These Cream Cheese Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars will help you usher in fall in a delicious way! Baking with pumpkin is a telltale sign that it’s autumn time!
Last time I was at the grocery store I stocked up on canned pumpkin. I get so excited to start bringing in all the wonderful aromas of fall into my kitchen by baking yummy things! Be ready for pumpkin desserts to take over the blog, haha! They’re my favorite this time of year.
I love a good pumpkin bar, don’t you? I decided to kick it up a notch with today’s scrumptious confection by adding in a ribbon of cream cheese, chocolate chips and glaze! These are absolutely irresistible!
They resemble a slice of pumpkin chocolate chip bread-absolutely delightful! I love the combo of a hint of cream cheese tucked between the layers of pumpkin. It’s fall in every bite! The inspiration for this recipe came from one of my favorite chocolate cupcakes that has a cream cheese filling. I thought, why not add cream cheese filling to a pumpkin bar? You typically see it in the frosting on top, but I baked it in and have no regrets! Then I finished it off with an incredible cinnamon and nutmeg spiced glaze.
At first I was going to refrain from adding anything on top. These are pretty incredible on their own, but I polled the audience on Instagram and you said to glaze them, so I did! You made a very good call! They’re definitely better with the glaze.
Cream Cheese Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 c. sugar
- 3/4 c. canola oil
- 2 large eggs
- 1 c. canned pumpkin NOT pumpkin pie filling
- 2 c. all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
- 3/4 tsp. nutmeg
- 3/4 tsp. salt
- 1/4 tsp. cloves
- Cream Cheese Layer:
- 8 oz cream cheese softened
- 1 large egg
- 1/3 c. sugar
- dash of salt
- 1 c. chocolate chips
- Glaze:
- 1/2 c. powdered sugar
- 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
- 1-2 Tbsp. milk
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with parchment paper so it hangs over the sides.
- For the pumpkin batter, in the bowl of an electric mixer, mix sugar, canola oil, eggs and canned pumpkin. Mix it well, scraping down the sides in between.
- In a separate bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, salt, and cloves.
- Add the flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix until combined, scraping down the sides in between.
- Spread about 3/4 of the batter into the prepared 9"x13" pan (just do your best to eyeball it). Set the remaining 1/4th of the batter aside.
- Make the cream cheese layer by creaming together softened cream cheese, one egg, sugar, and salt until nice and creamy. Stir in the chocolate chips. Carefully spread the cream cheese layer evenly over the pumpkin batter.
- Do your best to spread the remaining 1/4 of the pumpkin batter over the top of the cream cheese layer. It won't cover it fully, so it's ok and expected to have portions of the cream cheese layer peeking through. I just plopped it on by the spatula full to different sections and then spread it.
- Place it in the oven and bake for approximately 28-30 minutes, or just until set. Check with a toothpick. You don't want to see goo, but moist crumbs are good.
- Allow the bars to cool in the pan for about ten minutes, then use the parchment paper to carefully lift them to a cooling rack. Allow them to cool completely before glazing.
- Prepare the glaze by whisking together powdered sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and just enough milk for thinning. Add 1 Tbsp. milk, whisk, and then add just a little more, as needed, until it's pourable, but not too runny. Drizzle the glaze over the cooled bars and let the glaze set completely. You can put them in the fridge to speed up the process. Then slice and serve.
If you’re making a list of fall desserts to bake over the coming months, these Cream Cheese Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars should be on it!
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