Sherelle Christensen, sherellechristensen.typepad.com

The leaves are turning beautiful shades; the nights are cool and crisp. Fall means harvest season for our family, and as much as I love the fall weather, it means a lot of work for a farm wife. We have our annual potato harvest, which involves many hours of physical labor with family and friends. I spend my mornings making lunch to take to the field, then I head out to convey potatoes into the storage cellars. I always try to make a simple dessert that feeds a crowd, and you can usually find these pumpkin bars on my meal rotation.

Ingredients:
  • 1 (15 oz.) can pumpkin
  • 2 cup sugar
  • 1 cup canola or vegetable oil
  • 4 eggs, slightly beaten
  • 2 cup all purpose flour
  • 2 tsp. baking soda
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 tsp. cinnamon
Instructions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine pumpkin, sugar, oil and eggs. Mix well. Combine dry ingredients and sift into wet ingredients. Mix well and pour into a large half sheet pan that is greased and floured. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cake is lightly firm in the center. Remover from oven and allow to cool partially before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting
  • 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese
  • 1/2 stick melted butter
  • 1 tsp. vanilla extract
  • 2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Combine ingredients in mixer. Use a bit of milk to thin frosting if needed. Frost cooled cake and cut into bars.