Halloween Treats

Well, day 2 of hurricane hibernation is well underway. Although the hurricane has passed (and thankfully Bax and I survived safe and sound and, more importantly, with electricity in tact), the officina was closed again today, causing me to once again spend the majority of the day on the couch. Fortunately, Bax and I were able to walk outside a more today than yesterday. She was such a trooper, but the 24 hours of rain made going potty a very unenjoyable task for her. I also caved and went for a mid-afternoon run in the rain. My building has a small gym with a treadmill in the basement, but I hate treadmills like no other and my desire to avoid the dreaded treadmill trumped my desire to stay warm and dry. As it was, half the town was out running as well (and the rest were in the gym, which I stopped by during my run for some weightlifting). I complain a lot about DC, but I do enjoy the health conscience nature of many of the people here.

A driving factor in my decision to go for a run in the rain were the leftovers from today's recipe that still remain in my fridge. I made this recipe twice last week for two different Halloween parties and it was a hit with both. It's super easy to throw together in a hurry (a huge selling point for me last week) and it's so delicious people will think you're a culinary genius. Plus, it's topped with the most addicting cream cheese frosting (which, for reasons unknown to me, I had never made before a couple weeks ago) ever! I've had leftovers from party number two in my fridge since Sunday, with the intention of taking them into work, but the surprise string of days off from the hurricane resulted in me eating about half of the leftovers. Consequently, I'm actually excited to go into work tomorrow as I can finally get rid of these crazy addicting bars before they all end up in my stomach!

Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

[Brought into my life by Kitchen Daily]

 

Post baking. Cooling and awaiting the finishing touch of frosting

 

Frosting complete. Ready to be cut and enjoyed by the masses....or one very stir crazy girl :)

Bars

• 1 (15 oz.) can of pureed pumpkin
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp baking soda

 Frosting

*I ended up doubling the original recipe (the below is the doubled version) and it worked much better. I think it would've been too dry otherwise.

• 8 oz. (1 package) cream cheese, softened
• 1 cup (2 sticks) of butter, softened
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 4 cups confectioners sugar

 Preparation

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees
2. With an electric mixer, beat eggs, sugar, oil, and pumpkin in a medium bowl.  Add flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt and baking soda and beat until smooth and thoroughly blended
3. Spread mixture evenly onto an ungreased pan. And based on the size, you can bake accordingly:
• 10 x 15 x 1 inch pan- bake for 20-25 minutes
• 9 x 13 x 2 inch or 10 x 13 x 2 inch pan- bake for 25-30 minutes
4. For the frosting, beat cream cheese and butter with electric mixer until smooth. Stir in vanilla.  Slowly add confectioners sugar a little at a time, beating until mixture is smooth
5. Spread evenly on top of the cooled bars. Cut into squares