2011, Recipe 38: Pumpkin Bars

Recipe courtesy of Italian Dessert Recipes

• 1 cup of white sugar
•  2/3 cup of brown sugar
•  1 can of pumpkin
•  1/2 cup of oil
•  1/2 cup of butter
•  3 eggs
•  2 cups of flour
•  1 teaspoon baking soda
•  2 teaspoons baking powder
•  1/4 teaspoon anise (powdered)
•  1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
•  1/4 teaspoon allspice 

Frosting Ingredients:

•  1 stick of butter
•  8 ounces of ricotta (see substitution ideas below)
•  2 tsp vanilla
•  2 cups of powdered sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Combine sugars, oil, pumpkin.
Add eggs one at a time and beat.
Make a well in the middle of the mixture.
Sift the dry ingredients into the well.
Blend all ingredients.
Spread into a greased 9x11 pan.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Let the pumpkin bars cool and then frost with the ricotta cheese frosting.
For frosting mix all ingredients together.

Results: Ya'll... these bars right here? MOIST! DELICIOUS!!!  I had to give them away to keep me and Rashan from devouring the entire pan.  LOL  I halved the amount of frosting and there was enough to leave some unfrosted.  The unfrosted bars were just as delicious.  Rashan actually liked those better so if you don't feel like buying the ingredients you don't have, just skip the frosting.  Oh yeah, I had self-rising flour so I skipped the baking powder.  I also added 1/8 tsp. of ground ginger.  I'd add nutmeg to these in a minute, too.