More Pumpkin Delights

For me, fall and spring present a never-ending opportunity to bake pumpkin related foods. (Heck, only the hottest days of August truly deter me from firing up the oven to bake pumpkin muffins.)

So this past cold Sunday afternoon, I pored through cookbooks to see what I could come up with. The result? Pumpkin bars made with a pecan streusel topping. Perfect with afternoon tea, I even took some into work with me on Monday to share with coffee.

The original recipe called for a cream cheese frosting on top of the bars. I was lacking some of the ingredients for that part, so I opted to substitute a pecan streusel from a different recipe. I'm sure the cream cheese frosting is lovely, but pumpkin and pecan, to me, are like salt and pepper. I don't know if you can have them separately (though I am willing to be convinced otherwise.)

Pumpkin Bars with Pecan Streusel
(adapted from King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

Bar Ingredients:
1/3 c. vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 c. sugar
1 c. canned pumpkin
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (I use Penzey's)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 1/4 c. all purpose flour

Streusel Ingredients:
1/4 c. brown sugar
4 tbsp cold butter
1/2 c. chopped pecans

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 9x9 pan
Cream together all bar ingredients except the flour. Then add flour, and blend until smooth.
Spread batter in prepared pan.
Mix together streusel ingredients and sprinkle over batter.
Bake for 30-40 minutes. Let cool completely on rack before cutting.