Pumpkin Cookie Bars with Brown Sugar Frosting
Thick and chewy pumpkin cookie bars are topped with an incredible brown sugar frosting for a perfect fall time dessert! Imagine a cross between a cookie and a blondie and you get these cookie bars! Filled with lots of spices and pumpkin. No one will suspect it’s vegan, dairy free, egg free, and nut free!
These vegan pumpkin cookie bars are such a fun twist on a chocolate chip bar cookie. The dough is filled with lots of real pumpkin, tons of spices like cinnamon and ginger, and really bring the autumn flavors.
- Super easy to make in one bowl
- Loaded with pumpkin pie spices
- Thick and chewy cookies
- Topped with brown sugar frosting
- Totally dairy free, egg free, nut free
Ingredients
For the full list of ingredients, complete with the recipe amounts, please see the recipe box below.
- Pumpkin: Make sure to use real pumpkin and not pumpkin pie filling. That way you can control the spices exactly. Also, sometimes pie filling has additional ingredients like binders and stabilizers we don’t need in the cookie.
- Molasses: Using molasses helps to not only give these cookies an amazing depth of flavor but also give them the chewy texture!
- Pumpkin Pie Spices: Use either two teaspoons of your favorite pumpkin pie spice mix, or use cinnamon, ginger, allspice, and cloves individually to customize the flavors!
Instructions
Make sure to check out the recipe card below for the full recipe and ingredient list.
- Mix the dry ingredients together. You’ll need all purpose flour, baking powder and soda, cornstarch, cream of tartar, and you can use some homemade pumpkin pie spice!
- Whisk the wet ingredients together. Mix together the vegan butter, pumpkin, brown and granulated sugars, vanilla, and the molasses to make it extra autumnal.
- Combine the ingredients and pour into an 8×8-inch (20×20-cm) pan. Make sure the pan is lined with parchment paper so that the bars pop out easily.
- Bake for about 25 minutes. Baking times can vary depending on the type of pan that you used and what type of oven you have. The cookie bars are done when a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean and the bars have slightly pulled away from the edges of the pan.
- Frost and serve! Mix together the frosting with a hand mixer or stand mixer and spread over top the cooled cookies. Serve and enjoy!
How to Store
Since there is vegan butter in the frosting, if you have frosted these bars, you should store them in the fridge for best results.
- Fridge: Keep pumpkin bars covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze fully baked and cooled but unfrosted pumpkin bars for up to 2 months in a freezer safe container. Allow the bars to thaw before frosting and serving.
More Pumpkin Recipes
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Equipment
- Mixing bowls and spoons
- Measuring cups and spoons
- Hand mixer or stand mixer
- Whisk
- Wire rack
- Saucepan
Ingredients
Pumpkin Cookie Bars
- 1/2 cup vegan butter softened
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1/2 cup white sugar
- 1/4 cup pumpkin
- 2 teaspoons vanilla
- 1 tablespoon molasses
- 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cornstarch
- 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Brown Sugar Frosting
- 3 tablespoons vegan butter
- 3 tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- Splash vanilla
- Pinch salt
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and grease and line an 8×8-inch (20×20-cm) baking pan. Set aside. Make sure the oven rack is in the middle of the oven.
- Mix the dry ingredients. In a small bowl, whisk together the all purpose flour, baking powder, baking soda, cornstarch, cream of tartar, and pumpkin pie spices.
- Mix the wet ingredients. In a large bowl with a hand mixer, or in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment, cream together the room temperature vegan butter with the brown sugar, white sugar, and pumpkin. Then, add the vanilla and molasses. Mix again.
- Combine ingredients. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix together. The batter will be soft. Spread this into the prepared pan and use a spatula or spoon to help gently press the dough into the corners.
- Bake. Bake uncovered for about 25 minutes. The cookie bars are done when a toothpick inserted into the center pulls out clean. Remove the bars from the oven and place the pan on a wire rack to cool completely.
- Make the frosting. When the pumpkin bars are cool it’s time to make the frosting. In a small saucepan over low-medium heat, combine the vegan butter with brown sugar. Stir until it is completely melted. Let this simmer for 1 minute before removing from the heat for the remainder of the recipe. Add the vanilla and stir. Now add in the powdered sugar and salt. Mix until the frosting is formed. You may need to add a splash of dairy free milk to get the right texture depending on what type of vegan butter you have used.
- Frost the cookies and enjoy!
Notes
-
- Since there is vegan butter in the frosting, if you have frosted these bars, you should store them in the fridge for best results.
- Fridge: Keep pumpkin bars covered in the fridge for up to 4 days.
- Freezer: You can freeze fully baked and cooled but unfrosted pumpkin bars for up to 2 months in a freezer safe container. Allow the bars to thaw before frosting and serving.
Nutrition
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Vegan cookies for every occasion! From classic vegan chocolate chip cookies to sugar cookies perfect for the holidays, these cookies are easy to make and always super delicious.
