Chocolate Chip Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Bars

Three weeks to Christmas. CJ and Shanice and Caleb are arriving the twentieth, which gives me five days before Christmas with my grandchild in the house, which I intend to use well. I have been planning the food: the Christmas brunch I do every year, the Christmas dinner, and something special for Caleb specifically — a small batch of soft cookies he can eat, made without the things a toddler shouldn't have, with real butter and a little honey and oats, shaped like what Shanice calls little bear things because I cannot make circles that look like circles and ovals will always be what they are.

Kezia called Friday evening. She is staying at school for the break — her program runs through the twentieth and then she is going home to Clara for Christmas, not here, which is right and which I expected and which I have accepted completely, and which I still notice. I told her about Caleb refusing peas and she laughed and said, he'll eat them eventually, and I said, I know. She asked about the fruitcakes. I told her they were on the second shelf. She said, that makes it Christmas. I said, yes. She said, I'll come in January. I said: the table is set. It is always set for you. She said, I know. She knows.

Bernice's Table steady. The Saturday youth class had twenty students last week, which is its highest yet. Deontay is talking about writing a curriculum. I told him to write it. He said he'd need help. I said, write it first, then I'll help you make it right. That's the order. You write the thing from what you know and then you bring in the people who can help you make it what it needs to be. Start with what you know. He nodded. He is writing it.

The oat honey cookies I make for Caleb are a small-batch thing, just for him, and I’ll make those the night before he arrives. But when the whole family is in the house and the kitchen needs to smell like something, I come back to these bars — soft through and through, pumpkin and chocolate and that cream cheese layer that makes people go quiet for a moment when they take the first bite. I make them the day before so they have time to settle, same as the fruitcakes, because the things that are worth eating are usually worth waiting on just a little.

Prep Time: 15 minutes | Cook Time: 45 minutes | Total Time: 1 hour | Servings: 24 bars

Ingredients

1 box (15.25 oz) yellow cake mix
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted
3 large eggs, divided
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp vanilla extract, divided
8 oz cream cheese, softened
2 cups powdered sugar
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Instructions

Preheat and prepare. Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan with butter or nonstick spray and set aside.
Make the base layer. In a large bowl, combine the yellow cake mix, pumpkin puree, melted butter, 2 of the eggs, pumpkin pie spice, and 1/2 tsp vanilla extract. Stir until a thick, even batter forms. Spread it into the bottom of the prepared pan, smoothing all the way to the edges.
Make the cream cheese topping. In a separate bowl, beat the softened cream cheese until smooth. Add the remaining egg, remaining 1/2 tsp vanilla, and powdered sugar. Beat until fully combined and creamy, with no lumps remaining.
Layer and add chocolate chips. Pour and gently spread the cream cheese mixture over the pumpkin base. Sprinkle the chocolate chips evenly over the top.
Bake. Bake for 42 to 46 minutes, until the edges are set and lightly golden and the center is just barely firm to the touch. The bars will continue to set as they cool — do not overbake.
Cool completely before cutting. Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour at room temperature, then refrigerate for another hour before slicing into 24 bars. They cut cleanest when fully chilled.

Nutrition (per serving)

Chocolate Chip Ooey Gooey Pumpkin Bars — Soft and Sweet for the Little Ones Coming Home