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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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I originally made this fall treat years ago for a fall wedding.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 9×13 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.
Top tips and questions
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.
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.
How to 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.
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
More pumpkin recipes
- Vegan Pumpkin Soup
- Pumpkin Pizza
- Pumpkin Seed Butter
- Pumpkin Seed Butter Cups
- Pumpkin Gingerbread
- Mini Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
- Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Loaf
- Pumpkin Puree
- Pumpkin Waffles
If you make this recipe, be sure to rate it, leave a comment, or tag #theliveinkitchen on Instagram!
Recipe
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
Ingredients
- 2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup unsalted butter, room temperature (2 sticks)
- 1 ¼ cups granulated sugar
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
- 1 cup canned pumpkin, not pumpkin pie filling
- 12 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF and grease a 9×13 baking pan. Set aside.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, pumpkin pie spice, soda, and salt. Set aside.
- 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 just until combined.
- Fold in the chocolate chips.
- Spread the batter evenly in the prepared pan. Bake 35-40 minutes or until the edges begin to 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.
Notes
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
Cindy says
I’m baking these right now, they smell so good ! 🙂
Lindsay Moe says
That is a great smell! I hope you enjoyed!