{"id":800638,"date":"2019-10-23T15:30:13","date_gmt":"2019-10-23T21:30:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/?p=373423"},"modified":"2019-10-23T15:30:13","modified_gmt":"2019-10-23T21:30:13","slug":"high-country-baking-pumpkin-pie-bars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/local-news\/high-country-baking-pumpkin-pie-bars\/","title":{"rendered":"High Country Baking: Pumpkin pie bars"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure class=\"wp-block-image p402_hide\">\n<div class=\"caption-container\"> <img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"738\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/10\/col-dawson-sdn-102419-1024x738.jpg\" class=\"attachment-large size-large wp-post-image\" alt srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/10\/col-dawson-sdn-102419-1024x738.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/10\/col-dawson-sdn-102419-300x216.jpg 300w, https:\/\/cdn.summitdaily.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2019\/10\/col-dawson-sdn-102419-768x553.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\"><figcaption><strong>Pumpkin pie bars<\/strong><br \/><em>Courtesy Vera Dawson<\/em><\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>Love pumpkin pie? Hate making pie crust? Then these bars are<br \/>\nfor you. Pumpkin pie filling, in all its glorious goodness, is baked on an<br \/>\neasy-to-make shortbread crust and crowned with a sweet, crunchy nut topping. Serve<br \/>\nthem unadorned for a casual treat or top them with a whipped cream rosette for a<br \/>\nfine fall dessert. They\u2019ll take you from Halloween right through to<br \/>\nThanksgiving.<\/p>\n<p>Little can go wrong \u2014 just be sure to line the pan with foil<br \/>\nor it\u2019ll be almost impossible to remove the baked bars. For the best results,<br \/>\nuse fresh, soft brown sugar and high-quality pumpkin puree. Want a richer<br \/>\nfilling? Use half-and-half in place of the evaporated milk or substitute<br \/>\nwhipping cream for part of it.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Crust<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1\/2 cup unbleached flour, spoon and level<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans<\/li>\n<li>1\/8 teaspoon kosher salt<\/li>\n<li>4 tablespoons unsalted butter<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 teaspoon vanilla extract<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Filling<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>2 large eggs<\/li>\n<li>3\/4 cup superfine granulated sugar, preferably bakers<\/li>\n<li>1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 teaspoon ground ginger<\/li>\n<li>1\/4 teaspoon ground cloves<\/li>\n<li>1\/2 teaspoon salt<\/li>\n<li>15 ounces commercial pumpkin puree<\/li>\n<li>12 ounces canned evaporated milk<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Topping<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>1\/4 cup packed dark brown sugar<\/li>\n<li>2 tablespoons unbleached flour<\/li>\n<li>Generous 1\/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans<\/li>\n<li>1 tablespoon unsalted butter<\/li>\n<li>Sweetened whipped cream, optional<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>1. Heat the oven to 350 degrees with a rack in the center position. Line a shiny metal 8-by-8-inch baking pan with 2-inch sides with non-stick or regular aluminum foil, extending it several inches on two opposing sides to use as handles when removing the baked slab. Grease any exposed parts of the pan and the regular foil with a baking spray that contains flour. Set aside.<\/p>\n<p>2. Make the crust: Place the flour, pecans, salt and brown<br \/>\nsugar in the bowl of a food processor and pulse until the nuts are finely<br \/>\nchopped and the ingredients are blended. Cut the butter into small pieces, add<br \/>\nthem with the vanilla, and pulse until the mixture is uniformly moistened and<br \/>\ncrumbly. Stop before clumps of dough form. Pour the mixture into the prepared<br \/>\npan, distribute it evenly, and gently press it into the bottom to form a flat<br \/>\ncrust. Bake until the dough is set and golden brown around the edges, 15-20 minutes.<br \/>\nRemove to a rack to cool completely. Wipe out the bowl of the food processor;<br \/>\nyou\u2019ll use it again to make the topping.<\/p>\n<p>3. Make the filling: In a mixing bowl, whisk or beat the<br \/>\neggs with an electric mixer, add the sugar, spices and salt and whisk\/beat<br \/>\nagain. Add the pumpkin and the milk and whisk\/beat at a low speed (you don\u2019t<br \/>\nwant to create air bubbles) until thoroughly blended. Slowly pour the filling<br \/>\nonto the cooled crust; it will come almost to the pan\u2019s top. If your pan isn\u2019t<br \/>\n2 inches deep, you won\u2019t use it all. Bake until the top is set but still<br \/>\njiggles, 45-50 minutes. (It should be firm enough to support the topping but<br \/>\nnot fully baked.)<\/p>\n<p>4. Make the topping while the filling is in the oven: Add<br \/>\nthe dry ingredients to the bowl of the food processor and pulse to combine them<br \/>\nand finely chop the nuts. Cut the butter into small pieces, add them, and pulse<br \/>\nuntil they blend into the dry ingredients. Remove the pan from the oven, sprinkle<br \/>\nthe topping evenly over the set filling, return the pan to the oven and bake<br \/>\nuntil a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, another 15-20 minutes.<br \/>\nCool completely on a rack and then refrigerate until chilled, lightly covered.<\/p>\n<p>5. Run a knife around the edges of the pan, between the foil and the filling, and then use the foil handles to gently lift the uncut pastry out of the pan. Cut it into bars with a sharp, thin-bladed knife, wiping it clean between slices. Then lift each bar off the foil with a metal spatula. Add a rosette of whipped cream, if desired, right before serving. Present them cold or at room temperature. They\u2019re best the day they\u2019re made but still good a day later.<\/p>\n<p><em>Vera Dawson\u2019s column \u201cHigh Country Baking\u201d publishes biweekly on Thursdays in the Summit Daily News. Dawson is a high-elevation baking instructor and author of three high-altitude cookbooks. Her recipes have been tested in her kitchen in Frisco, where she\u2019s lived since 1991, and altered until they work at elevation. Contact her at <a href=\"mailto:veradawson1@gmail.com\">veradawson1@gmail.com<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.summitdaily.com\/opinion\/high-country-baking-pumpkin-pie-bars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">via:: Summit Daily<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pumpkin pie barsCourtesy Vera Dawson Love pumpkin pie? Hate making pie crust? Then these bars are for you. Pumpkin pie filling, in all its glorious goodness, is baked on an easy-to-make shortbread crust and crowned with a sweet, crunchy nut topping. Serve them unadorned for a casual treat or top them with a whipped cream [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[99],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-800638","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-local-news"},"acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-06-27 11:53:39","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"KSMT The Mountain","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt","push-errors":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800638","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=800638"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/800638\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=800638"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=800638"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alwaysmountaintime.com\/ksmt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=800638"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}