Pumpkin Roll Bars

I was searching for new pumpkin recipes on pinterest and stumbled across these pumpkin roll bars.  I made them last night and oh my, they are good!  They’re fluffy, full of flavor, so easy to make, and not too rich.  The cream cheese in the middle is perfect without being too overpowering.  

I frequently make things for work so Mr. C assumes when I’m baking something yummy and no one is coming over that it’s for a potluck or just because at work.  I gave him one of these bars and after he scarfed it down I asked if he wanted another one and his eyes lit up as he yelled “yes!”.  I guess he thought the rest were for work which made me feel a little bad because the poor guy didn't want to ask for more!  Anyhow, you should definitely add these to your fall baking list.  You may want to take some to work or church or your neighbors because I could see the potential to eat them all for breakfast.

You can also get the printable recipe here.

Recipe from: Let's Dish

Cake Ingredients:

6 Tb. butter, melted

1 ½ c. sugar

2 eggs

2 c. cooked pumpkin or a 15 oz. can

¼ c. water

2 c. flour

2 tsp. ground cinnamon

½ tsp. ground cloves

½ tsp. ground ginger

½ tsp. ground nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda

½ tsp. baking powder

Cream Cheese Filling Ingredients:

8 oz. cream cheese, softened (I used the 1/3 less fat and it tasted great)

¼ c. sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

1 egg

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13” baking pan with non-stick spray.

Combine butter and 1 ½ c. sugar in medium-sized bowl and beat until smooth.  Add in 2 eggs, pumpkin, 1 tsp. vanilla, and water.  Mix until well blended.   Mix in flower, spices, baking soda, and baking powder and mix until blended.  Spread about 2/3 of the batter evenly into the pan.

In a separate bowl, beat cream cheese, 1 egg, ¼ c. sugar, and ½ tsp. vanilla until smooth.  Spread cream cheese mixture over the pumpkin batter.  Dollop the remaining pumpkin batter over the cream cheese layer and spread evenly.  Use a butter knife to swirl together the cream cheese and top layer of pumpkin batter.  Bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center of the pumpkin batter springs back when touched.  Cool completely (good luck, it smells soooo good) and cut into bars.