Pumpkin Bars with Cream Cheese Frosting

So my friend Micaela of Striving Bean made these once for a treat day back when I was in corporate world.  Ever since that day I have wanted these bars/cake again.  I finally made them the other day... and made only one mistake, but, it was still delicious!

Ingredients
Bars:
4 eggs
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda

Icing:
8-ounce package cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
2 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Using an electric mixer at medium speed, combine the eggs, sugar, oil and pumpkin until light and fluffy.

Stir together the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and baking soda. NOTE: When sifting flour measure first, then sift.  Not the other way around (which, yes, is what I did... duh!).

Add the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix at low speed until thoroughly combined and the batter is smooth.

Spread the batter into a greased 13 by 10-inch baking pan.

Bake for 30 minutes. Let cool completely before frosting. Cut into bars.

To make the icing: Combine the cream cheese and butter in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until smooth.

Add the sugar and mix at low speed until combined.

 

Stir in the vanilla and mix again. Spread on cooled pumpkin bars.

 

See how thin my "cake" is... well that's because of the sifting of the flour and then measuring!  

This should be more like a cake than like a bar.