Fall Pumpkin Squares

These Fall Pumpkin Squares with cream cheese icing are a sweet Fall treat made in heaven! Easy-to-make cake-like batter made in a shallow baking pan is a crowd-pleaser.

Forget that I live on a farm and that Fall officially arrives when I see the combine being pulled out of the barn and head to the field!

Fall for me officially arrives the moment I start craving these pumpkin squares, I feel it in the weather, the corn and beans start to turn and the need for pumpkin squares hits me!

My Mom has made pans and pans of these every fall since I was a kid!  They are a distinct part of my childhood memories of food!

Fall Pumpkin Squares

Honestly, I can never decide in the fall if I’m Team Pumpkin or Team Apple. I will say that the cream cheese icing that pairs so well with pumpkin sways me just a bit, I do love that stuff!

I might also add that you should always put these on a cute plate, they go fast and as people pass by the empty plate they can at least admire your great taste in service ware!

Ingredients To Gather:

For the cake:

• vegetable oil
• eggs
• canned pumpkin or fresh made pureed pumpkin
• vanilla
• cinnamon
• baking soda
• salt
• sugar
• flour

For the icing:

• softened cream cheese
• softened butter
• vanilla
• powdered sugar

How To Make Fall Pumpkin Squares

For the pumpkin cake squares:

1. In a mixing bowl start by adding the wet ingredients (oil, eggs, pumpkin, and vanilla) and using an electric mixer on low beat to combine, making sure the eggs are broken up and incorporated.
2. Add the sugar to your wet ingredients and mix until incorporated.
3. In a separate bowl combine all the dry ingredients and add them in small batches to the mixing bowl while running the mixer on low. Mix until thoroughly combined for a smooth cake batter.
4. Spread cake batter evenly in an ungreased 12″ x 17″ baking sheet.
5. Bake in a 350° pre-heated oven for 20-30 minutes, until cake bounces back when tapped lightly and a toothpick comes out clean. Once done remove from oven and allow to cool completely.

For the cream cheese icing:

1. Beat together butter and cream cheese until smooth; stir in vanilla.
2. Add confectioners’ sugar a little at a time, beating until the mixture is smooth.

Once the pumpkin bar cake is completely cool frost it with the cream cheese icing evenly, and cut it into squares to serve.

Tips, Tricks, Questions, and Comments

I love to make these in my 16″x12″ baking pan that is 1″ deep! It is a large cookie sheet and makes a perfect height (thickness) for cake or cookie bars. I have made this in a standard 9″x13″ baking dish as well and it tastes just fine, just be aware the baking times in the recipe are for a thinner cake. The thicker the batter in the baking dish the longer it will take to bake through.

While you can defiantly cut these up and serve them on a cute platter they travel so well in the baking sheet. They are so delicious no one will care what they are served on.

This recipe makes a large batch and is perfect for pitch-ins, tail-gating or as treats to last your family the whole week!

These will freeze, either individually or as an entire pan, be sure they are well wrapped. It is also best to NOT ice them before freezing.

If you’re Team Pumpkin you might also love Pumpkin Beer Bread or Double Pumpkin Beer Bread!