Pumpkin Gooey Bar

This is a really good and easy pumpkin dessert. Instead of having pumpkin pie, this is an excellent choice. I love the soft crust on the bottom, and the mixture is so delicious and gooey. Bryan loves this absolutely! I have made this many times, and it was a success every time. Just make sure not to overbake. If the center jiggle a little, that is normal.

Pumpkin Gooey Bar (Adapted from Paula Deen)

10 – 14 servings

Ingredients:

Crust:

–   1 (18 1/4-ounce) package yellow cake mix

–   1 egg

–   8 tablespoons butter (melted)

Filling:

–   1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese (softened)

–   1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin

–   3 large eggs

–   1 teaspoon vanilla extract

–   8 tablespoons butter (melted)

–   1 ¾ – 2 ½ cups powdered sugar

–   1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

–   ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350˚F.
2. For the crust, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Pat the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 13 x 9 inches baking pan. Make sure the baking pan bottom is well covered.
3. For the filling, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth in a large bowl. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Add cinnamon, and nutmeg. Add 1 ¾ cup powdered sugar, and taste. If you like the mixture sweeter, you can add more sugar to your own taste. Mix well.
4. Spread the pumpkin mixture over the cake batter and bake for 40 – 50 minutes. Make sure not to overbake as the center should be a little gooey.
5. Cut the pumpkin gooey into bars or squares. Sprinkle the top with powdered sugar. Serve at room temperature.
6. For storage, the bar can be left out on the table counter with a loose cover for 3 – 4 days.

Source: Read