Pumpkin Pie Crumble Bars

Pumpkin, again! Are you surprised?! If you are, then you don't know me very well. It's only going to get worse...I pinned tons of pumpkin recipes this weekend that I can't wait to try out! If you are a pumpkin hater- you might wanna follow a different blog until December rolls around ;-)

These are like pumpkin pie mixed with an oatmeal cookie. UHHHHH yeah you heard me- delicious. I love oatmeal cookies and I love pumpkin pie so how could this not be totally yummy? These are awesome, tasty, little pumpkiny, fall treats! Best topped with a little cool whip!

I found this recipe on this blog, which I now follow and may be a little obsessed with. This lady rocks.

Crust/Topping

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups quick oats (old fashioned works too)

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup packed light-brown sugar

3/4 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 tsp vanilla extract

Pumpkin Pie Filling

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed-light brown sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1 pinch ground cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1 large egg

1 large egg yolk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups canned pureed pumpkin

1/3 cup evaporated milk or half and half

Whipped cream and cinnamon, for serving (optional) 

Directions 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a mixing bowl, whisk together flour, oats, salt and baking soda for 30 seconds. Add in 1/2 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup brown sugar an mix until no clumps remain. Combine melted butter and vanilla and add to mixture, then stir with a spoon until evenly moistened. Gently press half of the mixture into a greased 8 by 8-inch baking dish (a 9 by 9-inch baking dish would be great to, just reduce the baking time slightly as needed) and bake in preheated oven 15 minutes.

Meanwhile in a mixing bowl, whisk together 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/4 cup brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. Add in egg, egg yolk and vanilla and stir until blended. Mix in pumpkin then milk. Pour mixture over baked cookie portion and return to oven to bake 15 minutes, then remove from oven and sprinkle remaining cookie crumb mixture over top while breaking the crumb into small bits. Transfer oven rack closer to the top-center (not directly beneath but a few levels below) and return to oven to bake about 20 - 25 minutes longer until golden on top and center only jiggles slightly. Remove from oven and allow to cool 1 hour at room temperature, then transfer to refrigerator to cool 1 hour longer (or serve warm from the oven like a crumble with ice cream). Cut into squares and serve with sweetened whipped cream and a light dusting of cinnamon if desired. 

I lined my pan with foil; that way when I went to cut it into squares, it was easy to pop out of the pan.

Happy Baking!