Pumpkin Bars

I know these are out of season right now but in the fall they are wonderful. I fix these for Thanksgiving and they are always a hit. I got the recipe off of the Paula Deen website but made some changes to the icing. I just bought “Whipped” Cream Cheese icing in a can by Pillsbury I think. You can make into bars or pour the batter into muffin tins and make cupcakes. I've also made them without icing for a pumpkin muffin.

Ingredients:
Bars:

4 eggs

1 2/3 cups granulated sugar

1 cup vegetable oil

15-ounce can pumpkin

2 cups sifted all purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:

8-ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened

2 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.
Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda.
Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.
Spread the batter into a greased 13×10 inch baking pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
Let cool completely before frosting.
Cut into bars.
To make the icing:Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth. Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined. Stir in the vanilla and mix again.
Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.
Yield: 48 small bars or 24 larger barsPrep time: 10-15 minutesCook time: 30 minutesEase of preparation: easy
Recipe Courtesy Patty Ronning as adapted by Paula Deen http://www.pauladeen.com/