Fall leave garland, fall leave wreath, 10+ decorative pumpkins strewn about the house, four real pumpkins by our entrance and pumpkin spice candles…yes, our house screams fall right now.
As if all of that wasn’t enough, I had to go and buy countless cans of pumpkin. Can you tell that I’m just a tiny bit obsessed with pumpkins?
Ever since I brought home the little 15 ounce cans of fall deliciousness, I’ve been trying to think of ways to be creative with them. My husband keeps asking me to make a pumpkin pie (if you’re reading this, I promise to make it for you soon…promise), but I’ve decided to put that on hold and try my hand at new and exciting pumpkin concoctions.
I recently made Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting which were a huge hit. My husband already asked me to make them again (once again, I promise to do this soon). Continuing along the bar path, I decided to make a pumpkin streusel bar. If you’re anything like my husband, you’re probably asking, “What in the heck is a streusel?”
It’s simple. A streusel (a German word meaning “something scattered or sprinkled) simply refers to a crumb topping made up of butter, flour and sugar that is sprinkled on top of muffins, breads and cakes prior to placing the baking dish in the oven.
Pumpkin Streusel Bars
Ingredients:
Bar
- 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 3/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 3 large eggs
- 1 can (15 ounces) pumpkin puree
- 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
- 3/4 cup canola oil
Topping
- 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup light brown sugar
- 6 tablespoons butter, softened
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 3/4 cup chopped pecans
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour a 13×9 inch baking pan.
- Mix together the flour, sugars, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in a medium bowl.
- Mix together the eggs, pumpkin, vanilla and oil in a large bowl.
- Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix until blended.
- Spread in baking dish.
- Combine 3/4 cup blour, brown sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl. Cut in the butter until the mixture becomes crumbly. Mix in the pecans and then sprinkle the mixture evently over the pumpkin batter.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
- Cool in pan on a rack and then cut in squares to serve.
* Recipe adapted from Southern Food
I am on a pumpkin kick and I don't think I will be stopping anytime soon. I have to try this recipe!
I can't seem to get enough pumpkin into our diet. Hehe! This looks like a great way to do that!
These look so delicious! Pumpkin with a streusel topping? That's just off the charts.
From the beautiful photo, I can tell that these are packed with pumpkin flavor. Lovely recipe!
These look devine! I make something similar but I think your recipe sounds even better. Mine uses boxed yellow cake mix (horrors) and tons of butter (yikes). I'll have to give your recipe a try. Everhthing I've ever tried of yours has been a hit. Thanks much :)
Renee
LOVING these! Wow!
That sounds so good. I am bookmarking these!
These look absolutely Delicious! I seriously want to reach inside my computer screen and pull one out of your photos…
Awesome pumpkin bars! Love the streusel topping!
I know what streusel is & I KNOW I would love these pumpkin bar. The texture really comes through on that photo – crumble with that pumpkin dough. My, my – want. right. now :)
Bars are something I've never had much luck with, they just don't set up nicely. But I just might give this recipe a try..they look so good who could resist!
Love pumpkin and the picture is incredible!
Yum! You had me at pumpkin really, but the streusel just puts it over the top!
I have been a bit obsessed with pumpkins this season myself…these are BEAUTIFUL!
Love 'em!
Beautiful! I do love pumpkins, and these bars look lovely. Perhaps I can get away with making these instead of pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving.
Mmmm, these look delicious! I'm so happy with all of the pumpkin recipes I'm finding. This one looks like a keeper :)
These are in the oven right now.
I have a question though, cinnamon is not listed in the batter ingredients but the directions say to blend the flour, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg. Typo or did an ingredient get missed?
These look so moist and delicious! We included them in our Pumpkin Recipe Roundup – thanks for sharing.
Crazy Perfect. I have to thank you from all the little Tastebuds that are singing right now. I am eating one still warm from the oven, and had to run back and tell you what a amazingly perfect recipie this is. This was my first fall flavor of the year, and I think it might have just became a new staple in our family kitchen.
These were delicious! I made the two components up the night before and in the morning I added the streusel topping and baked for a quick breakfast treat. Also, I doubled the streusel topping because that's how I roll! YUM!
I am writing this while enjoying a piece of this streusel bar and must say that is is DIVINE. I doubted the amount of pumpkin in this recipe (twice as much as many others) but I will happily say that I was wrong! I added a layer of caramelized apple below the streusel and it is perfection. In total I cooked it 40 minutes and the center is more moist than the edges, but the texture difference actually makes it more delicious. I should also mention that I made a few adjustments:
– Used a gluten free flour blend
– Made it vegan (no eggs, supplemented with a tiny bit of fresh applesauce but I think the pumpkin was enough to hold it together, used Earth Balance in place of butter)
– Used 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup white sugar (based on personal taste)
– Used only 1/2 cup of oil
– Used roughly 2 tsp cinnamon and 1 tsp of nutmeg since I love those spices
Writing it down makes me realized how different my recipe is from your original, so I am certain that those changes largely accounted for the differences in cook time and texture. Ultimately I really just want to say thank you for this incredible recipe!