Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting
It wouldn't be fall without pumpkin bars, and I think everyone has a favorite version. I based this recipe on one of my grandmother's, so sweet memories are baked into every batch. —Mary Wilhelm, Sparta, Wisconsin
Ingredients
- 1-1/2 cups sugar
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/2 cup orange juice
- 1/2 cup canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 2 teaspoons grated orange zest
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- FROSTING:
- 2/3 cup butter, cubed
- 4 cups confectioners' sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 4 to 6 tablespoons 2% milk
Reviews
These were awesome. I too, omitted the sugar & orange juice & used honey instead. I made them to try & everyone loved them. Now I am going to make them for our Thanksgiving dessert!
This is a good recipe however, I can never leave well enough alone...so instead of all white sugar, I used 1/2 c, then slightly less than 1/2 c. brown and a little honey for taste. I thought it was too much sugar.I added some fresh grated nutmeg...Also I put the craisins in the micro w a little rum to soften them...more flavor...In the oven now so I really can't give a fair review but I do think they will be wonderful!
Very good and moist. Made it for company and got lots of raves. I used a cream cheese icing with orange juice instead of the browned butter one in recipe. Will definitely make it again.
These were the best pumpkin bars I've ever made. Loved the hint of orange in the bars and the browned butter frosting is amazing. I let my husand lick the beaters and he suggested i use the frosting instead of cream cheese filling in my pumpkin cake rolls.
Moist and delish! Made these for a bake sale and they were a hit - sold out. Real salted butter gave the frosting a salted caramel flavor. I sprinkled the top with nutmeg before serving.
I didn't have the correct size pan so I made in a 13 x 9 which made it more like cake. Awesome tasting and very moist! I used some leftover homemade cream cheese frosting which only added to the taste instead of being too sweet like one reviewer stated. Family wanted to eat the whole pan, but I like to get two times from a dessert, so I had to restrain them.
The cake turned out moist and delicious, however, the frosting was way too sweet and rich, which overpowered the flavor of the cake. I definitely agree with one of the posters, cream cheese frosting would be perfect on it!
These are really moist pumpkin bars and the brown butter icing is really delicious, although the sweet icing overwhelmed the pumpkin taste. All in all it is an easy and tasty treat . I think next time I'll try plain without the icing and maybe add some chopped pecans. I also used a 9x13 pan and left out the Orange peel because I didn't have any on hand.
Also good with cream cheese frosting! Tastes like Fall.
This is a wonderful moist snack-type cake. I didn't make the icing, we just ate it un-iced. I put it in a 9x13 so it was a little thicker. I omitted the orange zest and juice and used 2/3c. honey in place of the sugar and added a 1/2 cup of milk. My kids and husband had the cake gone the first night.Definitely a keeper.