Pumpkin bars should be moist, flavored with warm fall spaces, and easy to share. And this pumpkin bar recipe not only delivers but also makes some of the best pumpkin bars I’ve had.

They come together quickly and use equipment found in a typical kitchen.

What You’ll Find in This Post

• What You’ll Need (Ingredients and Tools)
• Helpful Tip: Melt the Butter First
• Helpful Tip: Add the Butter in Two Rounds
• Helpful Tip: Getting the Perfect Bake

What You’ll Need to Make White Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars

Tools and Equipment

Odds are, you already have what you need to make these pumpkin bars. I intentionally kept the tool list simple so that you won’t have to seek out any unusual equipment you’d only use once or twice.

You’ll need two medium mixing bowls, a whisk, a spatula (to make sure none of your batter goes to waste), and an 8-inch x 8-inch baking dish (I used a glass baking dish).

First Step: Melt the Butter

If the butter is too hot when you add it to the rest of the wet ingredients, you run the risk of the eggs getting cooked before your pumpkin bars even reach the oven, which is not what we want to happen.

To avoid this, the very first thing you’re going to do is melt your butter. The easiest way I’ve found to do this is the following:

1. Cut the butter into tablespoon-sized slices
2. In a microwave-safe bowl, melt the butter for 30 seconds in the micowave
3. Give the butter a stir
4. If the butter isn’t entirely melted, put it back in the microwave for 15 seconds and stir once removed from the microwave
5. Repeat step 4 until the butter is melted
6. Set aside to cool

Incorporating the Melted Butter in 2 Rounds

We add the melted butter to the rest of the wet ingredients in two rounds, whisking until smooth between additions, so that the butter gets fully incorporated and emulsified with the rest of the wet ingredients.

If you add the butter to the other wet ingredients all at once, it becomes more difficult for it to completely emulsify and the butter will try to separate from the rest of the mixture.

Getting the Perfect Bake

These pumpkin bars have a slightly cake-like texture, so we don’t want to run the risk of under-baking them. If they’re underbaked, the middle won’t be baked through no matter how long you let it cool and rest (trust me) which will give a gummy texture and have slightly raw dough.

A 40-minute bake was the sweet spot for my oven, but you may need to bake slightly longer in yours. You’ll know it’s finished baking when a chopstick or sharp kitchen knife can be inserted into the center of the baked batter and comes out clean.

If it comes out with uncooked batter on it, the baking dish needs to be returned to the oven and checked again in a few minutes.

If you make these white chocolate chip pumpkin bars, let me know how they turn out by leaving a review! And if you post on Instagram, be sure to tag me @ficklebea. I can’t wait to see what you make – happy baking!

If you are new to baking or nervous about spending time in the kitchen, check out My Kitchen Commandments for some helpful tips!

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