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Caramel Pumpkin Butter Bars

Caramel Pumpkin Butter Bars with a tender shortbread crust and a thick pumpkin-butter caramel filling. Baked until set, then finished with a flaky sea salt top for sweet-and-salty contrast.
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Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 40 minutes
Total Time 1 hour
Servings: 16 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 320
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Shortbread base and crumble
  • 2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 0.75 cup powdered sugar
  • 0.25 cup cornstarch
  • 0.5 tsp cinnamon
  • 0.25 tsp salt
  • 1 cup cold unsalted butter, cubed
Pumpkin caramel filling
  • 0.75 cup pumpkin puree
  • 0.75 cup caramel sauce (thick)
  • 0.25 cup heavy cream
  • 2 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 2 eggs
Topping
  • 0.25 tsp flaky sea salt

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and preheat
  1. Preheat oven to 350F and line a 9x13 pan with parchment for easy lifting.
Make shortbread base
  1. In a bowl, combine all-purpose flour, powdered sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and salt, then cut in cold unsalted butter until the dough comes together.
  2. Reserve 1 cup of the dough for crumble topping and press the remaining dough firmly into the pan.
Bake first layer
  1. Bake for 15 minutes until the crust is pale golden.
Mix filling
  1. Whisk pumpkin puree, caramel sauce, heavy cream, brown sugar, pumpkin pie spice, vanilla, and eggs until smooth and combined.
Assemble and bake
  1. Pour the filling over the hot crust.
  2. Crumble the reserved dough evenly over the top.
  3. Bake 22-25 more minutes until the filling is set, then sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
Cool and cut
  1. Cool completely before cutting into 16 bars so the filling slices cleanly.

Notes

For clean cross-sections, cool the bars fully (or chill until firm) before slicing. Store airtight in the refrigerator up to 5 days. Freezing is yes—wrap individual bars and freeze up to 2 months, thaw overnight in the fridge. For a gluten-free swap, use a 1:1 gluten-free all-purpose flour blend and keep the rest the same.