Everyone has problems. That’s what my seventh grade science teacher once told Mom. I was pretty smart, a straight A student, but socially, I didn’t fit in. I pretty much never chatted with my peers. Instead I minded my own business, moving quickly from class to class, sitting silently, being ignored at lunch and standing alone at recess, contemplating life’s big issues . . . or my weekend plans, unless Mom was there helping out, in which case, I happily talked to her.
It was easy to look at the popular kids and think they led perfect lives, but they didn’t. I’m not sure why this didn’t dawn on me until that teacher said this. It was like a revelation. It didn’t make us all best friends, far from it, but it made me understand that I was not the only one struggling in some way. I may not have known the issues they dealt with, but they were there. Whether they couldn’t make the grades, didn’t earn a spot on a sports team, or had issues outside of school, no one was immune.
The same is true today. I am constantly guilty of looking at others and assuming their lives must be absolutely fantastic, but everyone has issues. Maybe I’m wishing I was a fearless traveler like a family friend. Perhaps I’m admiring the fame, fashion, and friends of my favorite celebrity. Or even just wanting the career of a fellow food blogger. But all those people, they have issues too. We always think the grass is greener on the other side, when in fact that probably isn’t the case.
It’s important to remember that anyone can suffer; anyone can want to curl into a ball and cry the day away; no one’s life is perfect. Because if you’re anything like me, you’ve looked at other people’s lives and believed them to be perfect, when in reality you’re only seeing the surface. We need to take time to appreciate the perfect and imperfect parts of our lives and find happiness with what we have and work to change the things we aren’t happy with.
If anything is perfect, it’s these Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars. Seriously, I may never eat pumpkin pie again – these are that good. The bottom shortbread crust is super firm and crunchy with a deep, complex, caramelized flavor. Then there’s the filling. It’s just like pumpkin pie filling with tons of warm spices. The only way I’d improve it is to add a little bourbon because bourbon makes everything better! And then there’s the crumb topping, crunchy in spots, soft in others. The individual components are rock stars, but together – OMG! This is irresistible! This must be on your Thanksgiving table!
Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars #SundaySupper
- Total Time: 1 hour 15 minutes
- Yield: 9 bars 1x
Ingredients
Crust and Crumb
- 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 ¼ cups quick cooking oats
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon baking soda
- ½ cup granulated sugar
- ½ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 ½ sticks unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Filling
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ cup packed light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ½ teaspoon ground ginger
- ¼ teaspoon ground cloves
- 1 large egg
- 1 large egg yolk
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- 1 ¼ cups pumpkin puree (I used homemade, but canned will work)
- 1/3 cup heavy cream
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Butter an 8 inch square pan.
- In a medium bowl, stir together flour, oats, salt, baking soda, and sugars until fully combined. Add butter and vanilla and stir until all ingredients are moistened. Press half of the mixture into the prepared pan and bake for 15 minutes.
- While the crust is baking, make the filling. In a medium bowl, whisk together sugars, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, egg, egg yolk, vanilla, pumpkin, and cream until a homogeneous mixture is formed. Pour filling over baked crust and return to the oven to bake for 15 minutes more.
- After the filling has baked, remove it from the oven and sprinkle remaining crust mixture over the top, breaking it into crumbs of various sizes. Return to the oven and bake for an additional 20-25 minutes until the crumbs are golden brown and the center is still slightly jiggly. Cool at room temperature for 1 hour and then cool in the refrigerator for at least 1 additional hour before carefully cutting (the bottom crust is tough to cut through) and serving. Bars may be stored in the refrigerator for up to 2 days or frozen, individually wrapped in parchment and foil and placed in a zipper bag for up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator for about 2 hours.
Notes
Recipe adapted from Cooking Classy
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 55 minutes
Don’t forget to check out all the other Sunday Supper dishes!
Breakfasts and Breads
- Maple Butternut Squash Donuts from Mess Makes Food
- Pumpkin Sweet Rolls from Basic N Delicious
- Vegan Pumpkin Scones with Maple Nutmeg Icing from Killer Bunnies, Inc
Appetizers, Starters, and Condiments
- Butternut Squash and Couscous Patties-Indian Inspired from Soni’s Food
- Pumpkin Hummus with Spiced Lamb from girlichef
- Quick Pumpkin Butter from Shockingly Delicious
Soups, Sandwiches, and Salads
- Black Bean and Butternut Squash Chili from Supper for a Steal
- Black Bean Pumpkin Soup from What Smells So Good?
- Butternut Squash and Bacon Grilled Cheese from Ruffles & Truffles
- Butternut Squash Soup from That Skinny Chick Can Bake
- Hearty Quinoa Chicken Stew with Butternut Squash from Citronlimette
- Roasted Buttercup Squash and Black Bean Soup (Dairy free) from The Not So Cheesy Kitchen
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Vegetable Soup from Kudos Kitchen By Renee
- Roasted Squash and Mexican Black Bean Salad from Peanut Butter and Peppers
- Roasted Squash and Sesame Noodle Salad from Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
Main Dishes
- Butternut Squash and Spinach Quesadillas from The Dinner-Mom
- Butternut Squash Gnocchi with Balsamic Brown Butter from Crazy Foodie Stunts
- Butternut Squash Lasagna from Hip Foodie Mom
- Butternut Squash-Sage Cream Sauce with Sausage Spaghetti from Daily Dish Recipes
- Carnival Squash with Maple Sausage Stuffing from Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
- Chorizo-Stuffed Acorn Squash from Small Wallet Big Appetite
- Butternut Squash with Spicy Wild Rice and Queso Fresco from Vintage Kitchen Notes
- Pumpkin Alfredo from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
- Pumpkin Enchiladas from La Cocina de Leslie
- Pumpkin Risotto with Bacon, Goat Cheese, and Pecans from The Weekend Gourmet
- Roasted Butternut Squash and Brussels Sprout Pizza from Curious Cuisiniere
- Sausage and Apple Stuffed Acorn Squash from The Messy Baker
- Spaghetti Squash in a Creamy Sausage Sauce from Cookin’ Mimi
- Spaghetti Squash Shrimp Scampi from Pescetarian Journal
Side Dishes
- Acorn Squash with Cinnamon and Cranberries from Noshing With The Nolands
- Butternut Squash and Apple Crumble from The Wimpy Vegetarian
- Butternut Squash Gratin with Sage Pesto & Gorgonzola from Cupcakes & Kale Chips
- Chorizo and Craisin Stuffed Acorn Squash from Family Foodie
- Parmesan-Roasted Acorn Squash from The Urban Mrs
- Pumpkin Macaroni and Cheese from Big Bear’s Wife
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Balsamic Vinegar Honey Butter from Food Lust People Love
- Roasted Butternut Squash with Wilted Kale, Mushrooms and Garlic from Take a Bite Out of Boca
- Skillet Buttercup Squash with Bacon from Magnolia Days
- Slow Cooker Squash and Apples from Mama’s Blissful Bites
- Sweet N Spicy Baked Chipotle Butternut Squash Fries from Sue’s Nutrition Buzz
- Twice Baked Pumpkin Stuffed Sweet Potatoes from Bobbi’s Kozy Kitchen
Desserts
- Butternut Squash Cupcakes with Browned Butter Frosting from Treats & Trinkets
- Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars from Pies and Plots
Wine Pairing Recommendations for Squashin’ Winter #SundaySupper from Enofylz Wine Blog
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You had me at adding bourbon! I agree, it makes everything better. These sound truly amazing Laura! It’s part of life to understand that we all have issues.
How much bourbon would you recommend adding to this recipe?
Hi! I would add a couple tablespoons to the filling when you add the vanilla. I hope you enjoy them!
Yes, we all have issues and problems. It’s a good thing to realize others go through difficulties too and we are not alone in trying times. Now these bars are simply fabulous. I can see it being what will get me to like pumpkin pie. Shortbread and crumb topping to the rescue!
I like that you used oats in the crust. So good!
Your pumpkin pie bars look so moist and delish! I could probably eat the whole pan!!
I don’t know how I didn’t eat the whole pan! Thanks, Jennifer!
Your advice is wise, and your recipe looks fantastic! I want this for dessert tonight!
Excellent photos and a delicious recipe!
Thanks, Susan, and thanks for visiting 🙂
so. true. I am super guilty of consistently looking at other people and envying them in some way, and it’s important to remember that everyone’s got their problems. Love the reminder 🙂
and these bars! I would looove to eat these for Thanksgiving, mmm
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I am swooning over these bars!! I want some now!!
I know exactly what you mean, the grass always looks greener…. What helps me is to be grateful. I practice gratitude each day. I make myself, pause, amid each days frenzy and find what I am grateful for at that very moment and on that day. It centers me and brings me back to the current time and place.
I am looking for a dessert for our Sunday Supper and the seasonal Pumpkin Pie Crumb Bars may be on the menu! Fab flavor in a bar!
Practicing gratitude everyday is a great idea. I will have to try that. You need to make these – they are so yummy!
Okay, I’m totally willing to make the switch from pumpkin pie to these gorgeous bars! And you are so right, thank you for the reminder, we can never really know what’s going on in somebody else’s life. It’s good to stand back and take stock. 🙂
Oh, yeah, I seriously don’t know if I’ll ever make pumpkin pie again – these are that good! Thanks, Heather!
Wow. I want to dive right in. These look fantastic. I love the oats!
Here’s my heart, take it, I’m in love with these crumb bars!
I am too! They are crazy good. Thanks, Pamela!
Totally agree about the bourbon! These look amazing – definitely something we should try. Thanks so much for these.
they look yummy!
My kind of bars! They Look delicious!
Thanks, Marie and thanks for visiting 🙂
Wow, those look scrumptious, couldn’t stop at just one!!
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All I can say is…I think I found my Thanksgiving dinner dessert! These look like a great twist on pumpkin pie!
I hope you do make them for Thanksgiving 🙂 Let me know how they turn out if you do!
Words of wisdom by a very smart, beautiful niece. The pumpkin bars look great. I think I will ask Heather to bring these for Thanksgiving instead of Pumpkin Pie.
Thanks, Debbie! These would be so great on your Thanksgiving table. Easy to make too!
I love using oats in the crust–much better texture!
These look good!
You can’t even taste the oats in the crust, they just add texture. Thanks, Dawn!
love the looks of these
Yup, I believe you that these are perfect! So perfect that I want a stack of these bars right in front of me!!!
Yummy! look delicious.
You are wise beyond your years, Laura. I have a friend who was envious of another friend’s posts on Facebook, always traveling and eating out and looking like she was living the high life. Turns out, just a couple of months after the “envy” conversation, her marriage broke up. First friend is not so envious now. It is good to remember that the face folks show us, especially on social media, is not always the true face of reality behind closed doors. Your pumpkin bars, on the other hand, look wonderful and I am going to take their deliciousness at face value! Yum!
Thanks for your nice comment, Stacy! You never do know what’s going on behind the scenes.
These look to die for!
OMG I would love to get a bite into these gorgeous bars. So healthy, flavorfull and filling ! Lovely pics!!
Your lead-in story is so true. We all need to stop comparing our lives to others, thinking people are perfect…it isn’t possible to be perfect, and perfection can be boring anyway! But these do not look boring at all…I really want one, like right this instant.
Perfection is so boring. Thanks, Shaina 🙂
Perfection! They look delicious!! 🙂
Diana
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Oh I love crumb bars and of course pumpkin pie, too! What a delicious treat!
I completely agree with you – it’s so easy to think that someone else has a perfect life when in reality we all have something going on. I am constantly working to just appreciate what I have and work harder to change what I don’t like about my own life. But it’s hard!!
And these bars … they look pretty darn awesome. I am loving that crumb topping! Everything is better with a crumb topping right??
It’s so hard to remember that! But crumb topping can make it a little better 🙂 Thanks, Ashley!
I was just trying to explain this exact thing to both my cousin and my mother this weekend, both of whom were just not having a good weekend and were feeling sorry for themselves. It’s hard to remember that when you’re in the midst of a bad period in life, that you’re not alone in your anguish, but it’s true!
These pumpkin pie crumb bars are LUSCIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL. I kind of want a whole tray.
It is so hard to remember, but that’s the perfect way to put it – you’re not alone. Thanks, Joanne!
You know what? I think I would love this even more then pumpkin pie.
Me too! Thanks, Laura!
Such true words. I too find it all to easy to get sucked into the trap of assuming other people have it better, when what I should be doing is appreciating the awesome things in my own life.
And these bars…holy moly. YUM??? I must have them.
No more pumpkin pie for me! You are right. I don’t think there is such a thing as normal unless normal is everyone and all their imperfections.
You ‘re right.Everyone has their own problems and I am a firm believer that there’s always some kind of balance of ups and downs in every individual’s life.Your bars are making me hungry and I can imagine the deliciousness of a pie in every bite.So yum!
I love the idea of balance in life. I hope that’s true! Thanks, Soni!
How did I miss this?! These pumpkin pie crumb bars look amazing!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts. It’s so easy to compare ourselves to others and think they are better off.
Thanks for visiting, Laura!
Why doesn’t anyone post reviews on these bars and any other food on the web.
That is what I look for when I look for recipes. Try not to post what is happening in other peoples life’s or even your own
Well, Cecilia, I can assure you that these bars are excellent. I love them and have made them several times. I hope this helps 🙂
I couldn’t resist commenting. Perfectly written!
I made this for our Australian Thanksgiving dessert this year and wow! Delicious! What a hit. Thanks so much xx
Oh, Caley, thank you so much for leaving a comment. I am so glad you enjoyed the bars!
These are absolutely delicious! Made exactly per the recipe- crust and crumb topping were crunchy and the pumpkin smooth and flavorful. The next time I will increase everything by 40% (using the entire can of pumpkin) and bake in a 9×13 pan.
Hey Mary! I am so glad you like these. Feel free to double the recipe to bake in a 9 by 13 inch pan.
Thanks for sharing these Pumpkin Bar Crumb Bars, these bars seems so delicious and amazing. Will definitely gonna try this one
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