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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
These were good, but unfortunately came out more like a cake and not as dense as the ones pictured. It looks like other people had the same issue. I followed the recipe to a T so I wonder what I could adjust next time. Thanks!
Hey Melanie,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try, so sorry to hear they were similar to a cake! What kind of pan did you bake them in? I think these work best to bake in metal and then I just mixed by hand being careful not to over mixer the batter. I hope this helps for next time! xT
Just made these, and I have to agree, they are more like a cake than a bar. Very very sweet too. Mine don’t look at all like her bars. In fact, it’s more of a frosting than a drizzle. They are still good, just was hoping for more of a bar type dessert.
Hi Pamela,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback. So sorry to hear these were not enjoyed! Was there anything you adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know if I can help with anything! xT
Not at all, I followed the recipe exactly. My only thought is browning the butter. It took much longer than 3 minutes to brown. That shouldn’t affect the rest I wouldn’t think.
Right, that shouldn’t have made a difference. Hmmmm, is it possible the batter was over mixed? I mixed by hand for this recipe and then used a metal pan for baking. Those are the only 2 things I can think of that would have affected the outcome. For the frosting, you may have just need some more liquid like water. Let me know what you think!
This recipe is a MUST for fall!!!!
Thanks so much Jenna!! So glad you enjoyed the recipe!! xTieghan
These turned out fantastic! I did use canned pumpkin instead of pumpkin butter as I didn’t have any. I also added a little more of the spices to make up for the spice in the pumpkin butter. And I only needed 1 tablespoon of the espresso for the glaze. Thanks Tieghan!
Hey Maria,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad to hear that it was enjoyed! xT
Made the bars today…Mine were more cakey than dense and the frosting was a complete different colour…do you think you frosted with vanilla. Very delicious but i guess i was a little disappointed.
Hi there,
Thanks for trying this recipe and sharing your feedback. Sorry to hear these were not enjoyed! Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Were any of your ingredients expired? Please let me know how I can help! xT
Hello,
We have enjoyed the bars but they just didnt turn out how i was thinking.
Also i bake all the time so the ingredients are fresh. Could it have anything to do with the weather?
Hey there,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe! Can you tell me more about how you wanted them to turn out? Was something missing flavor wise or was it more with the texture? I would love to help, just need some more info on what you didn’t love. Thanks!! xx
Well, mine didn’t make dense bars like the ones pictured but rather a cake? A very tasty cake but not bars!???
Hi Denise,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try! Was there anything you may have adjusted in the recipe? Please let me know if I can help at all! xx
WOW! These are amazing and dangerous! Super moist and delicious!
Hi Rosemarie,
Fantastic!! So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks so much for trying it out! Have a great weekend! xx
Hi there! How much in advance can you make these??
Hi Emily,
I would recommend making these no more than 3 days in advance. Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope you love the recipe! xT
Question! Has someone tried it with a chocolate variety other than white ?
Thanks!
Hi Amanda,
You can use any chocolate you like:) Let me know if you give the recipe a try, I hope it turns out amazing for you! xT
I used semi-sweet chocolate chips and they were great!
Thanks so much Melissa!
These were a huge hit. My daughter baked them and brought them to her middle school volleyball game. Her teammates devoured the bars and four of them asked for the recipe!
Hey Courtney,
Happy Thursday!! I love to hear that these bars were enjoyed, thanks so much for making them and sharing with others! xT
To confirm, is the maple syrup a 1/4 c? I’m assuming it is but is just says 1/4. thanks!
Hey Amber,
Yes, 1/4 cup of maple syrup!! Sorry for the confusion! I hope you love the recipe:) xT
Absolutely AMAZING! I ended up making both the espresso icing and the caramel icing from the old fashioned apple cake recipe and did the caramel on everything and then did half with the espresso too! To DIE FOR! First time making my own pumpkin butter (also your recipe) and it was DELICIOUS! Thank you!!!
Hey Marla,
Happy Thursday!! So glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for trying it out! xT
Hi! Could you just use pumpkin purée instead of making the pumpkin butter? Thanks!
I’d try to make that pumpkin butter! Super easy and quick and super delicious! I think you’d maybe have to adjust the recipe to incorporate the flavors of the pumpkin butter? But I could be wrong! I’m sure Tieghan will have a better response. But seriously….make it hahaha you won’t be disappointed! It was my first time doing so today and it was so so good!
Hi Moe,
The pumpkin butter is going to give a bit of a deeper pumpkin flavor, but the pumpkin puree will also work for you! I hope this recipe turns out amazing, let me know if you give it a try! xx
These look fantastic! Xx
These came out delicious! It was my first time browning the butter and it really added a ton of flavor! I made the espresso icing which is delicious but my icing is so much darker than yours Tieghan, not sure if you used a different type of icing maybe? The espresso really complimented the bars though!
Hey Lori,
Thanks so much for making these bars, I am so glad they were enjoyed!! It could have just been the difference in brands of espresso that caused the coloring. xx
Thanks so much Kelly-Jane!!
I made these last night for the family and they were a huge hit! This was my first attempt at making pumpkin butter and now I’m in love!
The bars had such a rich flavor and the right amount of sweetness – not too overpowering!
I actually subbed the espresso glaze for the brown sugar caramel icing from the Old Fashioned Apple Butter Cake recipe and it was delicious!
Hey Sarah,
Awesome!!🤩 I truly appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your review and love to hear that it was a hit! xTieghan