Pumpkin - Not Just for Pie

Pumpkin is, in my opinion, unfairly stereotyped as a one-trick pony. When people think of pumpkin, their first thought is pumpkin pie. While pumpkin pie is a fine and noble dessert, there are other items that are fitting tributes to the goodness of this fall fruit.

Once my mom arrives with many jars of home-canned pumpkin I'll make lots of different items - pumpkin bread, pumpkin soup, blachenda (aka plachenda, kind of a pumpkin turnover), pumpkin cheesecake, pumpkin cookies - the list keeps growing as I think about it. I'd better think of many things to do with pumpkin because my mom apparently has dozens of jars waiting for me.

Pictured here is something admittedly close to, but tastefully different from, pumpkin pie - pumpkin bars. The base is an oatmeal/pecan cookie crust, there is a pumpkin custard on top, and my own variation on a stabilized whipped cream that includes cream cheese. My mom has had this recipe for years (with a different topping that I find too sweet), and I have no idea who to credit for it. It probably came from a local church cookbook, as many sweets in the upper Midwest do.

I've been making a lot with pumpkin recently not just because I'm gearing up for the shipment of wonderful home-canned goodness, but because one of my husband's coworkers really likes pumpkin. So far I've made pumpkin cheesecake and these bars for him. Next it might be pumpkin cookies, but I haven't decided yet. I'm not sure if he'll go for a pumpkin soup, but I might give it a try sometime. He seems willing to try just about anything, which is a wonderful attribute in my book. We've taken to calling anything pumpkin "Hirdler _____" since our friend Mr. Hirdler is so fond of the fruit. These are Hirdler Bars, and the pumpkin cheesecake was Hirdler Pie.

Shown here is a double recipe of what follows. I used a 9 x 13 pan and doubled everything.

Hirdler Bars (aka Pumpkin Pecan Bars)

Crust:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup chopped pecans
1/2 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup melted butter
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
Pinch salt

Filling:
1 cup pureed cooked pumpkin
3/4 cup milk
2 eggs
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Topping:
2 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
12 pecan halves (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine crust ingredients and press into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes or until light golden brown on the edges. Let cool on rack to room temperature.

Combine filling ingredients in medium bowl and whisk together until well combined. Pour over cooled cookie base (filling will be quite loose), and bake for about 40 minutes or until set. Cool completely.

Beat cream cheese in medium bowl until smooth. Add sugar and mix to incorporate. Add cream and vanilla and whip to firm peaks. Spread over cooled filling and refrigerate to firm up topping. Just before serving, place pecan halves on filling and cut into squares.