Day 70: Paula Deen's Pumpkin Oat Bars

I truly am getting my money's worth with these Paula Deen magazines. It's really hard for me not to bake out of them everyday without my pant size being affected. Luckily, my family and I went out on the boat and I needed to bake something sweet and obviously went to her magazine for some inspiration. This recipe is straight from the magazine, as per usual, I didn't really mess with her recipe because- well, Paula Deen, that's why. My only regret is that I didn't add a thicker layer of the pumpkin butter, which I will do next time. Hope you enjoy!

*Ingredients

2 cups plus 1 TBS all purpose flour, divided

2 cups old-fashioned oats

1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 cup chopped pecans

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, softened

2 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

2/3 cups granulated sugar

2 TBS heavy whipping cream

2 large eggs

1 (9 oz) jar pumpkin butter (I just put a bunch of dollops on top and did not measure- next time will be adding more!)

*Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 13x9 inch baking pan with foil, letting excess extend over sides of pan; spray foil with cooking spray.

In a large bowl, stir together 2 cups flour, oats, brown sugar, pecans, salt, pie spice, and baking soda. Add butter, and beat with a mixer at medium low speed until mixture is crumbly. Reserve 1 1/2 cups oat mixture in a small bowl; press remaining oat mixture into bottom of prepared pan. 

Bake until lightly browned, about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, in same large bowl, beat cream cheese, granulated sugar, cream, and remaining 1 TBS flour with a mixer at medium speed until creamy, 2-3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape sides of bowl. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Pour mixture onto prepared crust, and spoon pumpkin butter by tablespoons onto cream cheese mixture. Using a knife, swirl mixture together. Sprinkle reserved oat mixture on top.

Bake until top is golden brown, 30-35 minutes. Let cool completely in pan ona wire rack. using excess foil as handles, remove from pan before cutting into bars. Cover and regrigerate for up to 3 days.