Look, I know it’s almost Easter.
I’m supposed to give you recipes involving lemons. Maybe blueberries or strawberries.
In short, spring usually means eating things that started its life as a healthy food and ended it dredged in sugar. At any rate, it definitely means something light and creamy.
But this is real life.
And I don’t always make things because they’re in season.
Sometimes I make things because we had a couple weeks off school and one of my sweet daughters cleaned out the pantry, only to discover we had several cans of pumpkin that I never used last fall.
So all that pumpkin puree has landed in the “to be used right away” bin, next to the tiny cups of diced peaches and the seasoning packets of Italian dressing.
Do you know what I usually make out of pumpkin puree?
If you just sarcastically said, “Nothing, apparently,” yes, yes, you’d be right.
But do you know what I thought I’d make out of pumpkin puree?
Yes. Of course. Pie.
The truth is, I think pumpkin pie is sort of a punishment dessert.
Like… it seems like the kind of dessert I could enjoy only if it were World War II and we grew pumpkins in the yard.
I’d eat it before I’d eat a raisin cookie, but only after eating all the available chocolate, vanilla, lemon, strawberry, and apple desserts.
Pumpkin is way on down the dessert hierarchy. That’s what I’m saying.
I love those fancy pumpkin rolls with the whippy frosting layer, but I’m too lazy to make one.
I’ve tried making a pumpkin cheesecake before – out of homemade pumpkin puree, even – and ended up throwing most of it away.
That was frustrating.
So I had no idea what to do with the cans in my pantry.
They had been taunting me from the bin for about a week when I went to visit my sisters in Birmingham and one of them reminded me about the baking blog Sally’s Baking Addiction.
I’ve got one of the author’s cookbooks and love it, but I hadn’t thought to see what she had by way of pumpkin recipes.
Turns out, she had a recipe for something she called The Best Pumpkin Bars I’ve Ever Had.
That was a pretty low bar for me, really, as I’d never had any type of pumpkin bars to the best of my recollection.
But then I tried them. And y’all. These things shot pumpkin way up the dessert hierarchy. I ate three of them while I put them in the storage container.
Moist and dense, with a thin layer of tangy cream cheese icing, they are reminiscent of my mom’s carrot cake but with less work. (Also, notably, with less carrot.)
I didn’t have about half the spices called for, but they were still quite good.
Give them a try… if you aren’t scared to eat pumpkin in March.
PUMPKIN BARS
Ingredients
Dry ingredients:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice (I substituted another 1 teaspoon cinnamon plus about 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg)
Wet ingredients:
1 cup oil
3 large eggs (I had medium and substituted 3 medium eggs plus 1 yolk)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons maple syrup
1 can pumpkin puree
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
Frosting ingredients:
1 (8-ounce) brick cream cheese, room temperature
4 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon salt
2-3 cups powdered sugar
Directions
■ Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 10-by-17-inch pan with parchment paper, allowing extra paper at either end to form “handles” for removing bars from pan. (Note: this pan size is larger than most rectangular cake pans but about the size of most rimmed cookie sheets.)
■ In a large mixing bowl, mix together dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices). In another bowl – or the bowl of your stand mixer if you plan to use it – mix together oil, eggs, sugars, syrup, puree, and vanilla until smooth. Pour dry ingredients into wet ingredients and mix on low speed until mixture appears homogeneous. Pour mixture into prepared pan and smooth top.
■ Bake for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool about 5 minutes in pan and then use parchment paper to slide bars out to cool the rest of the way on a cooling rack or countertop.
■ In the meantime, prepare icing: whip together all icing ingredients until smooth and fluffy. I used about 2 cups of powdered sugar because that’s what I had on hand and really preferred the thin, tangy consistency of the result. You could start with 2 cups and add more if needed. Spread icing on pumpkin bars when they reach room temperature or nearly room temperature.
Amelia Plair is a mom and high school teacher in Starkville. Email reaches her at [email protected].
Amelia Plair is a Starkville resident who writes occasional food columns.
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 36 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
