Pumpkin Pie Bars with Pecans

These Pumpkin Pie Bars have all the great flavors of the center of pumpkin pie, but with a sweet, crisp, slightly salty crust and the nutty goodness of pecans. With a mix of flavors and textures, these bars are a wonderful, forkless way to enjoy the classic in a new way.

Since 2014, I’ve written a weekly newspaper column about food and life for the Bangor Daily News. It’s called Maine Course (aptly named by my brother), and appears online every Tuesday.

This week’s column featured a recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bars with Pecans. These Pumpkin Pie Bars have all the great flavors of the center of pumpkin pie, but with a sweet, crisp, slightly salty crust and the nutty goodness of pecans. With a mix of flavors and textures, these bars are a wonderful, forkless way to enjoy the classic in a new way.

The recipe’s here but I urge you to read the column (update 12/6/2024 — the columns are no longer online), regardless of whether you are interested in the delectable bars. This column is special to me. It’s about the power of playing like a girl — something I hope all the girls in my life do.

Yield: serves 9

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Pecans

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These Pumpkin Pie Bars have all the great flavors of the center of pumpkin pie, but with a sweet, crisp, slightly salty crust and the nutty goodness of pecans. With a mix of flavors and textures, these bars are a wonderful, forkless way to enjoy the classic in a new way.

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Total Time 45 minutes

Ingredients

Cookie/crumb layer

• 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup brown sugar
• ½ cup cold unsalted butter, cut into slices
• ½ cup chopped pecans

Pumpkin layer

• 1 15-oz can pumpkin purée
• 2 eggs
• ½ cup sugar
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a 13 x 9-inch glass baking pan with butter. Set aside.
2. Sift together the flour, salt, baking powder and brown sugar for the cookie/crumb layers. Add the butter and cut in using two knives or a pastry blender.
3. Reserve 1 cup of the cookie/crumb mixture and press the remaining cookie mixture into the prepared pan.
4. Whisk together the pumpkin, egg, sugar, flour and pumpkin pie spice for the pumpkin layer. Spread evenly over the cookie layer.
5. In a small mixing bowl, combine the reserved 1 cup of the cookie mixture with pecans, and then sprinkle all over on top.
6. Slide the bars into the oven and bake for 25-30 minutes until golden.
7. Let the bars cool and then slice into 1.5x1.5-inch bars.