Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

“This post has been sponsored by Farmers Market Foods, all thoughts and opinions are my own. As always, thank you for supporting brands that support Olive & Artisan”

            This is the recipe for you. When someone else is already bringing the pie, your grandma is definitely doing her famous cookies, and you want to make something festive. It’s all here for you in these Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s a sticky, pumpkin-y, fluffy situation that will hit all the right holiday notes.

            Let’s talk, if just for a moment about this Farmers Market Foods Pumpkin Puree. It holds a special place in my heart and history because it’s a farm that I worked on back in college. It’s family owned, and it truly operates with integrity. I couldn’t be more thrilled to be working with them again in this capacity. There are a ton of pumpkin puree options, but I’ve always gravitated towards the Farmers Market Foods Label because of it’s creamy texture and quality contents.

            We’re going to take the butter and brown it in a saucepan. Melt a cup and a half of butter on medium heat until it starts to foam, smells nutty, and the milk solids start to turn golden brown. Once it’s cooled slightly, I like to pour it into a glass measuring cup being sure to get all the good, toasted, milk solids from the bottom of the pan. We’ve cooked off a good amount of liquid, so it won’t render a full cup and half anymore. That’s perfectly okay. Pour the browned butter into a separate bowl until you’re left with 1 cup of the browned butter in your measuring cup. We’ll use that reserved butter for the frosting.

            Now we’re going to do what any good baker does. Take that cup of butter and cream it together with some sugar, eggs, vanilla, and of course, our trusted pumpkin puree. Dust in the dry ingredients. Combine. Lick the spoon. Transfer batter to a parchment paper-lined and greased 9″ x 13″ baking pan. Bake in a preheated oven for about 25 minutes.

            The smell is really something here. It’s like a hug, and I really mean it.

            Okay, so let’s let it cool while we make the frosting. We mix a whole 8 ounces of cream cheese that has thoroughly come to room temperature, that reserved browned butter, powdered sugar, a splash of vanilla, and milk and we take this mix on a ride in our stand mixers. Feel free to use whole milk, half and half or cream. It’s flexible like that. Whip it until it’s light, fluffy, and easy to spread.

            Plop the frosting onto the cooled bars. We are going for rustic swirls, not perfection here. And, if you’re in the mood, sprinkle them with cinnamon and sugar for some extra flair. Optional but optimal.

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