Pumpkin Bars

"Guess what time it is?" My sweet fiance doesn't really like this game. It usually involves him fixing something or me squishing his face. Which explains his apprehensive response "ummm noon?" "No, it's PUMPKIN TIME!" Silly, he should have known by the 10 cans of pumpkin sitting on the table. Pumpkin is one of my favorite things in the entire world. It goes with all the best fall spices and pumpkins have a natural resemblance to my own head. Or is it the other way around?

Either way pumpkin season is upon us and I am thrilled about it. Colder weather is not usually my favorite, but if I get to seasonably eat some pumpkin goodies I will consider myself appeased. Pumpkin delight number one are these little beauties. Pumpkin bars are happier than leaves falling off the trees.These bars are crazy moist and full of flavor. I spread a light layer of icing on them to force the candy corn pumpkins to become friends with the bars. If you would rather not have the icing on there, I did the hard work of I testing plenty of them naked and they are also crazy good. Science will thank me for it, I'm sure.

Ingredients

Bars:

1 (15-ounce) can unsweetened pumpkin

1 cup canola oil

3 cups sugar

3 large eggs

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon pumpkin or apple pie spice

1 teaspoon cinnamon

Icing:

4 Tablespoons of butter, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

candy corn pumpkins, optional

Combine the first four ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Make sure everything is well blended. Combine the remaining dry ingredients in a separate bowl and mix those well. Usually I am not the "let's dirty another bowl" type of person, but the spices don't blend as well if you just throw them in. 

Pour the batter into a well greased cookie sheet that has fairly high sides. I have a few super deep pans so I was able to fill it about 3/4 of the way up. This recipe will give you about two pans full of the batter. Just to be on the safe side, I put another pan at the bottom of the oven to catch any batter that may explode over. Bake these at 350 degrees for about 20 to 30 minutes. Cool before frosting.

While the bars are baking, combine all the icing ingredients and whisk them until there are no lumps in it. If you like a thicker icing, add a bit more powdered sugar. Spoon this over the cooled bars and cut them into small squares. Then add any decorative flair you like. I like the little candy corn pumpkins, it makes them look like a little pumpkin patch!

This is a recipe adapted from /http://sugarmamacooks.com/. Head on over to her site, she has some amazing pumpkin wisdom to share!