Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup Hiland Butter, softened
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 large eggs
1 cup solid-pack pumpkin, not pie filling
3/4 cup Hiland Milk
1 cup chopped walnuts
Cream Cheese Frosting:
2 teaspoons vanilla
8-oz. cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup Hiland Butter, softened
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Preparation

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat a 15x10x1-inch jellyroll pan with cooking spray. Line bottom and sides with waxed paper; coat paper with spray. In a bowl, mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar until smooth and creamy, about 2 minutes. Beat in eggs and pumpkin (mixture will look curdled). On low speed, beat in flour mixture alternately with milk, ending with flour; beat 1 minute or just until smooth. Stir in walnuts. Spread batter evenly in prepared pan. Bake in 350-degree oven until toothpick tests clean, 20 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a rack; remove paper. Cool. In a bowl, beat together cream cheese, butter and vanilla until creamy. On low, gradually beat in sugar; beat until fluffy. Spread over the cake and refrigerate 30 minutes to set.

Yield: 24 squares