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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
I made these bars yesterday and followed the recipe exactly. They were SO GOOD. They didn’t turn out too cakey and were just the right texture. The pumpkin bar base is so good and the espresso flavor in the glaze is unexpected and so delicious. Will definitely make again for Thanksgiving!
Hey Christy,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for making this recipe and sharing your feedback, I am thrilled to hear that it was enjoyed! xx
Yummy, but I had the same result as other reviewers. Followed the recipe and had a cake textured result with a dark brown runny glaze.
Hey Jenny,
Thanks for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you didn’t love it! Did you bake in a metal or ceramic/glass dish? For a thicker/whiter glaze just add some more powdered sugar. I hope this helps! xT
As others have said, very cake like and fluffy. Still tastes delicious. I live in Frisco, so essentially the same elevation as you. Not sure why mine didn’t turn out. Too much baking soda and powder? I definitely didn’t overmix. Should a glass or metal pan be used? I used metal. Wish these would turn into more of a brownie density!
Hey Emily,
Thanks so much for trying the recipe out!! I’m not really sure why people are experiencing this, I’ve reviewed the recipe several times. I used a metal baking pan and just gently mixed the batter by hand. Maybe try reducing the baking powder and soda next time to see if that helps. Let me know! xx
I’m looking forward forward to making these bars and will probably decrease the baking powder per the other comments! Do you think the difference in texture might be due to altitude?
Hey Sloane,
I hope you love the recipe!! The altitude really shouldn’t be affecting these results, I always cook/bake as if I am at sea level. Let me know how they turn out! xTieghan
Made these and also agree with comments – cake not bar like, icing brown and runny.
Hi Hillary,
So sorry to hear you did not enjoy the recipe, thanks for giving them a try and sharing your feedback! xT
Very good as a pumpkin bread recipe. I will have to remake them as I want the ones in the picture. A quick search online for brownie/blondie recipe usually omits the baking soda unlike the usual cakey pumpkin bars. I’ll probably reduce the baking powder as well. I also ended up with an extra half cup of powdered sugar, and added some freeze dried pumpkin powder for looks.
Hey Andy,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! If you give the post a read, I talk about how these are not intended to be a blondie:) But if you want to adjust the recipe to your liking that is totally great too! Let me know what adjustments you make next time and if you enjoy them more! xxT
Hi Tieghan, thanks for the reply. I did make them without the baking soda and the normal amount of baking powder – it was perfect! Just like the pictures you have. My brown butter addiction continues!
Awesome!! So glad to hear this!
I made these and possibly over mixed. They were more cake-like than chewy bar like… Still delicious! So… I made them again using home ground oat flower… They are excellent! BTW.. I could not find pumpkin butter so I made some using canned organic pumpkin, added spices; cooked on the stovetop for 20 minutes..It worked beautifully!
Hey Denise,
Happy Monday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try!🍁 xxT
These bars are delicious! My daughter asked for Blondies but I made these instead and everyone loved them. She didn’t even miss the Blondies. I used bittersweet chocolate (because that was what I had) and it was an excellent balance to the sweetness. I found the glaze runny so gradually added about 1/2 cup more icing sugar and found the glaze held it’s drizzle. I make the pumpkin butter in bulk and freeze in 1/2 packages because you never know when you might need some of that deliciousness. Will definitely be making again.
I am in the midst of making these for the first time. They sound really good. The one thing that is throwing me off is the glaze. Your glaze in the pictures look creamy white. I’ve mixed the glaze as the recipe notes, but my glaze looks dark brown. I used powdered sugar. I am going with it. Hopefully it will taste good.
Hi Virginia,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try! It could just be the brand of espresso that you used causing it to be darker, you could try adding more powdered sugar to see if that helps. I hope they are delicious! xT
This recipe is so delicious and fall festive! I wanted to cut down some of the butter so I substituted pumpkin puree for the second stick of butter. It gave the bars a more cake like texture, but I was very happy with that! I also added some butterscotch chips since I didn’t have quite enough white chocolate chips. I will definitely be making this again. Thank you!
Hey Mary,
Happy Monday!! I am delighted to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for giving it a try!🍁 xxT
My glaze was brown and runny, not at all like in the picture…too much espresso?! Delicious though! Since it’s cakier than I expected…next time I’ll cut it into larger squares and serve with pumpkin ice cream! Tieghan for the win!
Hey Helen,
So glad to hear that you enjoyed this recipe, thanks for giving it a try! Sounds like you just needed some more powdered sugar for the icing:) I hope this helps! xT
I only have unsalted butter. I don’t remember ever browning salted butter. Do I add a little salt to the butter in the pan before browning it? Afterwards? How much?
Hey Barbara,
You could add 1/4 teaspoon of salt while the butter is browning. I hope this recipe turns out amazing for you, please let me know if you give it a try! xT
The bars were definitely more cakelike than bars, I couldn’t get the center to cook all the through and the icing wasn’t smooth at all! I’m a terrible baker but they were still delicious!
Hi Samantha,
Thanks so much for giving the recipe a try, sorry to hear you had some issues! What kind of baking dish did you use? Is it possible they were over mixed? For the icing, was there anything you adjusted? Let me know how I can help! xT
Hi Tieghan – just made these this afternoon and mmm mmm good! That glaze. Spooned it directly into my mouth! The bars are excellent. I adjusted a few things based on other comments (about cakeiness): eliminated maple syrup, only used 1 egg, eliminated the baking powder and did 1 tsp soda. Baked for about 20 min. at 350. Sooo good and they are gooey. Thank you!!!
Hey Cindy,
Fantastic!! I love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed and thanks for sharing what worked well for you in terms of texture! Hopefully this helps others! Thanks again! xT
More cake like than actual bars. Browned butter has a burnt type flavor and carries heavily through the entire dessert. Icing will have a very heavy espresso flavor coupled with the burnt flavor. For the amount of prep, these aren’t so great. I’d skip and try another HBh recipe.
Hi Jenna,
Thanks for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback, so sorry it was not enjoyed. If your browned butter tastes burnt it means that it is, it should just give a nice nutty flavor. If espresso isn’t your thing then I would use milk for the icing:) Please let me know if you have any other questions or if I can help in any other way! xT
Let me be clear, I still very much enjoyed my final result. It was delicious! That said, they weren’t bars at all. It was a cake. Bummed as I followed the recipe and instructions to a T. Even made sure not to overmix as I noticed other had the same issue.
This reminded me why I should stick with cooking and leave the baking to professionals. 😉
Tieghan is still the recipe Queen!
Hi Marcy,
Thanks so much for giving this recipe a try and sharing your feedback! Sorry to hear you didn’t love them! Maybe it was the baking dish that you used? Was it metal? I will have to try to figure out why this is happening for some! Thanks again! Happy Sunday! xx