Soft and buttery oatmeal pumpkin shortbread bars with a salty caramel sauce drizzled on top are the ultimate fall treat!
Baked goods may just be the best part about fall but especially if these shortbread bars happen to be involved!
We’ve got pumpkin, oats, and salted caramel coming into play today and let me tell you, it’s the fall trio you never knew you needed.
Move aside pumpkin bread, we’ve got a new player in town!
The dough for these bars comes together so easily and my favorite part is that the dough can be made ahead of time and stored in the fridge for whenever you’re ready to bake it.
These Shortbread Bars feature…
- A soft and buttery pumpkin shortbread base
- Rich salted caramel sauce on top
- Easy to make ahead of time and freezer-friendly
Making the Shortbread Bars
(scroll down to the bottom of the post for the full recipe)
Ingredients You Will Need
- Pumpkin puree
- Unsalted butter
- Granulated sugar
- Brown sugar
- Vanilla extract
- Quick-cooking oats
- All-purpose flour
- Pumpkin pie spice
- Salt
- Heavy whipping cream
Choosing Your Oats
For a light and tender texture, I found that this shortbread works best with quick-cooking oats. You can easily make your own by pulsing old-fashioned oats in the food processor several times until finely-chopped.
Tips for Perfect Shortbread Bars
- Squeeze water out of pumpkin – this removes excess moisture from the pumpkin that will ensure the bars bake up light and buttery.
- Cream butter and sugars together – make sure your butter is softened to room-temperature and cream well with the granulated and brown sugar several minutes until completely smooth.
- Use stand mixer or mix dough by hand – this recipe is both mixer-friendly and old-fashioned-bowl-and-spoon friendly.
- Spoon and level flour – I use the spoon-and-level technique for measuring flour as this will prevent over-measuring your flour. Use a spoon to scoop flour into the measuring cup, then level with the back of a knife.
- Chill dough – chilling the dough for about 2 hours before baking will help the bars maintain their soft and chewy structure.
Recipe Variations
Try these ideas for a different twist on these bars.
- Add nuts – fold 1/2 cup toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts into shortbread dough.
- Skip caramel topping – try a maple powdered sugar glaze or a drizzle of melted chocolate in place of the caramel.
- Add dried fruit – try folding 1/2 cup dried cranberries into shortbread dough.
Storing and Freezing Bars
These bars may be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 4 days. You can also store the dough in refrigerator up to 6 days before baking.
To freeze bars, allow to cool completely, wrap well, and freeze up to 2 months. Thaw bars completely on countertop then top with caramel sauce for serving.
Every single component of these shortbread bars works to perfection! The salty caramel is a dream paired with all the pumpkin spice goodness and every bite just melts in your mouth.
Fall baking at its absolute finest, y’all.
Save this recipe using the ‘save to recipe box’ button below. If you make it, please let us know! Leave a comment + star rating below, or take a photo and tag it on Instagram with #wholeandheavenlyoven.
More pumpkin baked goods to make next!
Oatmeal Pumpkin Shortbread Bars with Salted Caramel
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Ingredients
Pumpkin Shortbread
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 3/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 1/4 cup light brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup quick-cooking oats
- 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
- 1-1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
Salted Caramel
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter
- 1/3 cup heavy whipping cream
- 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
- Flaky sea salt for topping, optional
Instructions
- Place pumpkin puree in the middle of a kitchen towel. Gather up edges of kitchen towel and gently squeeze pumpkin over a sink or bowl until all the liquid is squeezed out. Set pumpkin aside.
- Place butter and sugars in the bowl of a large stand mixer, fitted with a paddle attachment OR in a large mixing bowl with a wooden spoon. Mix on medium speed or by hand until creamy, about 2 minutes.
- Beat pumpkin, vanilla, oats, flour, pumpkin pie spice, and salt into butter mixture until dough is just combined. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and chill 2 hours or up to 6 days.
- Preheat oven to 350F and line a square 8-inch with parchment paper. Remove dough from refrigerator and pat in an even layer in pan. Prick dough all over with a fork.
- Bake shortbread at 350F 25-30 minutes until a light golden brown. Allow shortbread to cool completely on a wire cooling rack.
Salted Caramel
- Place sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat and allow to melt. Once melted, whisk in butter and bring to a boil. Slowly add cream (carefully, it will splatter) whisking constantly and allow caramel to cook until golden brown and bubbly, about 3-5 minutes. Remove caramel from heat and mix in salt.
- Immediately pour caramel over cooled shortbread. Allow to set 10 minutes before slicing into bars and topping with additional flaky sea salt. Enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
This post was updated with new recipe adjustments and photos on 8/29/24.
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