Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars are moist and tender like cake but as easy to make as brownies with chocolate chips, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice. The perfect fall dessert!

Our Holiday Desserts are chock-full of tasty pumpkin and chocolate. Desserts like our Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread, this recipe is more portable for eating on the go, kid friendly and easy to add your favorite frosting to the top.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars have all the flavors of a Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie but with the textures of a cakey brownie. They’re easy to make, bake quickly and can be the perfect morning treat (that’s portable) or easy holiday dessert you can let the kids decorate as a sheet cake.

The fall season seems to be all things pumpkin around here and we are not shying away from baking with pumpkin these days! These bars are a classic treat your whole family will love but for a more unique pumpkin dessert bar you can also try our Pumpkin Fluffernutter Bars which are amazing! 

MORE DELICIOUS PUMPKIN RECIPES:

HOW TO MAKE PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS:

  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8×8 baking pan with baking spray.
  • Add butter, sugar and brown sugar to a stand mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, for 1-2 minutes.
  • Add in the egg, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree until smooth.
  • Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt.
  • Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer until just combined on low speed then fold in the chocolate chips.
  • Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Pumpkin Chip Bars

VARIATIONS TO PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS:

  • Nuts:  Add chopped nuts (pecans, walnuts or your favorite).  You may want to bake a batch of pumpkin chocolate chip bars without nuts for your party just in case your guests have nut allergies.
  • Fresh Cranberries: Swap out your chocolate chips for an equal amount of halved fresh cranberries like we did in my Pumpkin Cranberry Bread.
  • Butterscotch morsels:  Add or substitute an equal amount of butterscotch morsels.
  • Granulated Sugar:  Substitute half of the granulated sugar with brown sugar.
  • Other Chocolate Chips:  Substitute for dark chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, milk chocolate chips.

Making your own pumpkin pie spice is so easy.  Here are some substitutes for the spices in our bars.

  • Nutmeg:  If you’re out, no worries, use Allspice.  The English thought this spice tasted like a blend of cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves, so they named it allspice.  The flavor profile makes it a good choice for a nutmeg substitute.  Use equal amounts of allspice in place of the nutmeg.
  • Cinnamon:  You may use 1/2 teaspoon of pumpkin pie spice for every 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon.
  • Ginger: For 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger, substitute 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice, cinnamon, mace or nutmeg.
  • Cloves: You may substitute ground cloves for equal amounts of allspice.  If you’re out of allspice, just use nutmeg or cinnamon instead or do a 50 to 50 blend of the two if you have both.

HOW LONG DO PUMPKIN CHOCOLATE CHIP BARS LAST?

Well, not very long, truth be told.  But, just for the record…

  • Serve:  Allow pumpkin chocolate chip bars to cool 3 – 5 minutes before serving. You can leave them covered, on a counter, for up to 2 days. They are best refrigerated though, to prevent quick spoilage.
  • Store:  Once pumpkin chocolate chip bars are cooled, wrap tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil or plastic wrap, or pack in containers with tight-fitting lids.  Separate bars with waxed or parchment paper between layers.  As long as the bars are in an air-tight container, they will last up to 2 weeks in the refrigerator.
  • Freeze:  Cool pumpkin chocolate chip bars completely before wrapping and freezing.  Wrap tightly in heavy duty aluminum foil or freezer wrap, or pack in freezer bags or plastic freezer containers with tight-fitting lids.  Separate bars with waxed or parchment paper between the layers.  Bars will last up to 3 months in the freezer.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars close up

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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
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Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars are moist and tender like cake but as easy to make as brownies with chocolate chips, pumpkin puree and pumpkin spice.

Course Dessert
Cuisine American
Keyword Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 45 minutes
Servings 16 servings
Calories 351 kcal
Author Sabrina Snyder

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter , softened
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 1/3 cup brown sugar , packed
  • 1 large egg
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 8 ounces pumpkin puree
  • 2 cups flour
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1/4 teaspoon cloves
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray an 8x8 baking pan with baking spray.
  2. Add butter, sugar and brown sugar to a stand mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, for 1-2 minutes.

  3. Add in the egg, vanilla extract and pumpkin puree until smooth.
  4. Sift the flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, baking soda and salt.
  5. Add the dry ingredients to the stand mixer until just combined on low speed then fold in the chocolate chips.
  6. Pour the batter into the baking pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Nutrition Facts
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
Amount Per Serving
Calories 351 Calories from Fat 189
% Daily Value*
Fat 21g32%
Saturated Fat 12g75%
Cholesterol 45mg15%
Sodium 152mg7%
Potassium 188mg5%
Carbohydrates 38g13%
Fiber 3g13%
Sugar 22g24%
Protein 4g8%
Vitamin A 2591IU52%
Vitamin C 1mg1%
Calcium 32mg3%
Iron 2mg11%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Bars collage

About the Author: Sabrina Snyder

Sabrina is a professionally trained Private Chef of over 10 years with ServSafe Manager certification in food safety. She creates all the recipes here on Dinner, then Dessert, fueled in no small part by her love for bacon.

Dinner, then Dessert, Inc. owns the copyright on all images and text and does not allow for its original recipes and pictures to be reproduced anywhere other than at this site unless authorization is given. If you enjoyed the recipe and would like to publish it on your own site, please re-write it in your own words, and link back to my site and recipe page. Read my disclosure and copyright policy. This post may contain affiliate links.

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Comments

  1. This is lovely and way better than plain old regular chocolate chip bars. I love the bar form too. Just one big slab, and cut once it’s baked. So much faster and easier than individual cookies. 🙂

  2. Love this recipe and especially like that you give instructions on how to make your own pumpkin spice. I mean, most of those spices are in everyone’s pantry anyway and it’s one less thing you need to fit into that spice cupboard!