It's fall, and you're getting pulled in a million different directions, and you need a dessert your kids will love – enter these pumpkin bars that are so easy (and so good)… it's MAGIC!

There is nothing better than pulling out a warm pan of these Easy Pumpkin Magic Bars – they smell great, are completely addictive, and so good! This is the solid season to bring these bars to work, or to your kids school – the solid easy treat!Your family and friends will love them – if you decide to share them at all (we won't tell)!

At Avdaye, we add lots of tips in all of our recipes – because we are a home cook without any formal training, and we find we are more confident making dishes when we understand why it works, and what each ingredient means to the flavor of a recipe. Our goal is for even the most beginner home cook to feel empowered in the kitchen.

How To Make Pumpkin Magic Bars

These tips will help you make pumpkin bars that are easy and good, every time you make them!

For the crust:

Butter – butter gives us a rich, salty flavor and solid fat composition to make a cookie base that makes pumpkin bars taste like shortbread.
Brown sugar – using brown sugar instead of granulated sugar helps to pull out a deeper caramel flavor that is more complex and molasses-like than overly sweet.
All-purpose flour – using all purpose flour or gluten free all-purpose flour will work well to make our cookie base. We're not looking for flour with lift, so do not use self-rising flour.
Pumpkin pie spice – pumpkin pie spice is a blend of spices that are traditionally used in pumpkin pie, including nutmeg, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, and cloves.
Sea salt – a bit of salt balances out sugar in cookies and also helps to enhance the cookies sweetness.

For the toppings:

Canned pumpkin pie filling – while you can use home-mashed pumpkin, using pumpkin pie filling is simple and a major timesaver.
Butterscotch chips – butterscotch chips are often used in “magic” recipes because of their transformative properties when mixed with milk and heated- they don't require stirring or work, and turn into a solid glaze!
Toffee bits – adding toffee bits adds a bit of extra crunch and flavor to take these bars over the top! You can usually find these in the baking section.
Chopped pecans – chopped pecans help to add a hearty crunch and extra bite to these bars, with the nostalgic baked pecan flavor everyone loves.
Sweetened condensed milk – condensed milk helps to bind our bars together and create a glaze with the butterscotch chips, as well as sweeten our recipe without adding corn syrup or additional sugar, so it's sweet without being too sweet.

Use this Method:

Prep and Cream

Line an 9×13 pan with foil and spray with cooking or baking spray. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. Cream butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy in a large bowl.

Crust

Add dry ingredients, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt – mix until there are no dry spots. Press the mixture into the bottom of the baking pan (it's so satisfying). Bake your cookie crust for about 15 minutes in the preheated oven, until it no longer looks raw, but is lightly toasted.

Add Filling

Spread pumpkin pie filling on top of the crust.

Top and Bake

Layer butterscotch chips, toffee bits (for that solid crunch) and pecans over the top of the pumpkin mixture. Pour sweetened condensed milk over the top. Bake for 30 – 35 minutes until browned on top.

Finish

Try not to pick at it until it's cooled completely (good luck with that… the hardest part!) Cut into bars.

Kitchen notes

The real secret to pumpkin magic bars is how easy they are – but these tips and tricks will help you have a solid dessert, every time!

Refrigerate after baking. Due to the pumpkin, these bars should be refrigerated.

Make them school safe. It's hard when your kids go to school to find ways to make homemade good treats “nut-free” to tuck into their lunchboxes. Many schools don't allow any foods with peanuts or tree nuts, including walnuts, almonds, pecans, hazelnuts, cashews, or pistachios. Rules like these exist to protect children with allergies. Try substituting the pecans with cheerios or crushed pretzels to make these bars school-safe. Your kids will open their lunchboxes with glee.

How to serve. We love this cute pumpkin platter to arrange the bars on. When people take them one at a time, it reveals such a beautiful message. If you have any leftover (unlikely), these Magic Pumpkin Bars are great with a cup of coffee in the morning.

Dust with sugar. Also, consider dusting the top with powdered sugar to give them that beautiful finish and visual depth on top!

Always store these bars in the refrigerator because of the pumpkin.

Try substituting the butterscotch chips for chocolate chips – pumpkin and chocolate are a great combo!

If you want to delight your kids, try making these Magic Pumpkin Bars “school safe.”

A few answers

Can we use pumpkin puree instead of pumpkin pie filling?

Pumpkin puree is pure pumpkin without any of the traditional pumpkin pie spices.
So if you want to use the puree instead we would suggest spicing it up a little (if you want) to add more of that great pie flavor!

How should we store pumpkin magic bars?

Pumpkin bars can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to four days.

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Ingredients

½ cup unsalted butter
⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
1 cup all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
pinch of fine sea salt
1 cup canned pumpkin pie filling
11 ounces butterscotch chips
1 cup toffee bits
2 cups chopped pecans
14 ounces sweetened condensed milk

Method

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line an 9×13 baking dish with foil and spray it with cooking spray, set aside.
In a large bowl cream together the butter and brown sugar until light and fluffy, 2 minutes.
Add the flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt, mix it in until combined with no dry patches.
Press the mixture into the bottom of the baking dish and bake for 15 minutes until it no longer looks raw and is lightly browned.
Spread the pumpkin pie filling on top.
Layer the butterscotch chips, then the toffee bits, then the pecans.
Pour the sweetened condensed milk on top and bake for an additional 30-35 minutes until browned on top.
Let the bars cool in the pan completely.
Once they are completely cool, cut them into bars.
Store in the fridge until serving.