Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting

These pumpkin bars are far from ordinary!! With a moist pumpkin bar base and a creamy browned butter frosting, you’ll FALL in love with these in no time!

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Pumpkin bars are a classic fall treat, and for good reason!! I mean, what’s not to love about a moist cake topped with a dreamy frosting?! Most the time you’ll see pumpkin bars topped with a cream cheese frosting. Now, don’t get me wrong, I love cream cheese frosting – it’s the perfect not-too-sweet frosting that’s super smooth and silky. But for some reason, I just couldn’t get the thought of pumpkin + browned butter out of my mind.

Once I tried the combination, I told Zach “I need to get these Pumpkin Bars with Browned Butter Frosting on the blog ASAP.” It was just too good not to share! (Our coworkers all agreed!)

The base recipe is one that my aunt Cathy always uses. I remember her bringing them to a tailgate when I was a student at Iowa State and loving them! Then a few weeks ago, I was at my sister-in-law’s mom’s home decor and clothing boutique (Jaz It Up!), and she had some pumpkin bars for her fall open house. I thought “wow these are so good, they remind me of Aunt Cathy’s!” Well, it was no surprise when I found out they use the same recipe 🙂

The base of these pumpkin bars was a no-brainer for me – it simply had to be Aunt Cathy’s recipe. And actually, the frosting isn’t a whole lot different either. Honestly the only difference is that the butter is browned and cooled before being added. There’s still some cream cheese in the frosting, but the flavor from the browned butter really shines!

Do the pumpkin bars need to be refrigerated?

They do – because these Pumpkin Bars with Brown Butter Frosting have cream cheese in the frosting, they should be refrigerated once they’ve been frosted. Be sure to cover the pan in foil or with an airtight lid to keep them moist. I thought that maybe since they were in the fridge, they’d be “out of site, out of mind”….I was wrong! 😉 These are just too good!!!

How do I make browned butter?

Does browned butter intimidate you?? Well, don’t let it. It’s super easy to make – you just need to pay close attention to it so it’s “brown” butter and not “black” butter!

Alright, so here’s how to make browned butter:

1. Place butter into a saucepan over medium heat.
2. Let the butter melt completely, stirring occasionally.
3. The butter will start bubbling rapidly. Continue to stir.
4. The butter will start bubbling higher and get a little foamy looking. Keep stirring and be sure to pay close attention at this point.
5. The butter will start to turn brown. As soon as you notice the color, pull the saucepan off the stove top so you don’t burn it.
6. Pour into a bowl or ramekin to stop the butter from cooking in the hot pan. Be sure to use a spatula to get all the brown flecks into the bowl – it adds such good flavor!

And that’s it – you’ve made browned butter! Next, just let it cool in the fridge and you’ll be ready to make the frosting in no time!

What are the little specks of brown in the frosting?

When the butter is cooking, the milk solids in the butter cook faster than the rest of the butter. Those particles will sink to the bottom and become brown soon before the rest of the liquid portion. These specks add some color to the frosting and ohhh so much flavor!

Other delicious fall sweet treats:

Pumpkin Crisp
Caramel Apple Crisp Bars
Pumpkin Churro Mini Muffins
Carrot Cake Sheet Cake