Pumpkin Chess Bars

Pumpkin Chess Bars will be your go-to dessert for Thanksgiving. Gooey and creamy with a nice crust! Perfect for those who might not like pumpkin pie.

My family loves anything pumpkin, especially pumpkin pie. I am always looking for other ways to use pumpkin in either sweet or savory dishes. I made my Pumpkin Pie Dip and Pumpkin Egg Rolls last fall and this year I am hoping to try a few savory dishes.

So what exactly is a CHESS PIE or BAR???

According to James Beard‘s American Cookery (1972), chess pie was brought from England originally and was found in New England as well as Virginia. The origin of the name chess pie may have come from the term “pie chest”, another na“`me for a pie safe.^{[1] Wikipedia}

Chess pies are a Southern specialty that has a simple filling of eggs, sugar, butter, and a small amount of flour. some recipes include cornmeal and others are made with vinegar.  Flavorings, such as vanilla, lemon juice, or chocolate are also added to vary the basic recipe.

The origin of the name, Chess Pie, is uncertain, but there are plenty of guesses and a bit of folklore surrounding the name.  The most probable explanation is that since the English lemon curd pie filling is very close to lemon chess pie, and they believe the word “chess” is an Americanization of the English word “cheese,” referring to curd pie.  Basically, the Chess Pie is a cheese-less cheesecake. WhatsCookingAmerica.com

METHOD:

My Pumpkin Chess Bars is super easy to make using a yellow cake mix for the base.  Preheat your oven to 350°F. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer. Press the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9×13 baking pan. To make the filling: beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together. Slowly add 2 cups powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice and mix well.

Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center is mostly set. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream.

Do you like my whimsical design on my Pumpkin Chess Bars? To make this I used a cut-out from my kid’s pumpkin carving book. I carefully cut out the design and placed it on the bars, then sprinkled the bars with powdered sugar. Then just remove the cut out pieces.

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Pumpkin Chess Bars

Prep Time

10 mins

Cook Time

50 mins

Total Time

1 hr

 

Course: Dessert

Servings: 24

Author: Quinn Caudill

Ingredients

Crust:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 egg
• 8 Tbsp. butter, melted

Filling:

• 1 (8-oz) package cream cheese, softened
• 1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp. Rodelle® vanilla
• 8 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 2 1/4 cups powdered sugar, divided
• 2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350F°.
2. In a large bowl, combine the cake mix, egg, and butter and mix well with an electric mixer.
3. Press the mixture into the bottom of a lightly greased 9x13 baking pan.

To make the filling:

1. In a the same bowl, beat the cream cheese and pumpkin until smooth.
2. Add the eggs, vanilla, and butter, and beat together.
3. Slowly add powdered sugar, pumpkin pie spice and mix well.
4. Spread pumpkin mixture over cake batter and bake for 45 to 50 minutes, until the center is mostly set.
5. If desired, sprinkle with powdered sugar or serve with whipped cream.

Recipe Notes

• First published by Quinn Caudill for dadwhats4dinner.com © 2016
• Keep refrigerated for up to one week.
• Inspired by Paula Deen's pumpkin gooey butter cakes recipe.

I will be bringing my Pumpkin Chess Bars recipe to Freedom Fridays, Friday Favorites, Fiesta Friday, Weekend Potluck, Check out my Link Parties page for other great places to find new recipes.

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