Celebrating National Pumpkin Day with PUMPKIN CARAMEL spice bars!
This post is sponsored by Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk. As always, all thoughts and opinions are 100% my own. Thank you for supporting the brands that help make two sugar bugs possible.
Can we talk about how perfect these pumpkin caramel spice bars are? This simple bar cookie recipe features the easiest pumpkin caramel layer sandwiched between a spiced oatmeal cookie. The warm spices and gooey pumpkin caramel create a positively addicting bar!
Disclosure | This post may contain affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.
This recipe is going to jump to the top of your favorite fall treats because it's SO easy. It's also pumpkin caramel AND oatmeal spice AND chocolate chips. Talk about a trifecta of amazing flavors!!
HOW DO YOU MAKE PUMPKIN CARAMEL?
Friends, this is the easiest caramel sauce you are ever going to make! No melting sugar, no candy thermometers, no worrying about burning the caramel. What's the secret? Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk.
Did you know that Eagle Brand® has been around since 1856? It's the brand my mom always has in the pantry and the brand I like to use in my baking as well. I love their ingredient list ~ milk and sugar. That's it. It's truly the secret to the super simple and positively delicious pumpkin caramel sauce!
To create the pumpkin caramel sauce; combine canned pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar. Add in the sweetened condensed milk and stir to fully combine.
LET'S MAKE THE OATMEAL SPICE LAYER
The oatmeal spice layer uses melted butter and comes together in a snap! No mixer required.
First combine the dark brown sugar, flour, old-fashioned rolled oats, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg in a bowl. Then add the melted butter and mix until well combined.
PUTTING THE PUMPKIN CARAMEL SPICE BARS TOGETHER
Reserve 1 ½ cups of the oatmeal spice mixture aside. Press the remaining oatmeal spice base into the bottom of a prepared 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
After the base has baked for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the baked crust. Pour the pumpkin caramel over the chocolate chips. Then crumble the remaining oatmeal spice mixture over the pumpkin caramel.
Bake the bars for about another 35 minutes, until the edges are light golden brown. Remove the bars from the oven and cool completely before cutting. You can speed up the cooling process by putting the bars in the refrigerator.
TIPS AND FAQ FOR MAKING THE BARS
- Do I have to line the pan with parchment paper? No, but the parchment paper allows you to lift the cool bars out of the pan to make cutting them easier. If you don't have parchment paper, you can use aluminum foil sprayed with cooking spray.
- Do I have to use dark brown sugar? No, the recipe works with light brown sugar as well, but the dark brown sugar adds a nice richness to the flavor.
- Are the chocolate chips necessary? While many people would argue that chocolate is always necessary, no, you do not have to use them. I tested the recipe with chocolate chips and without them. The batch I made for these photos was made half with and half without. Everyone who tested these bars for me preferred the version with the chocolate chips.
- Is it necessary to have the bars cool completely? Unfortunately, yes. The pumpkin caramel layer needs time to firm up prior to cutting the bars. They will still taste amazing without being completely cool, but you will have a gooey mess on your hands and no chance for clean cuts and pretty bars that stay intact. It takes about 4 hours at room temperature to cool.
- Can I halve this recipe? Yes! The recipe halves perfectly, just bake in an 8x8 baking pan.
NEED MORE FALL INSPIRED RECIPES?
Recipe shared with Meal Plan Monday and Weekend Potluck
To pin this recipe, you can use the button on the recipe card or the share buttons on the side or bottom of the page. Come follow me on Pinterest and Instagram to see all the things that inspire me. Thank you for being here and happy baking!
Pumpkin Caramel Spice Bars
recipe created and tested by:
I highly recommend using weight (metric) measurements when available for more accuracy and the best results.
Please note
When using 2x or 3x ingredients, the grams DO NOT adjust, you will have to manually do that.
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups unsalted butter melted
- 1 ½ cups dark brown sugar
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
- 2 teaspoons baking soda
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- ¼ cup dark brown sugar
- 1 14oz. can Eagle Brand® Sweetened Condensed Milk
- 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 350ºF.
- Line the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan with parchment paper*, leaving overhang on the sides to lift the finished bars out of the pan. Set aside. In a large bowl combine the brown sugar, flour, oats, baking soda, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg. Add the melted butter and mix to combine.
- Save out 1 ½ cups of the oatmeal spice base and set aside. Press the remaining oatmeal spice base into the bottom of prepared baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes.
- While the oatmeal base is cooking, prepare the pumpkin caramel. In a medium size bowl combine the pumpkin puree, pumpkin pie spice and brown sugar. Add the sweetened condensed milk and stir to fully combine.
- After the base has baked for 10 minutes, remove the pan from the oven and sprinkle the chocolate chips over the crust. Pour the pumpkin caramel over the chocolate chips. Crumble the remaining 1 ½ cups of oatmeal base over the pumpkin caramel. Bake about another 35 minutes, until the edges are light/golden brown.
- Remove from the oven and cool completely (minimum of 4 hours) before cutting into 24 squares. You can speed up the cooling process by putting the bars in the refrigerator.
Notes
Nutrition
The nutrition information is based on third-party calculations, is an estimate only and may not be entirely accurate. Actual nutritional values will vary based on brands used and portion sizes.
Kathleen | The Fresh Cooky says
These look so gooey caramel-y and delicious!! Thanks for the recipe Tasia!
Tasia says
You are welcome Kathleen! I hope you enjoy them and thank you for the sweet comment!
Jodi says
Just made this tonight. Super easy and delicious! I had pumpkin spice sweetened condensed milk so I didn't add the pie spice or brown sugar to that layer. Had butterscotch chips and chocolate chips too. So good. It was a hit!!
Tasia says
Hi Jodi! Thank you for coming back to leave your review. I'm so happy to hear that you enjoyed this recipe!💗. Using pumpkin spice sweetened condensed milk sounds like a brilliant move!!
Katherine | Love In My Oven says
Tasia!! These look so good. Pumpkin and caramel is such a great flavor combination. I am in love with these bars!! I bet your sugar bugs gobbled them right up 😉
Tasia says
Thank you so much Katherine! The pumpkin and caramel is definitely magical together! They have been gobbled up by everyone who has tried them. 😊
Sue says
Big hit with family and friends! Yummy!!!
Tasia says
Thank you for coming back to let me know Sue! I am so glad you love them!
Emma's Mom says
I made these last night and they're definitely a hit, but WOW that's a lot of sugar! The next time I make it, I'm going to decrease the brown sugar to 1 cup and maybe increase the pumpkin a bit. Thanks for the recipe, it's a keeper. 🙂
Tasia says
I am so happy this recipe was a hit! Thank you for taking the time to comment and leave a review.
Erin says
My son and I baked these together for his school’s fall bake sale. They were super easy and fun to make together. We made two batches and went with the chocolate chips in both. These pumpkin carmel bars were a huge success at the bake sale! A perfect way to start the holiday baking season.
Tasia says
Yay! Thank you so much for sharing Erin! I love that you made them with your son!!💙
Ilima says
These were so good. People at work couldn’t get enough of them. Definitely a keeper !!!
Tasia says
I'm so happy you enjoyed this recipe! Thank you so much for your feedback!😊
Suzy says
Really easy to follow receipt. Only complaint is that mine didn’t really “set”- the pumpkin in middle stayed the texture of canned pumpkin purée if that makes sense- wonder how I could get it to be a bit firmer?
But excited to try again as this was a family friendly simple and yummy recipe
Tasia says
Thank you for coming back to comment Suzy! I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe! I do find the pumpkin caramel to be a bit on the gooey side, but it should firm up a bit if chilled in the refrigerator.
Jen says
This recipe did not work for me. I am an experienced baker so I don't think the problem was user error. I felt the crust/ topping had too much butter. A more crumbly texture would have worked better. My pumpkin filling (using canned 100% pumpkin) was extremely thin. I knew if I poured it on it would just be absorbed into the crust. So I put it on the stove and thickened it with some tapioca starch until it was more of a spreadable consistency. The finished product tasted mostly like the oat mixture and chocolate with little pumpkin flavour.
Tasia says
Hi Jen, thank you for trying my recipe. I am sorry to hear that the flavor and texture weren't what you were hoping for.
Robin says
So easy and very delicious! Took them to a church function and they were a huge hit. Thank you, I'll be back to make some other recipes.
Tasia says
Hi Robin, I'm so glad to hear you enjoyed these cookie bars! Thank you for making them and for the kind comment.