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If there was ever a recipe that screams fall, it’s these Brown Sugar Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars with Vanilla Espresso Glaze. Made with nutty browned butter, cinnamon, spiced pumpkin butter, and white chocolate. Then generously glazed with a sweet, thick, and creamy vanilla espresso glaze. There’s really nothing not to love about these autumn-spiced pumpkin bars. The true secret? Brown butter, brown sugar, and sweet pumpkin butter. They keep these bars incredibly flavorful, soft, gooey, and so delicious. These bars require so little effort to make. They’re salty-sweet, heavy on the pumpkin butter, and every last bite is truly delicious.
Do you visit Trader Joe’s often? If you do, have you seen their Pumpkin Blondie Brownies? Well, it’s that sweet dessert that inspired me to make these bars.
To be honest, the name, Pumpkin Blondie Brownies, is what excited me most. It caught my attention and made me want to recreate the blondie brownies at home. But then I started working on them. I quickly realized that there was no way to make a pumpkin brownie blondie. It’s either one or the other.
And that’s when I scratched the original concept and made these.
And I LOVE these. They took me a while to perfect, but these are so GOOD.
Here are details
These are not your average pumpkin bar, which honestly, I can find a little boring. These are not boring. Think of them like a pumpkin latte with brown sugar syrup and a couple of espresso shots.
There’s also browned butter, spiced pumpkin butter, and white chocolate too. So much pumpkin flavor with the concentrated pumpkin butter.
Start out by browning salted butter in a saucepan on the stove. Browning the butter really adds a rich nutty flavor to these bars and makes them just a touch cozier. Perfect as we head into the cooler, shorter days of autumn. Once the butter is browned, remove it from the stove, and dump in all of the remaining ingredients.
Brown sugar, pumpkin butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, and spices (lots of cinnamon). Then stir in the white chocolate chips. Or go for semi-sweet/dark chocolate. Either is delicious!
This makes up the dough. Pretty simple.
Spread the dough out into a pan, then bake. As the bars bake away, you’ll have incredible wafts of cinnamon, pumpkin, and butter in the air. It’s the coziest smell, especially on a dreary cold day.
For the pumpkin butter, I used my 6 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Butter, but of course, you can use store-bought pumpkin butter too. Be sure to use pumpkin butter and not canned pumpkin puree.
I took inspiration from my pumpkin spice latte (do we need my easy homemade recipe?), and decided on a vanilla espresso glaze. It’s just some browned butter, powdered sugar, brewed espresso, and vanilla.
It’s thick, creamy, and adds the perfect amount of sweetness to each bar. The glaze seeps into every nook and cranny of the bars.
Complete perfection. Tip: bake these up and enjoy them while burning my pumpkin smash candle – oh so cozy!
Looking for other sweet fall recipes? Here are a few ideas:
Fluffy Pumpkin Butter Chocolate Chip Pancakes
Cinnamon Crunch Apple Butter Soft Pretzel Knots
Old Fashioned Caramel Apple Butter Cake with Chocolate Frosting
Cream Cheese Swirled Cinnamon Pumpkin Butter Bread
6 Ingredient Spiced Pumpkin Butter
Double the Streusel Apple Butter Bars
Homemade Slow Cooker Maple Apple Butter
Lastly, if you make these Brown Sugar Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Brown Sugar Maple Pumpkin Butter Bars
Servings: 24 bars
Calories Per Serving: 227 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Ingredients
- 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter
- 1 cup light or dark brown sugar
- 3/4 cup pumpkin butter
- 1/4 maple syrup
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 2 teaspoons cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon ginger
- 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 cup white chocolate chips or chunks
espresso glaze
- 2 tablespoons salted butter
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 3 tablespoons brewed espresso or strong coffee
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Instructions
- 1. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.2. Add the butter to a medium pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown, until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and pour into a large bowl. Let cool 5 minutes. Add the brown sugar, pumpkin butter, maple, eggs, and vanilla. Mix in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, and salt, mixing until just combined. Fold in the white chocolate. Spread the dough out into the prepared dish.3. Bake for 25-30 minutes, just until set in the center. Let cool.4. Meanwhile, make the glaze. Add the butter to a small pot set over medium heat. Allow the butter to brown lightly until it smells toasted, about 2-3 minutes. Remove from the heat and whisk in the powdered sugar, espresso, vanilla, and a pinch of salt. Drizzle the glaze over the bars. Let set for 5 minutes. Cut into bars, snack, and enjoy!
This post was originally published on October 11, 2022
Turned out delicious and were a hit at our Thanksgiving gathering. Will definitely be making these again.
Hey Anjali,
Fantastic! I appreciate you making this recipe and your feedback, love to hear it turned out well! Have a great weekend!
How do you make yours more like a blondie texture? My comes out like a cake. I love these, but they don’t always come out right. And sometimes I can taste the coffee and sometimes I can’t…
Hey Jenn,
Thanks so much for making these bars! Are you baking them in a metal pan? I would recommend trying that for the texture. For the coffee flavor, I would do espresso and see if that helps! Let me know:)
Had the same problem with the center not cooking. I used a ceramic pan and followed all directions with unexpired ingredients. Ended up taking about 40 mins to bake. Great flavor!
Hi Meg,
Happy Sunday!🎃 Thanks for giving this recipe a whirl, so glad it turned out nicely for you! Sorry this took longer than expected!
Hello! Would these be okay without the white chocolate, or is it crucial to the recipe? They look delicious, but I hate white chocolate <:) Could I leave it out?
Hey Zora,
You can skip the white chocolate chips, no big deal:) I hope you love this recipe!
Hey! Can I store these in the fridge?
Hi Stevie,
Yes, that will work nicely for you. I hope you love this recipe!
Hi! Would these freeze okay?
Hey Megan,
You bet, that would work nicely for you! Please let me know if you have any other questions! xx
It is delicious but mine falls in the middle.
My whole family loved this recipe, I tried making it for thanksgiving and the whole center fell each time I have made it
Thanks!
Hi Chelcee,
Thanks so much for trying this recipe! Sorry to hear to hear it fell in the middle. Is there anything you might be adjusting? Are you using a metal pan for baking? Any chance your baking powder and soda are expired? Let me know! xx
Hi! These sounds so good! Any recs for making them gluten free? Thanks!
Thanks so much, Jenna! Yes, you can use an equal amount of gluten free flour. Please let me know if you have any other questions! xT
Hi! Mine turned out more like cake. I used your pumpkin butter recipe (delicious) and followed the recipe so I’m at a loss of what may have gone wrong?
Flavor was great!
Hi Tara,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback, sorry to hear you had some issues! Next time, I would try baking less. I hope this helps! xT
While I do love the flavour, this recipe definitely came out like a 9×13 cake rather than chewy bars. I had read the reviews and did cut down on the baking powder but it still came out cakey. It tastes great, and the house smells amazing while baking them but I had really hoped for a chewy bar like the photos. Will try again and play around with the leaveners but, Tieghan, with so many comments about this recipe being very cake-like, can you offer any tips on how to recreate so they come out like bars? Thank you for sharing!
The very best pumpkin bars of any variety I have ever made or had. My whole family agrees!! Tieghan you are a genius when it comes to recipe development! So many of the best foods I’ve ever had are made from your recipes. I love to cook and bake but hate investing time and ingredients into mid recipes. I know I can confidently make any of your recipes with stellar results! Thank you so much for enriching mine and my family and all those I cook and bake for lives through your wonderful recipes!!
Hey Suzanne,
Wonderful! So glad to hear you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for trying it! Have the best autumn weekend! xT
Hi! These look amazing! Can I make these a day ahead? If so, what is the best way to store them? Should they be served warm? Thank you!
Hey Tabrie,
Yes, you can totally make these a day ahead! Just store in an airtight container on the counter. I think these are great served both warm or room temp. I hope you love this recipe! xT
Do you think subbing in maple butter for maple syrup would work here?
Hi Miriam,
I haven’t tested this and since there’s already 2 stick of butter in these, I don’t think I would recommend it. Please let me know if I can help in any other way! xT
1/4 what of maple syrup? Cup?
Looking forward to making these for coworkers this weekend!
Hi Laura,
Yes, it’s 1/4 cup of maple syrup. I hope you love this recipe! xT
loved this recipe. mine also turned out more like a cake than bars. but still so good. the glaze was runny so I added more powdered sugar than it said. I will be making them again.
Hey Jo,
Happy Sunday! Thank you so much for making this recipe and your feedback, I’m so glad to hear it turned out well for you! xT
Hi! Same thing happened to me, they turned out to have a more cakey texture and icing was runny. Taste still SO good but what do you suggest to achieve the fudgy texture yours has in the pictures?
Thank you!!
Hey Alyssa,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try! Did you by chance bake these in a glass baking dish? I really think metal is best for baked goods. To thicken the icing up, just add some more powdered sugar. I hope this helps! xT