Pumpkin Bars with Chai Caramel & Cardamom Crumble

Photos of these bars simple do not do them justice. I am in love with this recipe for Pumpkin Bars with Chai Caramel and Cardamom Crumble, and it’s only ONE week into fall. We have so many other stellar fall recipes to get to!

But the reason I love these bars is tenfold. ONE – I modeled them after my viral pumpkin cookie recipe, just 2.0, so you already know they are going to be good. TWO – the texture??? Is insane?? The pumpkin bars are dense, while the caramel is the perfect amount of chewy, and the crumble on top is light and butter and crisp. It keeps your mouth guessing in the best possible way. And THREE – the flavors taste like crispy autumn weather and falling leaves and Halloween all combined. It’s a fall miracle, and my new favorite pumpkin dessert (sorry, cookies!)

Ingredients you will need for the pumpkin bars

The base of this recipe is a dense, chewy pumpkin bar that kind of mimics a chocolate chip cookie cake – just swap the chocolate chips for pumpkin flavor! What I like is it is a simple dough, here is what you will need for it:

• 1/2 cup salted butter, softened, 113 grams – You can also let this soften in the stand mixer as you mix, I’m not picky!
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, 100 grams
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed, 50 grams
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée, 75 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour, 140 grams

How to prepare this pumpkin dough

This dough is your typical cookie dough formula – add the wet ingredients (read: butter, sugars, pumpkin) to a mixer and mix until fluffy. Then pop in the cinnamon, baking powder, salt and flour and mix until combined. The dough is quick, especially if you are using a stand mixer!

The best way to spread out the pumpkin bar dough

This dough is sticky, and that’s due to the high amount of pumpkin in it! This makes it a little tricky to spread into the pan, so here are a few tricks:

TIP #1 – Add a bit of butter to the corners of your baking dish before putting down the parchment paper. This helps the parchment not stick!

TIP #2 – Use a cookie scoop to scoop the dough balls evenly across, which will make spreading the dough evenly with a spatula a much easier task!

How to make the cardamom crumble for these pumpkin bars with chai caramel

Now that the pumpkin dough is done, it’s time for the crumble. Here is all you will need for it:

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, 70 grams
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, 28 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 tablespoons salted butter chilled, 42 grams

A crumble is a tricky process, because it is very much done by feel. First, you need to whisk together the flour, sugar, and cardamom. Then cube in the chilled butter.

After this, making a crumble is very much like making a pie crust, except you stop before everything is fully combined. Pinch the butter into the dry ingredients, tossing it in the flour every now and then so the butter is fully coated. It will feel like there isn’t enough butter for it to come together, but keep working! Soon you will get a texture like the bowl above, which is what we are looking for with this crumble!

Baking both of these elements together

What is nice about this recipe is the pumpkin bars and the cardamom crumble bake at the same time.

Set the pumpkin bars on the top rack and bake them for 20 minutes, then set the crumble on the bottom rack during the last ten minutes.

You want the pumpkin bars to look like the photo above, and the crumble to look like the photo below.

And now it’s time to move onto the chai caramel!

Ingredients you will need for the chai caramel

Caramel is a simple process that too many people think is intimidating. Simply not true! (I promise)

Here is everything you will need for the caramel:

• 1/3 cup chai concentrate (I use Tazo as the brand), 88 grams
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar, 250 grams
• 2 tablespoons salted butter, 28 grams
• 1/3 cup heavy cream, 85 grams

How to make caramel that stays chewy

The key to this caramel is the amount of butter and heavy cream we add AFTER the sugar has caramelized. The more butter and cream, the chewier and meltier your caramel will be.

There are a few important things to remember as you are making a caramel:

TIP #1 – You are boiling sugar until it gets a shade darker, and it can be so easy to stop too soon! Don’t be that person. Let your sugar get to the point of smoking. It will smell like a toasted marshmallow and taste even better.

TIP #2 – From there, do not fear whisking in the butter and heavy cream. It will seize up for a few seconds, but then turn into a chewy, caramely texture.

The best way to assemble these pumpkin bars with chai caramel

I like to let the pumpkin bars and cardamom crumble get out of the oven before I even start the caramel. And that’s because the bars need a bit of time to *chill out* before a hot caramel gets poured over them, you know?

Once the bars are cool enough to touch (they can still be a bit warm, we aren’t perfectionists here), pour the caramel directly into the center. This will make it so that the caramel pours over the edges as little as possible, and that will make your bars easier to release when it’s time!

From there, pop this into the fridge so the caramel can set for 30 minutes.

After the caramel has set, but still has a bit of give to it, crumble the cardamom crumble over the top. Finish with flaky salt, because these bars are RICH.

The best way to store these bars

This is important – The best way to store these bars is in the fridge. I recommend slicing them right before serving. They can hang out at room temperature, but the fridge keeps them chewy without letting them get sticky. Which is a classic caramel thing to happen!

FAQ

And that’s it for these Pumpkin Bars with Chai Caramel!

If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Pumpkin Bars with Chai Caramel & Cardamom Crumble

This dessert bar’s name is a MOUTHFUL (no pun intended), but how else could I explain how good it is? A dense, buttery pumpkin bar is layered with lightly spiced chai caramel and finished with crisp, crumbly cardamom crumbles. There are three steps to this recipe, but they can all be easily managed. The one thing not to skip is the chilling time!

Equipment

• 1 Hand mixer or stand mixer

• 1 8 by 8-inch baking dish

• 1 half sheet pan

• 2 sheets of parchment paper

• 1 Small Pot

• 1 thermometer not mandatory, but helpful!

Ingredients

For the pumpkin bars

• 1/2 cup salted butter softened, 113 grams
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 100 grams
• 1/4 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed 50 grams
• 1/3 cup pumpkin purée 75 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon Diamond Crystal kosher salt
• 1 cup all-purpose flour 140 grams

For the cardamom crumble

• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 70 grams
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar 28 grams
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 3 tablespoons salted butter chilled, 42 grams

For the chai caramel

• 1/3 cup chai concentrate (I use Tazo as the brand) 88 grams
• 1 1/4 cup granulated sugar 250 grams
• 2 tablespoons salted butter 28 grams
• 1/3 cup heavy cream 85 grams

Instructions

• Evenly stagger two racks in the oven and preheat to 350°F.

• Make the pumpkin bars. Using either a stand mixer or hand mixer, beat together the 113 grams of butter, 100 grams granulated sugar, 50 grams brown sugar, and 75 grams of pumpkin. Mix on medium-high until fluffy and combined.

• Add in the 1/2 teaspoon each of cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix again. Add in the 140 grams of all-purpose flour and mix on the lowest setting until just combined.

• Line an 8 by 8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Use a cookie scoop to evenly scoop the dough across the pan, then use a spatula to smooth it into an even layer. It is sticky, but try to get it as even as possible! Set this aside.

• Next, make the cardamom crumble. In a medium bowl, whisk together the 70 grams of all-purpose flour, the 28 grams of granulated sugar and 1/2 teaspoon of cardamom. Cube in the 42 grams of chilled butter.

• Using your hands, toss the butter to get coated in the flour. Then start pressing the butter into pieces, tossing to coat it in the flour as you go. As the butter breaks apart, it will start forming a crumble. It may feel dry at first, but keep smashing the butter in with your fingers and you’ll start to see clumps form.

• Transfer the crumble to a parchment-lined half sheet pan.

• Bake the pumpkin bars on the top rack of the oven for 20 minutes, add the crumble to the bottom rack for the last 10 minutes. Remove when the pumpkin bars are dry but not golden, and the crumble is just lightly golden at the edges. Set these aside to cool at room temperature.

• While the bars and crumble are cooling, prepare the caramel.

• Mix together the 88 grams of chai concentrate and 250 grams of granulated sugar in a medium pot. Swirl to combine. Set this pot over high heat and let it come to a robust boil. Do not stir during this time. Let it boil until it starts to let off whisps of smoke and smell like a toasted marshmallow (about 5-6 minutes). This will be obvious when it happens, so if you’re wondering if you are there yet – trust me, you aren’t there yet!

• Once you see the smoke whisps, immediately remove the caramel from the heat and whisk in the 28 grams of butter. Very carefully pour in the 85 grams of heavy cream and whisk (it will let off some steam!).

• Place the pot back over LOW heat and gently stir until the caramel comes up to 245°F. Then remove from the heat.

• Now it’s time to assemble. Once the pumpkin bars are cool enough to touch the tray, pour the caramel directly into the CENTER of the bars. Let it naturally spread to the sides, although you can ease it to the corners with a spatula if you’d like. This is to prevent it from pouring over the edges and gettting your bars stuck in the tray. Let this cool for 30 minutes in the fridge.

• After the caramel has cooled, sprinkle the crumble over the top. Finish with a sprinkle of flaky salt. These will sink into the caramel.

• Chill in the fridge for 5-7 hours or until the bars are set. Then, you can remove the bars, slice into 16 pieces, and serve!

• Important note: These are best stored in the fridge. I recommend taking them out right before slicing and serving!