{Fabuless Pumpkin Bars!}

Living in a condo, I put in work orders when things need to be fixed, and a member of our building's maintenance team comes to attempt to fix the problem. This week was a continuation of the ongoing kitchen sink issue. Bubbling and gurgling are never good verbs to associate with a kitchen sink. I was told I could be expecting maintenance and a plumber in the afternoon sometime, to avoid interrupting my daughter's morning nap..how nice of them to consider that right? To my dismay, a knock sounded at the door at about 9:45 am, just as I was about to lay her down. Luckily she stayed asleep through all the commotion. She woke up when they left and after about 3 hours of playing and hanging out, it was time for nap #2. I was rocking her to sleep when I heard a knock at the door...

Yes, the maintenance men were back! What! Why! No! were my exact thoughts at that moment. The day continued to go downhill as I had three more poorly timed knocks at my door before all was said and done. Did I mention that I was exhausted from the night before and a quick nap while my daughter napped would have been heavenly? The only thing I could do to improve my day was to...you guessed it, make pumpkin bars! My mom's pumpkin bars have an amazing 180 effect! They can turn your not so amazing day right around!.. and good news, they are actually really easy to make! Plus, they have less calories..making them fabuless!

Mom's Pumpkin Bars:

4 eggs
1 2/3 C sugar
1 C applesauce
1 can pumpkin
2 C flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda

Frosting:
1 pkg cream cheese, softened
1/2 C butter, softened
1 tsp vanilla
2 C sifted powdered sugar

Beat together eggs, sugar, applesauce, and pumpkin until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and baking soda. Add to pumpkin mixture and mix thoroughly. Spread in 15x10x1 inch pan (jelly roll pan). Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes (top should be a light golden brown) When cool, frost with cream cheese frosting.

Directions: Cream together cream cheese and butter. Stir in vanilla. Add powdered sugar in small amounts. Beat until smooth.
**I like to put the pan in the refrigerator for a few hours or even overnight to be completely sure they will be nice and cool when frosting. It really makes all the difference! Check out a picture of my pumpkin bars from this week:

After a not so amazing day, the pumpkin bars really made all the difference. My husband and I have continued to enjoy them over the past few days...maybe a little too much! The fall is the perfect time to try this recipe out! And, using applesauce instead of oil is a great substitute that doesn't make you compromise on taste! It's fabuless! Enjoy.

sincerely fabuless, the windy city.