B1G season is here, Dubbers! The first road test of the season is upon us, and the good guys are headed up north. And while the enemy of my enemy is my friend, we don’t give a damn for that whole state. Down with Sparty!

Pumpkin Sugar Cookie Bars

This week marks the first game of the official fall season, so to celebrate, we have a delightful pumpkin treat. While Starbucks makes a killing on their pumpkin flavored drinks in the fall, I prefer my pumpkin in baked goods. Pair that with cream cheese icing, and my taste buds are in heaven. These cookie bars hit the spot.

Ingredients

Cookie

• 1 cup butter
• 1 ¼ cup granulated sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• 3 ¼ cup flour
• 1 ½ tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 ½ tsp baking powder
• ¼ tsp salt

Cinnamon Cream Cheese Frosting

• ½ cup butter room temperature
• 1 (8 oz pkg) cream cheese room temp
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups powdered sugar
• ½ tsp cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9x13 pan with non-stick baking spray. Set aside

For the cookie dough

1. With a stand or hand mixer, cream together the butter and granulated sugar until creamy and fluffy. Add the eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla and mix until combined.
2. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. Gradually add the dry ingredients (about 1 cup at a time) to the wet ingredients, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl. The dough will be thick, like a brownie batter.
3. Using a rubber scraper, press the dough evenly into the prepared pan. Bake at 350 for 19-21 minutes until just golden brown. Do your best not to overcook, as the bars will become hard and overly dry if baked too long. Remove from oven and let cool completely before frosting.

For Frosting

1. With a hand or stand mixer, cream the room-temperature butter and cream cheese, along with the vanilla. Gradually begin adding the powdered sugar one cup at a time, stopping the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl. Gradually add in the cinnamon as well.
2. Spread the frosting over the cooled cookie bars.

Pro Tips

• For easy cutting, refrigerate the bars until just before cutting and serving.
• Cutting the finished cookie sheet into 1in x 1in pieces makes a great finger-food snack for serving a large number of people. Not to mention, these are pretty rich, so eating smaller pieces worked better for us.