Pumpkin Pie Bars

Ingredients

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 Tablespoon cornstarch
3/4 cup salted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla

Pumpkin Filling:
1 (15-ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14-ounce) can Sweetened Condensed Milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9-inch) unbaked pie crust

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9″ square pan with foil and spray with cooking spray.

Crust:
In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and cornstarch. Set aside. In a mixing bowl, beat butter and sugar until well combined, about 2 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla, mixing until combined. Add the flour mixture in and mix until well combined. Scrape bowl and beaters as necessary and don’t over beat. You don’t want to whip too much air into the mixture as you might for a cake. Just mix until thoroughly combined.

Press dough evenly into the bottom of prepared pan. Prick dough all over with a fork and bake for 13-15 min or until set and there’s just a hint of light golden edge forming. Remove from oven and prick dough again to release air if any bubbles have formed. Set aside to cool completely.

Pumpkin Filling:
In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin puree, sweetened condensed milk, eggs, vanilla, and pumpkin pie spice until smooth. 45-50 minutes or just until filling looks set in the middle.

Allow to cool. Cut into squares and top with whipped cream, if desired.

Store in the refrigerator.