
Don’t want to make yet another pie for your holiday rotation but still need that distinctive pumpkin pie flavor on your menu? Turn your pumpkin pie into a bar! If your favorite coffee shop was going to sell pumpkin pie, they’d do it in this portable form and of course finish it with a crunchy oat top. So make a PSL to enjoy with these bars, and embrace everyone’s favorite fall flavor.
Think of your base layer as your pie crust: If you prefer it to be firmer, bake it first before adding the filling. If you like a softer doughier pie crust generally, you can skip the base layer pre-bake. The crunchy oat topping really needs to be sprinkled on at the very end and is a great thing to add on top of any custard filling dessert once the filling sets. Make sure you don’t sprinkle this on too early, if it sinks into the filling, you will get a different result—also delicious, but not a crunchy distinctive third layer.
Same as we've all found about pumpkin pie, these bars tastes better the next day after a day in the fridge. A little extra nutmeg and the rich flavor of honey are key to this amazingly rich flavor that tastes even better chilled. Once made, these sit in the fridge for a week beautifully.
Made this recipe? Let us know how it went in the comments below!
Ingredients
Base
Cooking spray
- 1 cup
(2 sticks) cold unsalted butter
- 1/4 cup
(50 g.) granulated sugar
- 3 Tbsp.
light brown sugar
- 1 Tbsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 2 Tbsp.
old-fashioned oats
- 2 cups
(240 g.) all-purpose flour
- 1 Tbsp.
ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
Filling
- 3
large eggs
- 1/2 cup
honey
- 1/4 cup
granulated sugar
- 2 Tbsp.
packed light brown sugar
- 2 tsp.
pure vanilla extract
- 1
(15-oz.) can pumpkin puree
- 1/2 cup
heavy cream
- 1 Tbsp.
pumpkin pie spice
- 1 tsp.
ground nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp.
kosher salt
Oat Topping & Assembly
- 1/2 cup
packed brown sugar
- 6 Tbsp.
(3/4 stick) cold unsalted butter
- 1 cup
old-fashioned oats
- 1/2 cup
(60 g.) all-purpose flour
Pinch of kosher salt
Directions
Base
- Step 1Grease a 13" x 9" pan with cooking spray, then line pan with parchment. In the large bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla on high speed until smooth and creamy, about 4 minutes.
- Step 2Gently crush oats to break them down into some tinier pieces. Slowly add oats, flour, cinnamon, and salt and beat on medium-low speed until blended, 1 to 2 minutes.
- Step 3Press base into bottom of prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate at least 20 minutes or up to 1 day.
- Step 4Preheat oven to 350°. Bake base until beginning to firm up, about 10 minutes.
Filling
- Step 1In a large bowl, whisk eggs, honey, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla until well combined.
- Step 2Add pumpkin puree, cream, pumpkin pie spice, nutmeg, and salt and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.
Oat Topping & Assembly
- Step 1Wipe out stand mixer bowl and paddle attachment. In stand mixer, beat brown sugar and butter on medium speed until well combined. Using your fingers, break down most of the oats as you add so you have some smaller pieces. Add flour and salt and beat on low speed until just combined.
- Step 2Pour pumpkin filling over base in pan. Cover with foil. Cut a large slit lengthwise down center of foil.
- Step 3Bake bars until pie filling is starting to set, about 50 minutes.
- Step 4Uncover pan. Using your fingers, crumble oat topping over top, leaving some filling exposed. Continue to bake until crumble layer crisps up, about 15 minutes more.
- Step 5Let cool at least 30 minutes (or ideally refrigerate up to 1 day) before cutting into bars.

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