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.
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
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I think it’s very interesting that KAF has you freeze after baking. With most yeast things, you can pop them in the freezer before the second rise, and then take them out the night before, let them have a slow rise in the fridge, and then leave them out until they are proofed and then bake. It seems so much easier to just partially bake them. Interesting.
All the flavors sound incredible!
1. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls are fabulous, and these look great!
2. I love the tip about pre-baking the rolls before freezing. I will definitely be employing that technique :).
These sound AMAZING! I’ve been fearful of making cinnamon rolls- both for the baking and having them around- this is great to know though! Thanks!
No fair using my recipe and then making prettier cinnamon rolls than me. Hmph!
Oh well, I suppose it’s worth it to find about this great freezing trick!
Wow, do those look and sound delicious! Thanks for the info on how to freeze the rolls. I think I’ll attempt yeast soon.
Thanks for sharing the tip on freezing cinnamon rolls. I seriously love KAF’s helpful hints on their blog and website!
ok what a brilliant idea!! I love making pumpkin cinnamon rolls, I just made a batch last weekend 🙂
Oh YUM! Thanks for the freezing tips. I wanted to make my kids homemade cinnamon rolls this weekend, but like you, didn’t want them sitting around to tempt me! Does the pumpkin make the rolls really moist? I’m saving this recipe.
Rhondi – I found the dough to be similar to other cinnamon roll dough as far as the moistness goes.
I haven’t had cinnamon rolls in such a long time! I can’t wait to try these.
These look great – the pumpkin is such a nice touch. Love the freezing tips!
Hello as I am sure you know here in Italy we use the yeast in very many recipes. To freeze some dough leavened with baking powder (such as croissants or Daddy), some experts have advised me after giving shape to freeze before the final rise, then remove from freezer the night before putting in the oven thawing, and morning turn on the oven and cook as usual. I must tell you that I tried and the result was perfect.
Ciao Flavia
Yum! I LOVE cinnamon rolls and pumpkin cinnamon rolls are definitely a nice change-up from the usual plain cinnamon rolls. Great recipe!
pumpkin cinnamon rolls!? get out of town!? these look ah-mazing!!!!
I love your freezing tip! I actually haven’t tried making cinnamon rolls yet, but will soon! It’s nice to know you can make them the night before too and then just finish baking in the morning.
delicious a favourite I make similar
I never knew pumpkin cinnamon rolls existed until now. Looks and sounds divine!