Thanksgiving may be done, but the pumpkin craze still continues long into Christmas. Before the food bloggers rolled in and started sharing myriad pumpkin recipes across the web, my family and I would make a handed down dessert recipe of our own: 3 Layer Pumpkin Pie Bars. Since I'm not a huge baker and I don't make a lot of dessert posts, I feel that I should definitely share the "baked" dessert recipe I look forward to most every year. One, I think I've learned to make it the best it can be, and two, it's three layers of yummy goodness that everyone will love.
The entire recipe fills a 9" x 13" pan, so you'll have plenty or portions for the whole family or just a lot of leftovers. I always serve these pumpkin pie bars with either whipped cream or vanilla ice cream so my guests and I get the hot & cold temperatures combined. Also, keep the extra 1/3 of a can of leftover evaporated milk to make my butternut squash soup recipe - no waste! Remember, three layers: a cake crust, a pumpkin pie filling and crumbled strudel-like topping…what?!
Make sure that you buy the big can of Libby's Pumpkin Pie Mix and not the small one to make this dish, but if you can't find the big one then just use 2 of the small ones - but make sure it's pumpkin pie mix and not just canned pumpkin. Definitely use cold butter when make the pumpkin pie bars, too, otherwise you'll have a tough time with the consistency - trust me, I've learned the hard way. I hope you have a happy holiday season and please take the chance to try my delicious family Pumpkin Pie Bars!
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Set aside 1 cup of yellow cake mix. Spray bottom of a 9" x 13" pan.
2. Mix remaining cake mix, butter and egg (bottom layer) with a pastry cutter or stand mixer until it forms a dough like texture. Do not overmix. Press evenly into pan.
3. Mix together pumpkin pie mix, milk and eggs (filling) in a medium bowl until well combined. Pour over crust.
