It's that time of year again--pumpkin spice and everything nice! If you like Snickerdoodles and you like pumpkin spice, you'll love these bars! Bonus is that they don't require hauling out your mixer--everything can be done by hand. I was surprised at how stiff the batter was and a bit worried about how these were going to turn out, but they were delicious! I took them to a party and they were all gone before any of the other desserts. I cut the bars three across and three down for a total of nine bars but then I cut each bar in half. Feel free to cut them any way you like. My granddaughter was so disappointed that I was taking them to a party (they made the whole house smell delicious) that I made a second batch for her the next day.
8 tablespoons unsalted butter
Cooking spray or butter
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
2 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice, divided
1/2 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
1/2 cup pumpkin purée (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees
Place butter in a microwave-safe container (a glass measuring cup works well) and microwave until melted, approximately one minute.
Spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with cooking spray and line with parchment paper letting it hang over two sides to form a “sling.” Spray with cooking spray.
Place 3 TBL sugar and 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice in small bowl and set aside.
Add the remaining 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 1/2 cup packed brown sugar, 1/2 cup pumpkin purée, 1 TBL vanilla extract, and 1/4 tsp. kosher salt to the butter and mix thoroughly.
Evenly sprinkle the remaining 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp. cream of tartar, 1/4 tsp. baking powder, and 1/4 teaspoon baking soda over the pumpkin mixture and stir to combine.
Add the 1 1/3 cups flour and mix until well-combined. The batter will be stiff.
Pour batter (more like scrape the batter) into prepared pan and sprinkle top with reserved sugar/pumpkin spice mixture. Press into batter with the back of a spoon.
Bake for 15 minutes then rotate pan and bake a further 13 to 15 minutes.
Place pan on a wire rack and let cool completely. Grasp parchment paper and remove bars from pan. Cut into 9 squares. (Be sure the bars cool before cutting.)
A Berry Suspicious Death is now out!
Weddings are murder in the new Cranberry Cove Mystery from USA Today bestselling author Peg Cochran!
The
cranberry bogs at Sassamanash Farms have never looked more festive than
when Monica’s half-brother celebrates his wedding there. It’s a
genuinely joyous occasion, and even greeting a strange assortment of
guests and witnessing a heated argument can’t spoil Monica’s mood. But
that all changes when one of the guests is found murdered at the
reception—and then one of Monica’s employees is accused of doing the
deed to get his hands on the dead woman’s money.
It doesn’t take
long for Monica to discover that the victim had amassed her fortune by
marrying a very wealthy—and very ill—older man. What’s more, the old
man’s daughters despised the scheming, gold-digging woman, and thought
the inheritance money should have been theirs. That seems like motive
enough for murder, but Monica suspects there’s more to this case than
simple greed. With her employee in hot water and time running out,
Monica will have to act fast to catch the killer, before a case that
started with a family wedding ends with her own funeral . ..
Facebook Page
Peg Cochran is the author of the Open Book Series (writing as Margaret Loudon), the Cranberry Cove Series, the Murder, She Repored series, the Farmer's Daughter Series, the Lucille series and the Sweet Nothings Lingerie Series (writing as Meg London.)
