Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars w/ Cream Cheese Frosting- Happy Fall Y'all!

Paula Deen's Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

Happy Fall Y'all!

 

 



Here in Virginia, Autumn is in full swing!  It seems like we went from a hot, humid summer to cold, rainy winter overnight so I'm so excited to wake up for some Gorgeous Fall Weather this morning!  Woo Hoo!  Fall is my FAVORITE time of year so I'm a happy farm girl today!  Autumn weather puts me in the mood for all things Fall related which always starts with thoughts of PUMPKINS!  Since it was our week to bring goodies for the teacher's lounge at our homeschool co-op, I thought it was a great time to teach my girls about baking, and of course, we started with a delicous pumpkin recipe!

 

When I think of great southern cooking, one of the first ladies that comes to mind for me is the beautiful and creative southern chef, Paula Deen!  I love that she's so successful and still stays true to her roots, right Y'all?   I'm a big fan!  When I was wasting   spending time on Pinterest I just happened across a yummy Paula Deen treat!  Paula Deen Pumpkin Bars with the most buttery, sugary, creamy, cream cheese frosting you have ever tasted!  If I'm going to teach my girls how to bake goodies, Paula's recipes are the way to ensure success!  *By the way- if you're a fan like I am, Paula actually has a Pinterest page of her own with more dreamy recipes and country ideas!

 

The best thing is, although it's made from scratch, it's a simple recipe!  My favorite combination: homemade, delicious, and easy to put together!

 

Ingredients

 

Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can 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

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2.Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

 

3. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.

4. Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

5. Spread the batter into a greased 13x10 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

To make the icing:
6. Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.

7.  Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again.

8. Let cool completely before frosting.

9. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars

10. Cut into bars.

 Oh so yummy!  I must tell you these bars melt in your mouth!  Obviously, there's another goodie on the plate with the pumpkin bar.  I have twin girls and since we needed to make goodies for the teachers' lounge I decided to let them each make different recipes.  Beside the bread is Briana's baked good, Buttermilk Cinnamon Bread! It's delicous also and I'll be posting that recipe next week!

 

 

 I'm so proud of Alyssa for baking these Pumpkin Bars all by herself!  Everything was made from scratch!  It warms my heart to see my daughters taking an interest in homemaking and learning to provide.  It's perfect for our Keepers at Home lessons and it's a joy to share the time and energy together!

The Paula Deen Pumpkin Bars were a great hit in the teachers' loung also! Alyssa was all smiles when my son reported back to her that his teachers were raving in HIS classroom about her bars!  She blushed and grinned so wide when he told her his teachers were in awe that a 9 year old baked it on her own!  I bragged in front of her that my only assistance was placing the pan in the oven (I worry they're still too young to reach it without getting burned).  

  

  The Bible commands every Christian girl to "Use hospitality one to another without grudging," ~I Peter 4:9, so it was such a blessing to be able to homeschool and share the opportunity to provide hospitality to our friends at co-op with my daughters!  I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we did!

 

Love,

 

Tiffany