A rich moist pumpkin layer over a sweet vanilla wafer crust cut into little squares for a delicious dessert. This amazingly simple dessert is the classic pumpkin pie in bar form, perfect for sharing during the fall holidays.
Hi again!
I’m Andrea from Cooking with a Wallflower, and this month I’m ecstatic to be back at Ask Anna to share with you my Easy Pumpkin Pie Bars.
It’s definitely pumpkin season with all sorts of pumpkins stacked high in boxes at supermarkets. Everywhere I turn I see pumpkins of various shapes, colors, and sizes. And of course, all those pumpkin desserts and pumpkin spice candles. We’re definitely in the middle of autumn. Because what else says fall like pumpkin?
These pumpkin pie bars are so delicious and easy to make. It’s hard to resist! I actually purposely made them in a smaller batch using a 9×5 inch bread loaf pan instead of a 13×9 inch baking pan so that I wouldn’t be able to overindulge. Because that’s how good they are. I can probably sit there and slowly eat my way through each bar.
Just imagine a sweet vanilla crust made of crushed vanilla wafers, butter, and vanilla yogurt topped with a rich luscious pumpkin puree filled layer. The taste of autumn in every single tasty bite. And you can easily double this recipe to suit your needs =)
Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly grease the 9×5 inch bread loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray or vegetable oil. This will keep the pie crust from sticking to the pan and make it easier for you to remove the slices later.
Place about two cups of mini vanilla wafers into a Ziploc bag and crush the wafers until they become fine crumbs. You can also use a food processor if it’s easier for you. The result will be about a cup of finely crushed vanilla wafer crumbs.
Mix the crushed vanilla wafers with melted butter and vanilla yogurt in a small sized bowl. Once the ingredients are evenly incorporated, the crumbs will become moist. Transfer the moist crumbs over to the bread loaf pan and press it flat to the bottom of the pan until an even layer forms.
Add pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, and brown sugar into a large bowl. Mix these ingredients together until they become evenly incorporated.
Lastly add the beaten egg to the pumpkin puree mixture, and whisk it to combine the egg with the other ingredients. Make sure to whisk well. Otherwise, you may see egg whites in the pumpkin layer later. Trust me. It happened.
Pour the pumpkin puree mixture over the vanilla wafer crust. Check to see if the surface is even.
Place the baking pan into the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes. The pumpkin pie bars are done when the center of the filling is no longer liquid-y. It will become firm.
Remove the baking pan from the oven and allow the pumpkin pie bar to cool to room temperature, about a half hour or so. Then place it in the refrigerator for about an hour or more before slicing into them. Make sure that it’s completely cold before slicing into them. Otherwise, the pumpkin layer will be too soft and fall apart.
To remove each of the bars, run a knife along the edge and carefully pry them from the pan.
Serve the pumpkin pie bars cold or warm. If you like, you can even add extra pumpkin spice on top or whipped cream.
Enjoy!
- 2 cups mini vanilla wafers (1 cup crushed)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 2 teaspoons vanilla yogurt
- ½ can 15oz canned pumpkin puree (not filling)
- ½ can 12oz evaporated milk
- ⅓ cup brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon pumpkin spice
- 1 large egg, beaten
- Preheat the oven to 375F. Lightly grease the 9x5inch bread loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray.
- Crush the mini vanilla wafers in a Ziploc bag or in a food process until they become fine crumbs.
- Add the vanilla wafer crumbs, melted butter, and vanilla yogurt into a small bowl and mix until it becomes evenly incorporated.
- Transfer the vanilla wafer mixture to the baking loaf pan and flatten it with a spatula to create a smooth flat layer.
- Next, add pumpkin puree, evaporated milk, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and pumpkin spice into a large bowl. Mix until the ingredients are evenly incorporated.
- Lastly, add the large beaten egg to the pumpkin puree mixture and whisk until the egg has become incorporated.
- Pour the pumpkin puree mixture over the vanilla wafer layer, making sure that the layer is smooth.
- Place the baking pan in the oven and bake for about 30-35 minutes until the center of the pumpkin layer is firm.
- Remove the pumpkin pie from the oven and allow it to cool to room temperature, about a half hour. Once it has cooled to room temperature, place the baking pan into the refrigerator to chill for at least an hour to allow the pumpkin to become firmer.
- When the pumpkin pie is cold, carefully slice it into 8 pieces with a knife. Then use a knife to run along the edges of the pumpkin pie bars and pry it from the baking pan.
- Serve the pumpkin pie bars cold or warm.
Andrea
Great recipe! Made it today!
That’s great! What did you think?