Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars
One word to describe these.. AMAZING. These bars are so soft and moist and all the flavors really compliment each other - pumpkin, chocolate chips and cream cheese frosting. I got this recipe from a dear friend and incredible singer, Kimberly. Rating: 10/10
Ingredients (bars):
3 eggs
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1 cup grape seed oil (vegetable oil works, too)
15-ounce can pumpkin
1.5 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup jumbo chocolate chips (I always use less)
Ingredients (icing):
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Directions (bars):
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. Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
3) Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth
4) Spread the batter into a greased shallow 9x13 baking pan. Sprinkle chocolate chips evenly over the top. Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked all the way through. NOTE: Mine took closer to forty minutes.
5) Let cool completely before frosting.
Directions (icing):
1) Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and vanilla and mix at low speed until combined.
2) Spread on cooled pumpkin bars. NOTE: My bars cooled for about an hour and a half and were still barely warm when I frosted them. The warm pumpkin bar with cool frosting. So good.
