pumpkin cake bars

Pumpkin is a New World food they didn't have over in Europe. Early settlers ate a good deal of pumpkin, as someone observed in this 1800s poem.

Instead of pottage and puddings and custard and pies,

Our pumpkins and parsnips are common supplies:

We have pumpkin at morning and pumpkin at noon,

If it were not for pumpkin, we should be soon undoon

- circa 1886

• 2 C flour

• 1 1/2 C sugar

• 1 16 oz can pumpkin

• 1 C cooking oil

• 4 eggs

• 1 tsp baking soda

• 1/4 tsp ground cloves

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/4 tsp salt

• 1 C chopped walnuts

• cream cheese frosting

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2. Beat the eggs. Eggs are beaten when stiff white peaks form. A hand mixer is ideal for beating eggs. If no hand mixer is available a whisk or fork may be used.

3. In a large bowl mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, and cloves. Stir in the pumpkin, oil, and eggs until thoroughly combined. Stir in the walnuts.

4. Put the mixture into a baking pan and bake for 35 minutes in the oven. The pumpkin can be substituted for a same-size can of applesauce to produce apple bars.

5. Allow the pumpkin bars to cool and then coat with cream cheese frosting.

Here's a link to a webpage featuring a cream cheese frosting recipe - http://allrecipes.com/recipe/cream-cheese-frosting-ii-2/

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