Kitchen Witch Thursdays - Pumpkin Bars

This recipe belonged to my great-grandmother, who passed it to my grandmother. And when I inherited my grandmother's stash of recipes it was thus passed down to me as well. I have fond memories of my grandmother making these around the holidays in place of a pumpkin pie because myself and one of my cousins were the only ones who'd eat anything pumpkin. We actually preferred these to a store bought pie, and they were easier on my grandmother to make because they require so few ingredients and very little preparation, so they became a Thanksgiving and Christmas treat I looked forward to every year. And now I'd like to share it with the rest of you so maybe it can be that for someone else too.

You'll Need The Following;

• 1 stick/8 tablespoons room temperature butter
• 1 cup granulated white sugar
• 3/4 cups pumpkin puree
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup all-purpose flower
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• Optionally - pecans, walnuts, chocolate chips, or any other additives you like with pumpkin

First thing's first, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Then mix your butter, granulated sugar, pumpkin puree and vanilla extract together. It is going to be a bit on the liquid side and look a little grainy like the picture above, and that's okay!

You can use an electric mixer or a spoon or spatula or whatever else you like. I just find an electric mixer easier and I'm lucky enough to have one but as long as it gets mixed together really well it doesn't matter :)

Next step - mix in your flour, pumpkin spice, baking soda and baking powder. This will make the mixture much more smooth and thick similar to a brownie batter.

Then, go ahead and add in anything else you might want. Nuts make a great addition, as does chocolate. For the pictures I took I chose white chocolate since that was what we had laying around. If you're using nuts, though, I highly advise mixing a few in and then sprinkling some on top because the ones on top get toasted and taste so, so good!

Now get yourself an 8x8 or 9x9 inch pan, whatever you have on hand, and grease it whatever way you want. Cooking spray, butter, whatever. My grandmother used to use bacon grease siphoned off from cooking bacon and the flavor combination was strange but in a good way, but I prefer just plain old cooking spray.

Once your pan is nice and greased up pour the mix in and shove it in the oven for an hour.

When your timer goes off take them out of the oven and stick a knife or fork in them. If it comes out clean good, if not give them another 5-10 minutes.

They'll look dark, and that's how they should be. The best advice I have now is to cut them into pieces right away while they're warm and soft instead of trying to do it once they've cooled. Then leave them for about 30 minutes or so to get back to relative room temperature. After all, these are meant to be a sort of replacement for pumpkin pie so they are actually served best slightly chilled instead of warm.

Eat and enjoy! A little cool whip on top can make it all the better, I'm just sad we didn't have any for me to put on for the pictures ):

But they're good even without, truly. And eating these reminds me so much of good times and holiday gatherings, though I like to make them year round now that I have the recipe and can do so :D

All pictures here were taken by me specifically for this post. I have been a home cook for over a decade, and any questions or comments about this recipe are encouraged!