I've made this: Paula Deen's ooey gooey pumpkin bars

cake
1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix
1 egg
8 tablespoons butter, melted
Filling:
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
8 tablespoons butter, melted
1 (16-ounce) box powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

To make the filling: In a large bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Next, add the powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mix well. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 40 to 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey

Karen, a friends mom used to make something she called "Pumpkin Brownies" that were about the consistency of a chewy fudgy brownie and only about an inch tall. Is that the sort of thing you are looking for? If so, I will try to track down the recipe for you.

Alexa

Alexa, Yes they were not very high at all. They had nuts and raisins in them and had a much chewier texture than the ones I just made.

Glenda, Thanks for Paula's recipe. I've made other flavors if this recipe but not pumpkins. I'm going to have to give it a try.

Thanks, Karen

What type of pumpkin bars - snack-style, granola-style, cake-style? I have a Pillsbury recipe I've made for eons that includes a lovely layer of cream cheese frosting on pumpkin cake. It's made in a 15x10-inch jelly roll pan and yields 48 bars. (Source: Pillsbury Kitchens' Family Cookbook)

http://www.pillsbury.com/recipes/pumpkin-bars/c94eba52-d531-4f9f-ab83-312abd859f11/

While looking for the recipe on-line, I noticed another I will give a try, also a Pillsbury recipe.

http://www.pillsburybaking.com/Recipes/Details.aspx?recipeID=2321

-Grainlady

I have a pile of pumpkin recipes here.

Here is a link that might be useful: Our Recipes

Grainlady, I'm looking for a pumpkin bar that is chewy and dense. It wasn't cake like at all. The one I made today was cake like and I did frost it with cream cheese frosting. It's very good but not like the one I bought at the farmers market.

Joann, Thanks for the link. I will spend some time looking on there.

Karen

No pumpkin yet in the cookalong, lots of other p's though, peaches, peanut butter, pasta, pineapple, potatoes.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cookalong Links

I'd love to have a recipe for killer pumpkin bars, too. Here's one that I found googling:

I have too much expensive dental work to risk on caramels though.

Here is a link that might be useful: Chewy Pumpkin Caramel Bars

Ci-lantro, I hoping someone will come to our aid. The pumpkin bars that I bought at the Farmers Market were awesome.

The Caramel bars sounds really good. I will have to give them a try.

Grainlady, I would describe the bars as perhaps a breakfast bar.

Karen

Karen, my first thought on finding a chewy bar recipe was that we needed to look for a recipe that had very little leavening in it. (The Caramel PB recipe has a lot of leavening so the 'chewy' is no doubt from the caramel.

Anyway, late last night, I found this recipe (uses only 1/2 t. soda) but it would have to be toyed with, a lot. Adding spices wouldn't be any problem, of course. It's just that I have no idea what will happen when you start tossing in cups of pumpkin.

I'm wondering if using a high gluten flour might be a good idea? Maybe some oatmeal? GrainLady!?!

Here is a link that might be useful: Thick & Chewy Chocolate Chip Bars

Cil_lantro, That's a good idea. I even wondered if whole wheat flour would make a heavier, chewy, dense bar. Oatmeal seems like it might be a good addition.

Perhaps Grainlady does have some ideas.

Karen

Not a cookalong, but there was a similar type of post... The reason I know is, I wondered the same thing earlier this month.

:)

Here is a link that might be useful: favorite pumpkin recipes

Thanks rob333. This may really help.

Karen

Grainlady, Can I have your recipe for your pumpkin bars that everyone was talking about on the pumpkin forum a month or so ago?

They sound like they might be more bar like rather than cake like.

Karen

Karen (lakemayor) -

Here's the recipe. These are a cross between pumpkin and pecan pie. The best of both worlds. -Grainlady

PUMPKIN PIE SQUARES

1 c. flour
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter
Mix until crumbly and press into a 13x9x2-inch pan. Bake 15 minutes at 350-degrees F.

In a large bowl combine:
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 can (13-1/2 oz.) can evaporated milk
2 eggs
1 t. cinnamon
1/2 t. ginger
1/4 t. cloves
Beat well and pour mixture over baked crust. Bake 20 minutes at 350-degrees F.

In a small bowl combine:
3/4 c. pecans (I use a LOT more.)
1/2 c. brown sugar
2 T. butter
Sprinkle over pumpkin filling and bake 15-20 minutes more. Cool in pan on rack. Cut into 2-inch squares.

Yield: 2 dozen

a google search of "pumpkin brownies, Bar Harbor Maine" suggested these:

Here is a link that might be useful: Bar harbor pumpkin bars

Thank you Jojoco and Grainlady, I'm going to try both of those recipes soon.

I appreciate everyone's help with this one.

Karen

If I were you, I would call the market where you bought them and ask to talk to someone from the stand that sold the pumpkin bars. I bet they'd tell you their source. You have a good chance of eventually getting the recipe. Lavish praise from someone much too far away to buy from them -- that should work.

Karen, I haven;t forgotten you and the Pumpkin Brownies, I asked my friend again and she said her mom can't find the recipe she used to make but is still looking. If/when I get it I will be sure to pass it along

Alexa

My version of grainlady's Pumpkin Pie Bars.

We have a little "friendly competition" baking contest at work today and presentation is part of the judging as well as creativity and taste.

So, in the short amount of time I had last night, I decided on this! You can't really tell, but it's sitting on a clear cake stand, baked in a clear glass pie dish with real leaves tucked between the two.

We'll see how it does in the judging this afternoon! :)

Deanna

I made these a couple years ago. They're quite sweet and dense...reminded me of date bars. DH won't eat pumpkin(or carrot)anything, so the neighbors and I ate them.

Here is a link that might be useful: pumpkin bar recipe

Cute Deanna! Very Cute!
I printed out grainlady's recipe this am..sitting right here..I'm going to make it and take it to Halloween dinner on Sunday. That and an apple cake.

"Grainlady"'s recipe for Pumpkin Pie Squares is from the Libby's Pumpkin recipe book and on-line. It is not chewy, well the crust is a little, but it is basically a pumpkin pie jiggly filling. Quite delicious - I made them a couple of days ago. For a chewy pumpkin bar, I use the one in the link below for cookies, but bake them in a pan and cut squares. It's from Nestle company's website (who owns Libby's) - VeryBestBaking.com It is closer to what Karen is looking for - chewy.

"cloudy Caroline" I doubt that the market vendor who sold Karen the pumpkin bars is going to divulge her recipe - if she did that then who would buy her baked goods??? It is required by the FDA that ingredients be listed with any food product sold (mostly because of allergens - wheat, dairy, nuts, etc.), so perhaps reading the label or sign at the farmers market's booth would give Karen a start for duplicating the bars at home. If they are not listed, she has the right to ask for, and be given, the list of ingredients, so says the FDA, but not the quantities used or the recipe. BTW I am a farmers market vendor and I get asked all the time for my recipes. I politely tell them that it is a family secret like Bush's Baked Beans or the Kentucky Colonel's spices and that I would sell them all the finished baked goods they'd want every market day or by special order for tons of them. LOL

Nancy

Here is a link that might be useful: Soft Pumpkin Cookies/Bars

Oh my goodness, What great recipes and advice you have all given me. Now, I just need to get busy making them. We have two of our five grandchildren tonight and one of them loves to bake, so I think I will try one of the recipes and get back to you on them.

The problem with asking the farmers market vendor is I don't know the name of the place. Just stopped in a small barn like building because it had a sign outside "Farmers Market" today. Some where around the Bar Harbor area.

Thanks again.

Karen

I doubt that the market vendor who sold Karen the pumpkin bars is going to divulge her recipe - if she did that then who would buy her baked goods???

The people at that market bakery stand may have baked the things or they may be middlemen; the one I buy from sells stuff from several different sources. In either case, it can't hurt to ask. You may be willing to ship your products, but not everyone is.

You imply it's ridiculous to think someone would give out a recipe they use in business. Last time I visited my daughter in Connecticut, we went to an Irish diner. I was impressed with the brown bread, and asked if the flour came from Ireland. The waiter brought the owner to the table, and I told him it was pretty close to real Irish brown bread. He didn't seem to think it was close enough, but was obviously pretty proud of how close he'd come with commercial American ingredients. He went on to describe his exact procedure, and on his own he wrote down the quantities. He did not know I was from another state.

Karen:
Here is one I came across.Don't know how it is but sounds easy and good.

Amber, a mother of two from Massachusetts, sent us a recipe for one of her children s favorite afternoon treats. To give it a healthy makeover, we included some whole wheat flour for extra fiber, used a whole can of pumpkin versus the half can called for in the original recipe, and nixed the two sticks of butter for canola oil an excellent source of health-enhancing omega-3 fats.

Chocolaty Pumpkin Bars

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup pecans, very finely chopped
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, beaten
1 (15-ounce) can 100% pure pumpkin
1/2 cup canola oil
1/4 cup 1% lowfat milk
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
Preheat the oven to 350ðF (175ðC). Lightly oil or coat a 15 x 10 x 1-inch baking pan (jelly roll pan) with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
Whisk together the flour, whole wheat flour, sugar, pecans, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, combine the eggs, pumpkin, canola oil, and milk. Add to the dry mixture along with the chocolate chips and stir to combine.
Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan and bake for 25 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack.
Makes 30 bars.

Nutrition Information per Serving: 140 Calories, 8 grams Total Fat, 2 grams Saturated Fat, 0.42 grams Omega-3 fat, 95 milligrams Sodium, 16 grams Carbohydrate, 2 grams Fiber, 2 grams Protein

Recipe created by Janice Bissex, MS, RD, and Liz Weiss, MS, RD, authors of The Moms' Guide to Meal Makeovers and founders of the free online Meal Makeover Moms Club at www.MealMakeoverMoms.com.

I made Grainlady's contribution..
I used roasted pureed yams (sweet potatoes)...2 cups..

I used Whole Wheat Pastry flour for the flour, evaporated cane juice for the sugars, a generous cup of chopped pecans, and 1/4 c of real maple syrup with 1/4 of evap cane juice in the topping.

They are delish..and were well received at the party.