Pumpkin Cream Cheese Bars

In addition to the trial run of the banana cupcakes, I also made some pumpkin cream cheese bars for myself this weekend. I need to start reading recipes because I assume they are for 8x8 pans and then they call for 13x9 pans and suddenly I've got way more goodies than I can eat. This time I messed up and should have cooked these babies longer so the middles were ruined and I ended up keeping both pans of bars. Anywho, they were still delicious despite a little center under cooking. Here are some pictures to get you excited for Halloween and fall and pumpkin flavors:



Recipe (from Grin and Bake it!)

6T butter, melted and cooled
1 1/2c sugar
2 lg eggs
1 c pumpkin
1/3c water
1 3/4c flour
1 1/2t cinnamon
1t baking soda
1/2t baking powder
1/2t nutmeg

Cream Cheese Mixture

1 pkg (8oz) cream cheese, softened
1 lg egg
1/4c sugar


Preheat to 325F.

In a large bowl beat together the butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in eggs, pumpkin, and water until well incorporated. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, cinnamon, baking soda, baking powder, and nutmeg. Mix dry ingredients into the large bowl until well blended. Pour into a buttered and floured 13"x9" pan.

In a large bowl, beat cream cheese, egg, and sugar until smooth. Drop cream cheese mixture in evenly spaced spoonfuls into batter in pan. Pull a knife through the batter to create swirls. Bake for about 30 minutes (25 is definitely not enough). Let cool in pan.