Wednesday, January 5, 2011

Jen's Famous Pumpkin Pie Bars

Eric does not bake. Lets review that one, Eric, the husband half of this blog grills, cooks on the stove top, prepares sandwiches, slices, dices, chops and stirs. He does not put things in the oven and expect them to come out any way except burned on the outside and raw on the inside. Its no wonder then that Charisse was more than a little concerned when he decided he would handle making Jen's Famous Pumpkin Pie Bars for the family that came out from Arkansas over New Years. Thats right, a house full of family and friends and ERIC is going to bake something. There were some quivering boots around wondering just how toxic this would be. Fortunately after an hour and a half, once everyone had scarfed down the taco bar we made and Eric chased Charisse and Jen out of the kitchen with a wooden spoon at least twice the pumpkin pie bars were served. Thankfully nobody died. Not only did nobody die they didn't leave any left, which is always a good sign. This is actually always the case with  these things. We've mentioned them before but haven't had the chance to show them to you all. This is most certainly one of the best tasting fall / winter desserts ever. The base is just basic yellow cake, the middle is a delicious pumpkin pie filling and its topped with a crispy sugar and cinnamon crunch. This really is an amazing dessert, it tastes great and its easy to make so its perfect for pot lucks, large get togethers or just you.






Pumpkin Pie Bars 
What you will need: 





1 yellow cake mix
1/2 cup melted butter
3 eggs
3 cups pumpkin pie filling (not canned pumpkin)
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup evaporated milk
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup butter, melted  


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove 1 cup cake mix, reserve. Grease and flour a 13x9 inch pan. In large bowl, combine remaining cake mix, 1 egg, and the melter butter . Mix well and press into pan. Combine remaining eggs, pumpkin, and milk, and mix well.  Pour evenly into pan.  Add sugar and cinnamon to remaining cake mix.  Cut butter into mixture until crumb-like.  Sprinkle over pie filling.  Bake 45-50 minutes until knofe comes out clean.  Let cool before cutting.  350 for 50-60 minutes.

18 comments:

  1. How gorgeous! (And your China is gorgeous too!)

    I'm so proud of Eric! Cake mixes are the way to go when you want no-fail desserts! There are many desserts that start with cake mix...have you heard of Dump Cake? (also called Potluck cake?) You dump cans of fruit, sprinkle cake mix on top and dot with butter. I see a new speciality dessert for Eric in the future... :)

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  2. This sounds almost exactly like the Pumpkin Bars from Williams Sonoma, using their Pumpkin Pecan butter instead of pie filling. Now Eric has a fall-back dessert when he wants to make you a romantic dinner :)

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  3. Awww, that's so sweet of him to make these! You guys should give him more credit now :-) Glad these were a hit because they look absolutely smashing!

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  4. Eric should bake more often - these look gorgeous. Will have to wait another year to try them as pumpkins make a short-lived appearance in Ireland a few weeks either side of Hallowe'en. I will mark my calendar now.

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  5. Wow, your bars look awesome, I love the idea of using pumpkin and the cake mix :-) Happy New Year to you and yours!

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  6. Yay for Eric! I love this recipe, I totally dig any bar that calls for cake mix - guaranteed perfect every time!

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  7. I have a pumpkin pie freak friend who's gonna love this!

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  8. I made these once. They were so good. Thanks for the reminder!

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  9. I love pretty much pumpkin anything so these sound delicious. I would probably make them a bit more from scratch but I really love the idea of a yellow cake base.

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  10. Good job Eric! given the chance men can bake. My husband made Door County Rumpie for thanksgiving, and his crust was better than mine. Ssh! don' tell him.

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  11. Oh my goodness - these look so yummy. I should give this recipe to my husband so he can make them for us :)

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  12. They look so delicious and tempting.

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  13. These really sound wonderful and I'll try them as soon as I can get more pumpkin. I use pumpkin a lot and it is an ingredient I like to experiment with with. I am new to your blog and have spent some time browsing through your earlier posts. I really like the food and recipes you feature here. I'll be back often. I hope you have a wonderful day. Blessings...Mary

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  14. Thanks for stopping by my blog. Love your photos and am lusting after the plate in this post! : )

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  15. these look so good! yummmm! i love it. these look simply mouth watering.
    thanks for posting, lovin' your blog
    -meg
    @clutzycooking.blogspot.com
    @myscribblednotebook.blogspot.com

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