These chocolate swirled pumpkin bars are a perfect combination of pumpkin and chocolate, a nice alternative to the traditional pumpkin bars with cream cheese frosting.
A month or so ago, I picked up a copy of Fall Baking from Better Homes and Gardens on a table at work (I work for the company that publishes BH&G).
There are so many recipes I’m looking forward to baking this season, but at the first hint of fall this weekend, I had to make the Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars.
Normally my go-to pumpkin bar recipe is from my husband’s late grandmother. It’s a really amazing tried and true recipe for Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting. It’s hard for me NOT to make these when the pumpkin spice cravings hit, but I do like to try other recipes too and this one practically jumped off the page at me!
This recipe is relatively easy and uses typical ingredients I had on hand for baking. My only issue was that I forgot to set out the cream cheese to soften. Why do I always do this?! My swirls were a little messy because the cream cheese was a little too firm, but the end result was still SO good!
My co-workers were the primary benefactors of my weekend baking, and these went over well at the office. While this won’t completely replace Grandma Ardi’s Pumpkin Bar recipe, I’ll definitely make these again!
The Fall Baking issue has several other recipes I want to make, including several other pumpkin recipes and this Chocolate Caramel Monkey Bread… hello Sunday morning!
… and these Bacon Buttermilk Scones, which are definitely going on the menu the next time we have people over for dinner.
Recipe modified from Better Homes and Gardens
Chocolate Swirled Pumpkin Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups flour
- 1 1/2 cup sugar
- 2 tsp baking powder
- 2 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/4 tsp allspice
- 4 eggs
- 1 15-oz can of pumpkin
- 1 cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup miniature semi-sweet chocolate chips
- 1 8-oz package, cream cheese, softened
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 15×10″ pan with foil.
- Stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt and spices. Then add 4 eggs, pumpkin and oil. Mix until combined. Spread batter onto foil lined pan.
- In a microwave melt 1/2 cup of the miniature chocolate chips (stirring every 30 seconds). Beat together cream cheese and 1/3 cup sugar, then add in egg and chocolate mixture and beat together. Drop chocolate mixture by spoonfuls onto pumpkin batter. Swirl to a marble. Then sprinkle remaining chocolate chips on top.
- Bake 25-30 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean (for me this was 26 mins).
- Once cool, lift uncut bars out of the pan with the foil edges and cut into bars.
What are your favorite fall recipes? Do you go for tried and true, or do you like to add new recipes into the mix?
Linked Up At: Weekend Retreat
