Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Streusel Topping
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This is such a great recipe for a quick homemade dessert. These easy-to-make pumpkin bars have a crunchy crust and a cinnamon streusel that melts in your mouth. The pumpkin filling in smooth and creamy, and when you get all these great components together, they just scream fall!
For more seasonal food, check out The Ultimate List of Autumn Recipes for the Fall Season! Right-click and open a new tab to read next.
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Pumpkin Bars
This pumpkin bars recipe has to go to the top of the list of things make before pumpkin season comes to an end. It tastes so good and is a perfect autumn dessert.
The streusel on top of the bars is the pièce de résistance that makes this pumpkin dessert awesome. Stresel is a crumbly topping of flour, butter, and sugar that is baked on top of muffins, breads, pies, and cakes. Some modern recipes add spices, oatmeal, and chopped nuts.
To me, as a Brit, it sounds (and looks) very much like the topping we put onto apple (or other fruit) crumbles but is made in a slightly different way. The butter in streusel is melted, whereas in a crumble it is cold and solid. Both are equally yummy!
Ingredients used in this recipe
The full ingredients list and instructions are found in the printable recipe card at the end of this post, but here is a brief outline so you know what to expect from the recipe. I highly recommend always reading a recipe all the way through before starting.
- All-Purpose Flour (Plain Flour)
- Butter
- Powdered Sugar (Icing Sugar)
- Canned Pumpkin Purée
- Eggs
- Milk
- Vanilla Extract
- Pumpkin Pie Spice
- Ground Cinnamon
Equipment used in this recipe
Gather the following cooking tools to make these pumpkin bars:
- Measuring Cups
- Measuring Spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Baking Sheet
- Parchment Paper
- Wire Cooling Rack
- 9″ x 9″ Baking Pan
- Electric Mixer – stand or handheld
- Toothpick/Cocktail Stick/Skewer – for testing that cake is cooked through
- Mixing Spoon
How do you make pumpkin bars with streusel topping?
Make the streusel first by placing flour, powdered sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and mixing together to combine.
Then you pour in the melted butter and stir until it forms small peas size pieces. They won’t be uniform in size and shape, but don’t worry about that!
The streusel is baked till golden brown and then left to cool while you make the pumpkin bars’ crust and filling.
The crust is so easy to make – just combine the flour and powdered sugar, then pour in melted butter and stir to create a dough.
Press the crust mixture into a square (9″x9″) baking dish to form the base of the bars, and bake for 20 minutes.
All the filling ingredients go into a large bowl and are mixed together with an electric mixer until well blended.
Pour the pumpkin filling over the baked crust, and place back in the oven until cooked through (a toothpick will come out clean).
Leave to cool and then evenly spread the streusel topping over the pumpkin.
You will want to leave the dish to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into pieces.
Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Enjoy!
Make It A Meal!
You’ve made the dessert, but what about the rest of the courses? Here are some recipes to take a look at to make a complete meal!
- Appetizer: Veg & Five Bean Soup
- Main Dish: One-Pan Lemon & Rosemary Chicken Thighs
- Side Dish: I don’t have a ton of side dishes on my blog (yet!) but I’ve got a mega list of 100 side dishes that I rounded up. The list was created for Christmas, but there is a ton of great sides to enjoy year-round!
- Beverage: Apple Cider Margarita
There are 500+ Recipes on The Purple Pumpkin Blog for you to enjoy! Please feel free to check them out too.
More Recipes Using Canned Pumpkin
- Pecan & Pumpkin Spice No-Churn Ice Cream
- Rich & Creamy Pumpkin Pie Cheesecake
- Triple Layer Pumpkin Brownies Recipe
I’ve got more Pumpkin Recipes for you to try – right-click and open a new tab to read next.
More Dessert Recipes
Once you’ve made these pumpkin bars I know you’ll be looking for more dessert recipes – here are some for you to take a look at:
Pumpkin Bars with Cinnamon Streusel
A delicious creamy recipe for pumpkin bars with a cinnamon streusel topping - a must make for fall!
Ingredients
For the Streusel Topping
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ½ cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon
- ½ cup butter, melted
For the Crust
- 1 cup all-purpose flour (plain flour)
- ¼ cup powdered sugar (icing sugar)
- ½ cup butter, melted
For the Pumpkin Filling
- 1 (15oz/425g) can pumpkin purée
- 2 eggs
- ⅔ cup milk
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
- 1½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
To Serve
- Whipped Cream
- Ground Cinnamon
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 200C/400F/Gas 6 and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- To make the streusel: Place flour, powdered sugar, and cinnamon in a bowl and stir to blend together. Add the melted butter and mix until it starts to form small pea-sized pieces.
- Tip the streusel onto the prepared baking sheet in an even layer and place in the oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown - turning halfway through to bake evenly. Remove from oven and leave to cool.
- To make the crust: Place the flour and powdered sugar into a bowl and give it a stir to combine, then add the melted butter and stir to form a dough ball.
- Press the dough into an even layer in a square (9x9") baking dish.
- Place in the oven at the same temperature as the streusel and bake for 20 minutes. Remove when cooked and set aside.
- Reduce oven temperature to 180C/350F/Gas 4.
- To make the pumpkin filling: Place the pumpkin, eggs, milk, and vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice into a bowl, and using a stand or handheld mixer, and blend to combine for 1 - 2 minutes.
- Pour the pumpkin filling on top of the baked crust, and place it back in the oven at the lower temperature and bake for 45 minutes or until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.
- Remove the dish from the oven and place on a wire cooling rack.
- Spread the streusel in an even layer on top of the pumpkin and leave to cool for at least 2 hours before cutting into 3x3" bars (or whatever size you like!)
- Serve with whipped cream and a sprinkling of cinnamon. Enjoy!
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Nutrition Information:
Yield: 9 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 346Total Fat: 22gSaturated Fat: 14gTrans Fat: 1gUnsaturated Fat: 7gCholesterol: 97mgSodium: 188mgCarbohydrates: 32gFiber: 1gSugar: 9gProtein: 5g
This site uses an outside source (Nutritionix) to provide estimated nutrition. If you need exact calories and macros, please do your own calculations.