Pumpkin pie to feed a crowd! I love this easy recipe for Pumpkin Pie Bars! Made with a delicious Shortbread Crust, instead of a pie crust, they bake up to pumpkin pie perfection in a 9×13 baking dish and serve a crowd in no time!

If you look forward to Thanksgiving with huge anticipation of what foods will be present, and like me, one of your top three is pumpkin pie, listen up. This pumpkin pie bar recipe is going to rock your world! This twist on regular pie will have you starry-eyed when you sink your teeth into that first bite and taste that pumpkin spiced filling and flakey shortbread crust. You don’t have to tell anyone how easy they are to make if you don’t want to, just smile and hand them a pumpkin slice with a little whipped cream on top. Your secret is safe with me.

Pumpkin Pie Dessert Bars

Now don’t get me wrong, I love traditional pumpkin pie. In fact, I am the pie maker when it comes to Thanksgiving and I make at least 5 of them every year, all with homemade pie crust, along with my pecan pie, peach crumb, and French silk. But when I found this slab pie recipe, I knew I had to try it!

The concept of getting a little more “mileage” from your pumpkin pie was a bonus, plus, I love shortbread, so pumpkin pie with shortbread crust just sounded like a winner altogether! You can cut these bars into twelve squares and get a nice sized piece of pie, or if you want to stretch them even further, cut each square in half, into triangles and serve 24 people!

Fall 2021 Freaky Friday

I am so fortunate to have found this recipe for our fall round of Freaky Friday! What is freaky Friday you ask? Well, it’s a good old-fashioned blog hop. Where we are all assigned another blogger’s site where we pick one recipe to make and they are all revealed at the same time. That day is today! Yay!!

For this round, I was assigned Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog, and let me just tell you – choosing a recipe from Kathryn’s site was no easy task. She has so many mouthwateringly delicious recipes, choosing just one was tough. So much so, that I made two of them. Haha!! But these pumpkin bars are the recipe I chose to share with you today!

Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog

Katheryn lives in Monterey, CA, with her husband and their beautiful baby daughter. I learned that her father owns two restaurants in Monterey, and one of them I actually have eaten at! What a small world, huh? My husband and I were in Monterey about 5 years ago and ate at Domenico’s!

Katheryn, like me, began cooking at a young age and loves creating new recipes and re-creating old ones. She thrives on giving them a healthier twist, but she still loves her sweets! Her blog is full of all sorts of great recipes, and I am looking forward to making even more of them, like her Cauliflower Mac ‘n Cheese, Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream, and this fantastic looking Smoked Salmon Flatbread!

Ingredients in Pumpkin Pie Bars

You won’t need anything too fancy to whip up a batch of the best pumpkin pie squares, in fact, you might just have everything you need right in your pantry!

For the Shortbread Crust:

unsalted butter
granulated sugar
salt
flour
ice water

For Pumpkin Pie Filling:

pumpkin puree
eggs
evaporated milk
pumpkin pie spice
ground cinnamon
cornstarch
vanilla extract
granulated sugar

Find all of the measurements in the printed recipe card at the bottom of this post.

How to make Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust

Begin by making the Shortbread Crust:

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Combine the butter, sugar, salt, and flour with your mixer until it resembles coarse sand. Add the water slowly with the mixer, until the dough forms.

Line a 9 x 13-inch baking dish with parchment paper. Let some of the parchment paper hang over the edges. Press the dough into the baking dish in an even layer, using your fingers. Bake the shortbread crust for about 15 minutes, or until it becomes light golden brown on top and it is set in the middle. Remove from oven, set aside.

Next, make the Pumpkin Filling:

Reduce oven to 350 degrees F. Whisk all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl until combined.

Pour the pumpkin filling over the crust and bake for 40-45 minutes or until the center is set and no longer jiggly. Remove from oven and let it cool for about an hour. If you prefer your pumpkin pie chilled, place it in the fridge for at least another hour. Pull the bars out of the baking dish by holding the parchment paper. Cut into squares.

Finally, Serve the pumpkin shortbread bars:

Top with whip cream and a sprinkle of cinnamon and/or nutmeg.

Love them? Pin Them!

Make sure you can find this pumpkin pie recipe when you need it! Pin it to your favorite Pinterest recipe board before you go!

FAQ, Tips and Tricks for Making the Perfect Pumpkin Pie Bars

Do pumpkin bars need to be refrigerated? If you plan to eat them shortly after you make them, then no. But if you plan to make them ahead, then yes, you should refrigerate them.
How long will these pumpkin pie bars keep? They will keep for up to 5 days in the fridge, in an airtight container.
Can pumpkin pie be frozen? You can freeze pumpkin pie, but know that the filling will most likely crack when you defrost it. Nothing a little whip cream can’t cover though. (wink.) Make sure that if you freeze it, you consume it within 3 months or so.

More Pumpkin & Shortbread Recipes to Love

We love all things pumpkin and shortbread, here are some more of our favorites:

Take a look at all of our 2021 Freaky Friday Fall Edition Recipes:

An Affair from the Heart – Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust
Aunt Bee’s Recipes – 30 Minute Skillet Lasagna
The Carefree Kitchen – Brazilian Cheese Bread
Devour Dinner – Instant Pot Applesauce
Fresh April Flours – Instant Pot Garlic Mashed Potatoes
The Fresh Cooky – Air Fryer Ravioli
The Foodie Affair – Bacon Wrapped Green Bean Recipe
Hostess at Heart – Fudgy Chocolate Brownie Cookie Recipe
House of Nash Eats – Pumpkin Bundt Cake
Kathryn’s Kitchen Blog – Halloween Monster Cookie Recipe
Lemoine Family Kitchen – Creamy Vegetable Gnocchi Soup
Life Currents – Loaded Potato Skins
Life, Love & Good Food – Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup
The Speckled Palate – Tortellini Butternut Squash Pasta with Pancetta and Spinach
Sue Bee Homemaker – Overnight Sourdough Bread
Take Two Tapas – Air Fryer Asparagus Fries

Let’s bake up some of these yummy Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust!

Pumpkin Pie Bars with Shortbread Crust close up with whipped cream

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