Did someone say cream cheese?

Nothing says fall like pumpkins and spices. I'm so loving all these fall posts I'm reading. And I'm happy that some people haven't forgotten about a little holiday called Thanksgiving. Seems like the retail stores went straight from Halloween to Christmas stuff. What the heck?

In order to maintain my mood in the fall spirit, I did a little baking yesterday. I know there are several recipes of these floating around the Internet and once I saw they were topped with cream cheese frosting, I knew I had to make them. {Sadly, if you put cheese anything on a pile of rocks, I'd probably eat it.} But I got this particular recipe from Hoosier Homemade. )SO loving this blog, by the way. You must check her out!)

They're seriously scrumptious and pretty darn easy to make.

Pumpkin Spice Bars Recipe:

2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon {I added a smidge more for a spicier taste}
1 teaspoon salt
4 eggs
1 and 2/3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
1 can (15oz) of pumpkin {not pumpkin pie filling}

Directions:

Sift dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt & soda) in a bowl and set aside.

In another large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Add the dry ingredients, gradually. Mix well. {I used my KitchenAid mixer)
Spread batter in a greased 15x10x1 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 – 30 minutes or until a cake tester/toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool completely.

* {I ended up using a deeper baking dish so I added 15 minutes to my cooking time. Trust the toothpick method. When it doesn't jiggle like my thighs and the toothpick comes out clean, it's done.}

Cream Cheese Frosting Recipe:

1 (3 oz) pkg of cream cheese, softened 1/2 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla {never imitation; splurge for the good kind}
2 cups powdered sugar

Directions:
Cream together butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla, mix well and then gradually add the powdered sugar. Beat until mixture is smooth.

{Or cheat like I did and go buy some from Mr. D. Hines. He's a nice guy. He'll sell you some.}

Frost bars. Cut into squares. For a cute effect, top with candy corns and candy pumpkins. :)

Enjoy!
 
PS- Come back early next week for an super cool giveaway. I'm seriously digging this one. And it's a perfect stocking stuffer! :)