Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars

I am certainly not wishing summer away.  We have had so much fun and there is so much more I want to do.  However, I love fall.  I love fall flavors.  I love football.  I love hoodies.  I love temperate days and cool evenings.  I recently bought myself a little treat, a new bar pan and I couldn't wait to use it.

What?  A new pan counts as a treat!  We all have our vices!

Anyway, my favorite way to season a new pan (especially a stoneware one) is with cookies.  I know, I don't need much of an excuse for cookies.  However, they really are great for this.  All of that butter is excellent for the pan.  So, a new bar pan means lots of cookie bars.  

You want that pan now, don't you?!

    So, anyway, I had to break out some fall flavors on this one.  We had a few cool days and I wanted to take advantage.  Besides, I told Heather at Stringtown Home that I would have a fall recipe ready for her Harvest Tour of Homes.  So this was a perfect fit.  

     Pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice are like a warm hug on a cool day.  Top that off with some marshmallow buttercream and we are really in business!  

     These cookie bars were well received by everyone.  I dropped some off at my sister's house.  My brother took some home after trying one.  I dropped some off at Matt's work site.  Needless to say it didn't take them long to disappear, which is a really good thing because I have no self control when things like this are sitting around!

Pumpkin Spice Cookie Bars

Ingredients:

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups whole wheat flour (I used white whole wheat)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1 recipe of marshmallow buttercream (I may use 1.5 recipes next time, but I am a frosting fiend!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 F
2. Cream together butter and sugars.  Add eggs and mix well.  
3. Stir in vanilla and pumpkin puree until combined.
4. Add flours, salt, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice.  Stir until just combined.
5. Spread into a 10x15" bar pan (I used this one).  The dough should be thick like cookie dough and thus a little hard to spread.  Try to get it relatively uniform.
6. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
7. Allow to cool completely and then spread marshmallow buttercream over the top.  MMM!

Click here to see who is participating in the Harvest Tour of Homes and see what they made for fall: