Pumpkin Pie Bars

Did you think we were done with our vicious onslaught of pumpkin recipes? NO. I found a hubbard squash in my garage that I'd bought at Schramm's about a month ago and forgotten all about.

You can see on the squash where my mom and I had been trying to hack at it with every knife in the drawer. It wasn't working, so I looked up how to cut a hubbard squash online, thinking I'd find some sophisticated way to deal with the problem.

Instead, I found a video on YouTube of this guy dropping it out of a window, so that's what we did, too. It works really well! No more attempting to cut these things up with knives - it's dangerous!

Once my "pumpkin" (hubbard squash is close enough) puree was all ready, I decided to use some on these pumpkin pie bars.

They're really good - not too sweet, a good crispy bottom crust and smooth pumpkiny layer. I used way more pumpkin than the original recipe called for so that might explain why they aren't that sweet, but I like them this way.

Snow!

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PUMPKIN PIE BARS

Adapted from Some the Wiser

1 1/3 cup unbleached white flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

8 tablespoons butter (cold & cut up a little)

3/4 cup chopped pecans (optional) 

8 oz cream cheese, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 eggs, slightly beaten

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon allspice

1 teaspoon vanilla 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a food processor, combine crust ingredients and pulse two or three times until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 2/3 cup of the mixture for topping.  Press remaining mixture evenly into the bottom of an 8x11 baking dish.  Bake at 350 degrees F for 15 minutes. Cool for about 15 minutes.

Wipe out the food processor and add in the filling ingredients. Blend until mixture is smooth.  Pour mixture over baked crust after it cools. Bake at 350 degrees F for about 10 minutes, until it looks like it's starting to set. Sprinkle with remaining crust topping and bake for about 30 minutes or until browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Baby dog sleeping in my room while I have a pumpkin pie bar for breakfast.