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Moist Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

Moist pumpkin chocolate chip bars with a fudgy, soft center and crackly top—baked in a 9x13 pan for easy, one-bowl prep. Loaded with semi-sweet chocolate chips and warm fall spices, they bake up moist with a toothpick that shows a few crumbs.
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Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 28 minutes
cooling 45 minutes
Total Time 1 hour 28 minutes
Servings: 24 bars
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 330
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Bars
  • 1 cup canned pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
  • 0.75 cup vegetable oil
  • 1 packed light brown sugar brown sugar
  • 0.5 cup granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs room temperature
  • 2 tsp vanilla extract
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • 0.5 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp fine salt
  • 2 tsp ground cinnamon
  • 0.5 tsp ground nutmeg
  • 0.25 tsp ground ginger
  • 0.25 tsp ground cloves
  • 1.5 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
Topping
  • 0.5 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
  • 0.5 tsp flaky sea salt

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep
  1. Heat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9x13-inch pan with parchment, leaving an overhang on the long sides so you can lift the bars out later.
Make the batter
  1. In a large bowl, whisk the pumpkin purée, vegetable oil, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until smooth and glossy, about 1 minute.
  2. Whisk in the eggs one at a time, then whisk in the vanilla until the batter looks silky and evenly colored.
  3. Add the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves directly on top.
  4. Fold with a spatula just until no dry streaks remain, stopping as soon as it comes together so the bars don’t turn tough.
  5. Fold in 1½ cups semi-sweet chocolate chips until the batter is thick and scoopable, not pourable.
Bake
  1. Spread the batter into the lined pan and smooth the top. Scatter the remaining ½ cup chocolate chips over the surface.
  2. Bake 25–30 minutes at 350°F, until the edges pull slightly from the parchment and a toothpick in the center comes out with a few moist crumbs, not fully clean.
Finish
  1. Sprinkle flaky sea salt over the top while hot.
  2. Cool in the pan at least 45 minutes, then lift out using the parchment overhang and cut into 24 bars.
  3. Serve slightly warm so the chocolate stays soft.

Notes

Pro tip: for the fudgy, moist center, pull the bars when a toothpick shows a few moist crumbs—fully clean leads to drier bars. Store covered at room temperature for up to 4 days, refrigerate up to 6 days, and freeze baked bars up to 2 months. For a dairy-free swap, use dairy-free semi-sweet chocolate chips in place of the regular chips.