Ingredients:
- 2 cups All-Purpose Flour
- 1 cup Rolled Oats (not instant)
- ¾ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed
- ¼ cup Granulated Sugar
- 1 teaspoon Baking Powder
- ½ teaspoon Fine Sea Salt (for crumb)
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon (for crumb)
- ½ teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
- 1 cup (2 sticks) Unsalted Butter, very cold, cubed
- 1 ½ cups Pumpkin Puree (100%, not pie filling)
- 2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
- ½ cup Evaporated Milk or Heavy Cream
- ½ cup Light Brown Sugar, packed (for filling)
- 1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
- 1 teaspoon Ground Cinnamon (for filling)
- ½ teaspoon Ground Ginger
- ¼ teaspoon Ground Cloves
- Pinch Fine Sea Salt (for filling)
Instructions:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Line the 9x13 inch pan with parchment paper, leaving a slight overhang on the long sides.
- In a large bowl, whisk together all dry crumb ingredients (flour, oats, sugars, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg).
- Add the cold, cubed butter. Use a pastry blender, your fingertips, or a food processor to cut the butter into the dry mixture until coarse crumbs form, resembling lumpy sand with pea-sized pieces of butter remaining.
- Measure out 2/3 of the crumb mixture and press it firmly and evenly into the bottom of the prepared pan.
- Chill the pan with the crust in the freezer or refrigerator for 30 minutes while covering and setting aside the remaining 1/3 of the crumb mixture.
- In a medium bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, eggs, evaporated milk/cream, vanilla, and brown sugar until thoroughly combined.
- Whisk in the remaining cinnamon, ginger, cloves, and salt (for the filling) until the mixture is smooth and uniform.
- Remove the chilled crust from the fridge. Pour the pumpkin filling gently over the cold crust, spreading it evenly to the edges.
- Scatter the reserved 1/3 crumb mixture evenly over the top of the pumpkin filling. Do not press down.
- Bake for 45 to 50 minutes until the filling is mostly set with only a slight wobble in the center, and the topping is golden brown.
- Remove the pan and place it on a wire rack. Allow the bars to cool completely to room temperature (about 1-2 hours) and then refrigerate for at least 2 hours (or ideally overnight) to ensure the filling is firm and the bars cut cleanly.
- Once chilled and firm, use the parchment paper sling to lift the entire block out of the pan. Cut into 16 even squares using a large, sharp chef’s knife.