Paula Deen's Amazing Pumpkin Bars!

I got this recipe from my friend Amy’s blog. I thought pumpkin bars sounded really good. Plus when I saw it was Paula Deen’s recipe, I knew they would be delicious. So last weekend I made them and they were the best pumpkin bars I’ve ever had!! So good that I’m stealing it to share on my blog as well. For the part on the applesauce/oil, I used ½ cup no sugar added applesauce and ½ cup of oil.

Pumpkin Bars -- Paula Deen recipe.

Ingredients

 4 eggs

 1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

 1 cup vegetable oil

 15-ounce can of pumpkin

 2 cups sifted, all-purpose flour

 2 teaspoons baking powder

 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 1 teaspoon salt

 1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

 8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

 1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

 2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth. Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

I substituted a cup of unsweetened applesauce for the cup of oil in the batter. I like to put a little Brach’s pumpkin on top of each bar.