These pumpkin pie bars are a party-ready, crowd-pleasing twist on classic pumpkin pie! Layered over a simple, buttery shortbread-esque crust and topped with a pillow of homemade whipped cream, it’s the perfect Thanksgiving dessert. Recipe includes a how-to video!
Party-Ready Pie Bars
Pumpkin pie bars are the cozy, crowd-friendly cousin to your classic pumpkin pie recipe. No rolling, blind-baking, or crust-crimping needed. This has been a hotly requested recipe for the past few years, and it’s finally here. I paired the buttery shortbread crust from my pecan pie bars with a rich (from-scratch, of course!) pumpkin pie filling. Top everything off with a generous scoop of homemade whipped cream and you have the perfect Thanksgiving/Fall-season dessert.
Why This Recipe WORKS
- Easy as pie (easier, actually). This recipe skips much of the fuss involved with making a pie dough, uses a food processor for the heavy lifting, and the filling comes together in a single bowl, no mixer even needed.
- Perfect for parties or your holiday dessert table. Plenty of servings, clean slices, easy to transport, and no fork needed as the sturdy shortbread base allows for handheld eating. These are bars, after all!
- Flavor that goes beyond basic. Thanks to a few key additions, like brown sugar for depth, heavy cream for smooth texture, a healthy splash of vanilla, and my specially curated blend of homemade pumpkin pie spice ✨
- No worry about cracks. The gentle mixing method, critical tips, and a parchment paper liner all make a cracked surface extremely unlikely (psst: If you still somehow end up with cracks, just cover them up with whipped cream!).
Ingredients
The ingredient list is pretty simple, but every ingredient plays a critical role and was carefully selected to yield the deepest flavor (and perfect texture). Let’s jump in:
- Pumpkin puree. Make sure you are using 100% pure pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. Annoyingly, they are almost always sold directly beside each other in the grocery store and can easily be confused (the can is even the same color!).
- Spices. While you could use pumpkin pie spice (you’d need 3 ½ teaspoons), I prefer to make my own blend with slightly different ratios than you’d find at the store (a bit heavier on the cinnamon — it really makes a difference!). You’ll need cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and nutmeg.
- Eggs. Lightly beat these with a fork so they can combine easily into the filling. I recommend setting your eggs out ahead of time so they can come to room temperature; if you forget, use my trick to quickly bring eggs to room temperature. This will also help them incorporate more easily, which is very important for reducing the risk of cracks, just like it is in my cheesecake recipe!
- Brown sugar. A bit in the crust and the filling adds a nice depth of flavor.
- Cream. We’ll also add this in both the crust and the filling. If you remember my classic pumpkin pie (a project that was also years in the making), you’ll know that I found heavy cream to be the *best* option for the filling–it yields the smoothest, creamiest texture.
This is just an overview of the ingredients I used and why. For the full recipe please scroll down to the bottom of the post!
SAM’S TIP: Don’t skip the cornstarch in the crust! It helps prevent a soggy bottom and encourages an irresistible shortbread-esque texture.
How to Make Pumpkin Pie Bars
- Step 1: Make the crust dough. Pulse together the dry ingredients in the basin of a food processor, then cut in the butter. Drizzle in the heavy cream and pulse again until the dough is still crumbly, but will cling together if you press it. Don’t go too far with this or it will be quite difficult to work in the pan, and the texture of your crust could suffer!
- Step 2: Press into pan. Pour the crumbly mixture into a parchment lined baking pan. Evenly press the mixture into the pan until you have one solid layer; sometimes I’ll lay a piece of wax paper on top to help get the job done (remove it before baking though!).
- Step 3: Bake. Transfer the crust to a 350F oven (center rack, always!) and bake until light golden brown. While it bakes, prepare your filling.
- Step 4: Prep the filling. Whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, spices, and salt. Use a spatula to gently stir in the eggs one at a time, being careful not to over-mix. Finally, stir in the heavy cream.
- Step 5: Add to crust. Remove your crust from the oven once baked through, then reduce the temperature to 325F. Evenly pour the filling overtop of the baked crust.
- Step 6: Bake & cool. Transfer the pan back to the oven (at the reduced temperature) and bake until the edges are set and the center is slightly jiggly. The bars will need to cool at room temperature for an hour or two before you transfer them to the fridge to chill.
SAM’S TIP: Just like when making cheesecake or (pumpkin cheesecake!), you want to mix thoroughly, but still go easy on the eggs. Over-mixing can cause your filling to puff too high in the oven, making it eventually fall and crack. Follow my tips for using room temperature eggs, beating each egg gently before adding, and adding only one egg at a time with a spatula, and you’ll be just fine!
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, like regular pumpkin pie, pie bars must be refrigerated as well. I recommend doing so in an airtight container for best results.
Yes, wrap them well in plastic wrap before storing in an airtight container in the freezer. They should keep this way for about a month.
This crust will be very dry and crumbly when preparing, which is why I recommend making it with a food processor. If you don’t have one, it can be more of a struggle and you may wish to use the crust from my millionaire’s shortbread instead. We did test the recipe that way and it works quite well, though I do prefer the shortcrust listed instead.
You could, and you’d need 3 ½ teaspoons of pumpkin pie spice. However, I tried the pumpkin pie bars this way and preferred the version listed out in the recipe, so that would be my first recommendation.
More Thanksgiving Dessert Recipes
So many of you asked for this one–I can’t wait to hear how you like it! 🧡
Enjoy!
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Pumpkin Pie Bars
Ingredients
For the crust
- 2 ½ cups (291 g) all-purpose flour
- ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch
- ¾ teaspoon table salt
- 1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter very cold, cubed
- 2 Tablespoons heavy cream
For the pumpkin pie filling
- 15 oz (425 g) canned pumpkin puree
- ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar firmly packed
- 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract
- 1 ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- ¾ teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground allspice
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon table salt
- 3 large eggs lightly beaten (room temperature preferred)
- 1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream
- 1 batch homemade whipped cream for serving (optional but recommended! Click link for the recipe)
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 350F (175C) and line a metal 13×9 baking dish with parchment paper. Set aside.
For the crust
- To the basin of your food processor, add the flour, sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Pulse several times to combine.2 ½ cups (291 g) all-purpose flour, ½ cup (100 g) light brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons cornstarch, ¾ teaspoon table salt
- Scatter the cubed butter pieces over the surface and pulse again in 1-second intervals, until the butter is incorporated (remaining pieces are no larger than the size of a chocolate chip).1 cup (226 g) unsalted butter
- Drizzle the heavy cream overtop then continue to pulse in 1-second intervals until the dough is still crumbly but just begins to hold together. Check it by pinching the dough between your finger, if it sticks together it’s good to go.2 Tablespoons heavy cream
- Pour the crumbly mixture into your prepared baking pan and press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of a pan (use the back of a spoon or clean hands to do this, sometimes I’ll lay a piece of wax paper overtop and smooth over it that way, just remember to remove the wax paper!).
- Transfer to center rack of 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 25-30 minutes, until the crust is a light golden brown. While the crust bakes, prepare your pumpkin pie topping.
Pumpkin pie topping
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, brown sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, allspice, nutmeg, and salt until completely combined.15 oz (425 g) canned pumpkin puree, ¾ cup (150 g) light brown sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract, 1 ¾ teaspoons ground cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ground ginger, ½ teaspoon ground allspice, ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon table salt
- Use a spatula to gently stir in the eggs, one at a time, stirring until just-combined after each addition (don’t stir too vigorously or whisk or use an electric mixer, you risk over-mixing and causing the pumpkin pie to crack).3 large eggs
- Gently stir in heavy cream until batter is completely combined, smooth, and uniform.1 cup (236 ml) heavy cream
Assembly
- Once the crust has finished baking, remove it from the oven and reduce the oven temperature to 325F (165C).
- Pour filling evenly over the pie crust and return to the center rack of 325F (165C) oven. Bake for 28-30 minutes, until the edges are set, and the center is mostly set with just a very slight jiggle.
- Allow pumpkin pie bars to cool at room temperature for an hour or two, then transfer to the refrigerator to set completely, for at least 4-6 hours.
- Slice and serve, topped with homemade whipped cream, if desired.1 batch homemade whipped cream
Notes
Baking dish
Metal is best; a glass or ceramic baking dish will take more time than indicated.Storing
Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.Nutrition
Nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered an estimate only. Actual nutritional content will vary based upon brands used, measuring methods, cooking method, portion sizes, and more.
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