Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

I would love to say that I came up with this recipe myself, but in actuality I swiped this one from Peabody. She has such wonderful recipes and great pictures, it puts me to shame. These bars are no exception from her usual recipes: very good, very fun to make, and lovely to behold. Thanks Peabody!

Gingerbread Pumpkin Bars

Ingredients:

For the bars:

2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. fresh grated nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

16 tsp. unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

1/4 c. molasses

1/3 c. rolled quick oats

For the filling:

6 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 3/4 c. mashed pumpkin

1/2 c. granulated sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp. ground cloves

2 large eggs

For the drizzle:

1 c. confectioners’ sugar

1 Tbsp. butter, softened

1/4 tsp. vanilla

1 to 2 Tbsp. milk

Preheat oven to 350 F.

To make the bars:
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves.
In a large mixing bowl, beat together butter, sugar and molasses until creamy. Add dry ingredients and mix just until combined. Reserve 3/4 cup of this mixture and place in a small bowl. Scoop the remaining mixture into a 10″ x 15″ baking pan lightly coated with nonstick spray.

Add the oats to the reserved mixture and mix until combined - set aside.

To make the filling:
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Add pumpkin, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and cloves - mix until well combined. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing just until combined. Scoop the mixture over the uncooked base and use an off-set spatula to evenly spread the mixture over the top. Crumble reserved oat mixture over filling.

Bake until the topping is a golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove and place on a wire rack to cool completely.

To make the drizzle:
In a small bowl, mix together confectioners’ sugar, butter and vanilla. Mix in just enough milk until the mixture will easily flow from a spoon - drizzle over cooled bars.