Delicious!

You are sure to love this take on traditional pumpkin bars or pumpkin pie...yum!

Pumpkin Gingerbread Bars

For the bars:

2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
8 tablespoons light butter, softened + 8 tablespoons or ½ cup of applesauce
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup molasses
1/3 cup rolled quick oats or regular oats will do

For the filling:

6 ounces light or fat free cream cheese, softened
1 3/4 cups mashed pumpkin
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 large egg + 2 egg whites

Preheat oven to 350

To make the bars:

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.

In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, applesauce, sugar and molasses until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl. Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10″ x 15″ baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray.

To make the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves – mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top. Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

Note: I served mine with the new Cinnamon Cool Whip, yum!
By Charissa McLain - Original recipe Adapted from Land O’ Lakes