Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

These pumpkin chocolate chip bars are incredibly soft and moist, with lots of warm fall flavors thanks to the use of pumpkin spice. The addition of chocolate chips makes these one of my favorite pumpkin desserts.

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Ingredients
How to make pumpkin chocolate chip bars
Top tips
Tips for customizing chocolate chip pumpkin bars
FAQ
More pumpkin recipes
Recipe

At first glance these look like your average cookie bars. Soft, sweet, and full of chocolate.

But! There's a boat load of fall flavor in these pumpkin chocolate chip bars. If you're not pairing chocolate with your pumpkin, what are you even doing? It's kind of the best.

I originally made this fall treat years ago for a fall wedding. They're the perfect make ahead pumpkin dessert because they stay soft for days and have all those flavors we crave this time of year.

These bars are so soft, in fact, that I would maybe call them cake. They're basically a cross between cake and cookie bars, and I couldn't be more excited about it.

Ingredients

Flour
Pumpkin pie spice
Baking soda
Salt
Butter
Granulated sugar
Egg
Vanilla extract
Pumpkin puree
Chocolate chips

How to make pumpkin chocolate chip bars

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar on medium-high speed until smooth.
Beat in egg and vanilla until combined.
Add pumpkin puree and mix well.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and mix in dry ingredients until just combined, pulsing at first to prevent it from overflowing.
Fold in the chocolate chips.
Spread batter evenly in a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake 35-40 minutes at 350ºF or until the edges begin o pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs attached.
Cool the bars completely in the pan. Cut into squares and serve.

a stack of three pumpkin chocolate chip bars pieces

Top tips

How to make pumpkin pie spice

Pumpkin pie spice is essential to making the best pumpkin cookie bars. It's easy to make homemade, or you can use store bought.

To make pumpkin pie spice, combine:

4 tablespoons ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons ground ginger
3 teaspoons ground allspice
3 teaspoons ground cloves
1 ½ teaspoons ground nutmeg

Once combined, store in an air tight container in a cool, dry space (I use an old cleaned out baby food jar in my spice drawer). If you can't make or purchase pumpkin pie spice, substitute 1 ½ teaspoons cinnamon, ¾ teaspoon ginger, ½ teaspoon nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon allspice, and ¼ teaspoon cloves in this recipe.

a slice of pumpkin chocolate chip bars on a plate with a knife

How to make homemade pumpkin puree

Buying a can of pumpkin puree (affiliate link) makes these bars super easy to make. However, if you want to do a little extra work and maybe save some money, you can make your own pumpkin puree by placing a pie pumpkin in a small baking dish and baking at 350ºF for about an hour and a half or until it's easily pierced with a fork.

Remove the pumpkin from the oven, cut it in half, and let it cool for 30 minutes. Scoop out the seeds and stringy center, then remove the flesh of the pumpkin from the skin and place it in a food processor. Process until smooth, adding a little water if necessary to thin it out.

If your homemade pumpkin puree is very thick or watery, you may need to adjust the pumpkin bar recipe slightly to add more or less flour.

Tips for customizing chocolate chip pumpkin bars

Swap half the butter for applesauce
Try using a gluten-free 1:1 flour blend
Use a flax egg, and vegan butter and chocolate chips to make these vegan
Top cooled bars with chocolate frosting
Swap the semisweet chocolate chips for milk chocolate

FAQ

Can I freeze chocolate chip pumpkin bars?

These treats freeze great. Allow them to cool completely, then cut and place in a freezer safe zip top bag or other airtight container and freeze for up to 3 months. If freezing in multiple layers, separate the bars with a piece of parchment paper to prevent sticking.

They're actually delicious straight out of the freezer, or you can let them thaw at room temperature or in the microwave before enjoying.

Is pumpkin pie filling the same as pumpkin puree?

This recipe uses pumpkin puree (100% pure pumpkin), NOT pumpkin pie filling. They are not the same, and pumpkin pie filling contains additional ingredients that would cause this recipe to turn out poorly.