin pie spice, you can easily make your own. 
Simply mix 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, and 1 tsp allspice.  Mix together in a little jar and use as directed  : )

There will be plenty of time to enjoy all the holidays and I'm looking forward to each one! For now let's just count our blessing and enjoy every day - one pumpkin pie bar at a time!

Happy Fall! I hope tonight the smell of burning leaves and pumpkin spice finds you.....: )