Foodie Friday

It's pumpkin season and baking season and putting the two together leaves me weak in the knees...in a good way. Several weeks ago I was looking through my cookbooks and ran across a recipe for Pumpkin-Spice Bars. I finally tried it out on Monday and as soon as I tasted it knew I had to share it for my first Foodie Friday in...months. This stuff is addictive! My only semi-complaint is that it is a bit too sweet. If you'd rather not go into a diabetic coma I would suggest adding less sugar. When I try a new recipe I usually follow the instructions to the T then see where to go from there to make adjustments. This time I omitted the raisins and nuts because I didn't want anything to get between me and my pumpkin! So, here is the recipe as it is written. Enjoy!

Pumpkin-Spice Bars

Bars
4 large eggs
2 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
1 can (15oz) pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)*
2 cups all-purpose flour**
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup raisins, if desired

Cream Cheese Frosting
1 package (3oz) cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired

1. Heat oven to 350^oF. Lightly grease bottom and sides of 15x10x1-inch pan with shortening.
2. In large bowl, beat eggs, granulated sugar, oil and pumpkin until smooth. Stir in flour, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger and cloves, Stir in raisins. Spread in pan.
3. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until light brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack, about 2 hours.
4. In medium bowl, beat cream cheese, butter and vanilla with electric mixer on low speed until smooth. Gradually beat powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, on low speed until smooth and spreadable. Frost bars. Sprinkle with walnuts. For bars cut into 7 rows by 7 rows. Store covered in refrigerator.

* Check labels carefully when buying canned pumpkin. Two types are available: plain pumpkin, which is unsweetened and without spices, and pumpkin pie mix, which contains sugar and spices

**If using self-rising flour, omit baking powder, baking soda and salt.