All the taste and vibes of a pumpkin pie - without all the hassle! These pumpkin pie bars have a brown butter graham cracker crust, and an easy pumpkin pie filling. They come together quickly and are a great make ahead dessert. The best part - the filling has no eggs, so these pumpkin bars will not crack on you like a pumpkin pie can!
Hi hi! I am just popping in to share this recipe for super easy pumpkin bars with you! This recipe almost feels like cheating because you get all the vibes of a pumpkin pie, but without the need to blind bake a pie crust.
I LOVE a graham cracker crust, so I paired it with the easy (and egg free) pumpkin pie filling from my classic pumpkin pie, and this is the most perfect love child!
Make these ahead of time for a perfect dessert - you can pull them out of the fridge, top them with whipped cream or powdered sugar and off you go, or they would be incredible with a meringue topping. They are also an amazing option for feeding a crowd as you can cut them up nice and small, not to mention I'll take transporting a tray of bars over a whole pie any day! Don't get me wrong, I love a pumpkin pie, but sometimes you just want easy and no fuss.
Graham Cracker Crust + Pumpkin Pie Filling = Best Friends
Instead of going for a pie crust for my pumpkin pie bars, I did my easy brown butter graham cracker crust. Within the recipe card there are notes on how to scale the crust for different sized pans - for this 9" pan you double the crust quantities. There are also notes on how to sub graham crackers if you can't get those in your country.
The filling for the pumpkin bars is basically a liquid - it will feel very strange pouring it on top of the crust, but it works. For this reason though you want to make sure that your graham cracker crust is nicely golden brown when baked and properly cooled before adding the filling.
Pumpkin bars are almost better if you make them ahead....
My Pumpkin Pie Bars take a while to cool - ideally you want them to be completely cooled when you remove them from the pan to slice. I like to make them ahead of time if I can - they are totally fine to refrigerate overnight, in fact I prefer to. If you can't that's fine, but these truly are a great make ahead dessert.
Are you sure there are no eggs in the filling?!
It feels weird but I promise it is right. This recipe is based on my pumpkin pie recipe which is a sugar pie style pie, so it doesn't have eggs. This means that is is a great option if you have an allergy and need a pumpkin pie without eggs, but my favourite part is that it will not crack on you. Cracking on a pumpkin pie comes from the proteins in the eggs - they tighten as they cook and then cool, which causes cracking in the pie.
❤️ Made this recipe and love it? ❤️
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Answers to your baking questions
Over the years, many of you have asked me questions about:
- baking in grams
- adjusting oven temperatures
- what kind of salt to use
- and many more!
I've curated and answered them all for your easy reference in this frequently asked questions post!
Easy Pumpkin Pie Bars with Graham Cracker Crust
- Author: Erin Clarkson
-
Prep Time: 1 hour -
Cook Time: 30 minutes
-
Total Time: 3 hours
-
Yield: 16 servings 1x -
Category: Pie -
Method: Baking -
Cuisine: American
Pin RecipeDescription
All the taste and vibes of a pumpkin pie - without all the hassle! These pumpkin pie bars have a brown butter graham cracker crust, and an easy pumpkin pie filling. They come together quickly and are a great make ahead dessert. The best part - the filling has no eggs, so these pumpkin bars will not crack on you like a pumpkin pie can!
Ingredients
Crust
- One Graham Cracker Crust, made with quantities for a 9" square pan, baked and cooled
Pumpkin Pie Filling
- 100g granulated sugar
- 60g all-purpose flour
- 100g light or dark brown sugar
- 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice or mixed spice (I have a homemade pumpkin spice recipe)
- 230g whole milk
- 155g heavy cream
- 210g pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
- pinch of salt
Whipped Cream or Powdered Sugar for topping, optional (I lightly whipped some cream then piped it on with a french star tip)
Instructions
- Prepare the graham cracker crust using the quantities for a 9" square pan (the quantities are in the recipe notes in the recipe card). Cool completely.
- Preheat the oven to 375°f / 190°c.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the granulated sugar and flour. Add the brown sugar and pumpkin spice and mix to incorporate.
- In a separate medium bowl, whisk together the milk, cream, pumpkin puree, vanilla, and salt.
- Add to the dry ingredients and whisk until just combined. It will be liquid - it is meant to be like this, don't worry!
- Pour the pumpkin pie filling over the cooled graham cracker crust and transfer to the oven. If you are worried about slopping, place the pan with the crust on the rack first and then pour the filling into it. If there are bubbles on the surface you can gently torch the surface with a blow torch to pop them.
- Bake the pumpkin bars for 25-30 minutes until set - the edges will puff up a little but will drop back down once they are out of the oven. You want a tiny bit of a jiggle in the middle of the bars still.
- Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack, then refrigerate until chilled. Cut into squares.
- Serve with whipped cream or a dusting of powdered sugar.
The post Easy Pumpkin Pie Bars with Graham Cracker Crust appeared first on Cloudy Kitchen.
