Pop tarts are a childhood favorite that are pure nostalgia in my opinion. My favorite was a brown sugar pop tart straight from the toaster and smeared with a little butter on top. I created these pumpkin brown sugar pop tart bars to bring back those same nostalgic flavors with a seasonal twist! These pop tart bars are everything you love about your favorite childhood breakfast, but even better! You are going to love making these pumpkin brown sugar pop tart bars all season long.

These bars have a shortbread base, which happens to be my favorite, and the middle is a delicious filling of pumpkin, brown sugar, cinnamon, butter, and flour. After they bake and cool slightly, I smear a pumpkin cinnamon icing all over the top before letting the bars cool and set completely before slicing. The hardest part of this recipe is waiting on the bars to cool to a temperature where they can be sliced.

Tips:

Refrigerate the top layer of shortbread after pressing into an even layer while you prep the filling to ensure it’s easy to remove from parchment paper easily.
Poke holes in the top layer of the shortbread to keep it from puffing up in the oven.
Make the bars in advance and keep them in the refrigerator for up to a week.
To freeze the bars, simply place into an airtight container between parchment paper.

How to make Pumpkin Brown Sugar Pop Tart Bars:

Make shortbread and divide into two halves.
Outline an 8 x 8 baking pan on parchment so that you can make a top layer of the shortbread to the exact size of pan.
Press one half of the shortbread dough into the bottom of a 8 x 8 baking dish lined with parchment paper and then press the other half on the lined parchment into the same shape. Refrigerate that top layer until ready to add on top.
Make the filling and spread into an even layer over the bottom half of the shortbread.
Take the top layer of shortbread from the refrigerator and gently remove from parchment and add on top of the filling.
Take a fork and poke holes into shortbread and bake.
Make the icing and spread after the bars have cooled slightly.
Let the bars sit at room temp for a few hours to set completely or refrigerate for 30 minutes before slicing.

These pumpkin brown sugar pop tart bars are seriously my new favorite breakfast, dessert, snack situation and you are going to love them too.

Ingredients:

For the Shortbread-

2 Cups Flour
1 Cup Salted Butter at Room Temperature
1/2 Cup Sugar

For the Filling-

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar
2 Tbsp. Flour
1/2 Cup Pumpkin Puree (strained between paper towels to remove excess moisture)
1 Tbsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbsp Melted Butter
Pinch of Salt

For the Icing-

2 Tbsp Pumpkin
2 Tbsp. Softened Butter
2 Cups Powdered Sugar
1/2 Tsp. Cinnamon
2 Tbsp. Milk
1 Tsp. Vanilla
Pinch of Salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Add softened butter to a mixing bowl and mix until butter is smooth.
Add in flour and sugar to the whipped butter and mix until dough comes together in a ball.
Divide the ball into two equal halves.
Line a 8 x 8 baking dish with parchment paper and press half of the dough into the bottom of the dish in an even layer.
Take another piece of parchment paper and place underneath the baking dish and outline the corners so you can see the size.
Flip the parchment and add the other half of the dough spreading out into the size of the pan markings and place into the fridge once in a single layer.
Make the filling by whisking together brown sugar, flour, pumpkin, cinnamon, melted butter, and salt together until smooth.
Add the filling to the Bottom layer of the shortbread and spread into an even layer.
Take the top layer out of the fridge and gently remove it from the parchment and place on top of the pumpkin brown sugar mixture.
Poke holes in the shortbread with a fork and bake for 45-55 minutes until the shortbread has browned slightly.
Let the bars cool for 30 minutes.
While they are cooling, make the icing by whisking together pumpkin, softened butter, powdered sugar, cinnamon, milk, vanilla, and salt until smooth.
Once the bars have cooled slightly, add the icing to the top of the bars in an even layer.
Refrigerate the bars for 30 minutes or more before slicing or let sit at room temperature for a few hours to cool completely.

These pumpkin brown sugar pop tart bars are one of the best fall recipes that I have made and are a fall baking must!