Thanksgiving Two-Fer Bars

I changed my mind late last night about baking for Thanksgiving. I wasn’t going to do it since Hubby’s mother is already baking multiple pies and other goodies, but then something sparked my memory about these bars. I remembered seeing them last year and loving that Caitlin had made the TWD recipe into bars instead of a pie.

I’m not really a big pie person myself. Don’t get me wrong, I love eating pies, but I’m not a big fan of baking pies. I think it’s for the same reason I don’t like making elaborate cakes. I like to be able to taste test my baked goods prior to serving them to anyone else. That’s why I almost exclusively bake cookies, cupcakes, and bars. Of course, I had to taste test these bars while I was cutting them. They taste like Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the variety of textures from the crust and two pie filling layers.

These bars do take a bit of time to assemble because of the various steps. But I’m ok with that. I put them together last night while working on laundry and cleaning up the house. It was casual, just the way I like my baking. Who wants to be stressed out while baking!

Now I’m sure most everyone out there has already planned or even baked everything they’re going to for Thanksgiving since it is tomorrow and all, but if you’re still searching for that perfect Thanksgiving treat, definitely consider making these.

Since I used a 9×13 pan for the recipe, I doubled the pie filling recipes. The recipe shown below reflects the changes that I made, so if you make these in an 8×8 pan, you will want to halve the recipe below. I had a hard time with the baking time. I started checking them at 30 minutes and they were no where near done. I ended up baking at 300 for about 65 minutes because prior to that the pecan pie topping was not set. I let them cool over night on a cooling rack prior to cutting them.

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Thanksgiving Two-Fer Bars

Yield: 24 bars

Ingredients:

For the Crust Layer
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup + 2 Tbsp pecans, ground - I ground mine in a food processor
2/3 cup butter, at room temperature

For the Pumpkin Filling
2 cup canned unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 1⁄3 cup heavy cream
1 cup (packed) light brown sugar - I used 1/2 light and 1/2 dark
2 large egg
2 large egg yolk - I used 1 egg instead of 2 yolks
4 tsp. dark rum, optional - I omitted
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger
1⁄2 tsp. salt

For the Pecan Pie Filling
1 cup light or dark corn syrup - I used light
1⁄2 cup packed light brown sugar
4 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
2 egg
2 egg yolk - I used 1 egg instead of 2 yolks
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1⁄2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1⁄4 tsp. salt
3 cups (about 14 oz.) pecan halves or pieces

Directions:

For the crust
Preheat the oven to 350ºFC.

Using a wooden spoon or the paddle attachment of your mixer (I used a pastry blender), mix all of the crust ingredients together until coarse crumbs are formed. In a 9 x 13-inch baking dish, press down the crust.

Bake at 350ºF for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. The crust will rise slightly after baking. Let the crust cool completely at room temperature.

For the pumpkin filling
Pulse all ingredients together in a food processor (for a double batch, my ingredients didn't all fit in my food processor bowl, so I pulsed everything except the cream, them poured it into a bowl and whisked the cream in). Leave filling in bowl.

For the pecan filling: In a bowl, whisk together all ingredients except pecans until smooth.

To assemble
Preheat oven to 450. Give the pumpkin filling one last quick pulse, then remove bowl, rap it on counter to debubble batter, and pour filling into crust. Top pumpkin filling evenly with pecans, then pour over pecan filling. Poke down any pecans that float to the top and aren't covered with filling. Bake bars for 15 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 300° and bake for another 55-65 minutes, or until it is evenly puffed and a slender knife inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer bars to a cooling rack and let it stand until it is just warm or until it reaches room temperature.

Recipe as seen on Engineer Baker - fillings from Dorie Greenspan, crust layer from Apple Pie, Patis, & Pate

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12 Responses to “Pumpkin and Chocolate Caramel Corn”

  1. #
    1
    Kris — October 30, 2009 at 1:38 pm

    I think I’m going to have to try this recipe this weekend. Thanks for posting it!

  2. #
    2
    stephchows — October 30, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    what a great idea using the kisses!

  3. #
    3
    Molly Jean — October 30, 2009 at 10:19 pm

    What a great twist on caramel corn!

  4. #
    4
    nutmegnanny — October 30, 2009 at 10:41 pm

    This is perfect for Halloween…delicious!

  5. #
    5
    We Are Not Martha — October 31, 2009 at 2:18 am

    Mmm I’ve seen this in a few places and have been craving it!! I didn’t realize it used the pumpkin kisses 🙂

    Sues

  6. #
    6
    bridget {bake at 350} — October 31, 2009 at 12:40 pm

    Now, this is a FUN idea!!! Pumpkin + popcorn, who knew? 😉

  7. #
    7
    Anne — October 31, 2009 at 2:09 pm

    Wow that looks amazing and the last photo is stunning!

  8. #
    8
    TidyMom — October 31, 2009 at 2:17 pm

    ok, this is the second post using those kisses – HOW have I not seen them in the store???……I think I try and stay away from the candy section! LOL

    This sounds AMAZING!! Thanks!!

    ~TidyMom

  9. #
    9
    Melissa — October 31, 2009 at 4:46 pm

    I love the pumpkin spice kisses. What a great way to use them. Thanks for sharing and I am definitely going to try this recipe!

  10. #
    10
    oneordinaryday — November 1, 2009 at 12:26 pm

    I keep seeing great ideas using those kisses and they’re always being melted first. Genius. I’m going to try this, but with air popped popcorn instead. Sounds awesome.

  11. #
    11
    Ingrid — November 2, 2009 at 6:55 pm

    You’re right about those Kisses, one is enough. I used some in brownies and they were even better than eating them straight out of the wrapper.

    Love your popcorn and I have some of those kisses left over.
    ~ingrid

  12. #
    12
    Liesl — November 3, 2009 at 9:31 pm

    This recipe looks amazing!! I love those Pumpkin Spice Kisses!

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