Pumpkin Pie Cookie Bars
Inspiration and thoughts
If you know me or have been to any of my dinner parties in the past, you’ll know that my signature Stacy’s fabulous pumpkin chocolate chip cookies are always on the dessert table (recipe coming soon!). They’re the best. But I also love pumpkin desserts and honestly can eat them any time of year. But with fall here, I definitely wanted to not just make my favorite pumpkin cookies, but to also spice it up a bit and turn your basic pumpkin pie into a more fabulous pumpkin pie cookie bar!
This recipe was inspired half and half by my mom and my boyfriend. My mom likes pumpkin pie, but she definitely loves other desserts more (read: chocolate). I wanted to make a recipe that had my favorite pumpkin pie mix but also something different, and that’s where the Oreo cookie crust comes in. I knew that combination would be perfect for a bar recipe and that mom would love it!
I also make a chocolate salted caramel bar recipe for my boyfriend, Eli, that he absolutely loves. He isn’t as keen on pumpkin-everything as I am, but he definitely has a sweet tooth. I thought it would be fun to still keep a dessert bar recipe since he loves those, but incorporate pumpkin and add a cookie crust to make it even more fabulous and fall! It didn’t disappoint, he loves them.
Making a delicious pumpkin-inspired dessert that mom and Eli love? Obviously yes! Pumpkiny Perfect.
How it’s made, notes, substitutions
These bars are not only delicious but also pretty easy and quick to whip up. Start with the Oreo crust of just two ingredients: Oreos and coconut oil. In a blender or food processor, add the Oreos and blend until a fine crumb forms with no large chunks of cookie. Pour these into a small bowl and add the melted coconut oil, mixing it together. You can use butter instead of coconut oil here, but I prefer coconut oil and try to use it whenever I can.
Pour this cookie crumb crust into a parchment lined 8-inch baking sheet. I use one of these 8-inch baking pans and love it. The parchment is helpful to remove the bars and cut them after baking, so use it if you have it. If you don’t have it or don’t want to get parchment paper, foil will be ok, just make sure to add cooking spray to it before you add the crust. You also can just not line your pan and coat it with cooking spray – but I find that it is harder to cut and take out the bars and much messier. Pop that cookie crust in the fridge while you whip up the pumpkin pie mix.
To a medium sized bowl add all of the pumpkin pie mix ingredients: sugar, pumpkin, one egg, pumpkin pie spice, and sweetened condensed milk. Yep that’s right, sweetened condensed milk. I find that it bring not just an added sweetness, but a creamy texture and delicious taste to the pumpkin mix. Stir these all together until well combined.
Take your crust out of the fridge and pour the pumpkin mix on top, making sure to cover the crust completely. Bake for 45 mins at 350 F. Let it cool completely before you enjoy these. Better yet, my favorite way to eat these is cold, not hot. They’re so good cold! I let them cool for about 10 minutes then pop them in the fridge for half an hour or so, then enjoy them (eat half the batch).
I hope you make and enjoy these deliciously tasty pumpkin pie bars this fall! (Clearly here on the right, I am).
Pumpkin Pie Cookie Bars
Equipment
- 8 inch baking pan
Ingredients
For the cookie crust:
- 20 Oreos
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil melted
For the pumpkin pie mix:
- 1 can pumpkin
- 3 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- 1 egg
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 F. Line an 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper (that will make it easier to remove from the pan and to cut!)
Oreo Crust
- Using a blender or food processor, blend the Oreos until a fine crumble forms. Pour into a bowl, add the coconut oil, and mix until well combined. Add this to your lined baking pan and smooth over the entire pan bottom with a spoon or spatula. Press down firmly around the slides, making a thin crust that covers the bottom of the pan. Pop this in the fridge while you make the pumpkin mix.
Pumpkin Mix
- Add the pumpkin, sugar, egg, sweetened condensed milk and pumpkin pie spice to a bowl and mix together until well combined.
Put it together!
- Take the Oreo crust out of the fridge and pour the pumpkin mix into the pan, making sure to cover the crust completely and get into all of the corners of the pan.
- Bake for 45 minutes. Let cool before you enjoy. Tip: I actually prefer these bars cold, so after about 10 minutes of cooling I pop them in the fridge to cool down for half an hour or so while I eat dinner so they're nice and cold for dessert!
Soooooo good!! Love this recipe <3
Thank you so much Shawn! Aw This made me so happy! Thank you for trying these, glad you enjoyed!