If you had asked me a couple years ago whether I would be eating, let alone sharing a recipe for pumpkin pie bars I would have told you were crazy! I grew up hating pumpkin, especially pumpkin pie. I don’t know when it happened but suddenly I started liking pumpkin a few years ago and I’ve never looked back. I made these bars after Thanksgiving because I had an extra can of sweetened condensed milk left in the pantry. These were really tasty and travel well. Top these little jewels off with some fresh whipped cream and you’ve got yourself a beautiful dessert!

Pumpkin Pie Bars (barely adapted from here)

1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour

1 cup finely chopped nuts

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon, divided

3/4 cup butter or margarine

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin

1 (14 ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon All Purpose Flour

Directions:

1.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In medium bowl, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, nuts, sugars and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Add butter, mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup of the mixture. Pat remaining mixture on bottom of ungreased 13×9-inch baking pan.
2.Meanwhile, in large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, remaining 1 teaspoon cinnamon, allspice and salt; mix well. Pour evenly over crust. Mix reserved crumbs with 1 tablespoon flour. Sprinkle over pumpkin mixture.
3.Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until set. Cool 10 minutes. Serve warm. Store leftovers in refrigerator.