Pumpkin-Raisin Bars

                  If you use the pareve alternative frosting, this is an appealing pumpkin dessert for US Thanksgiving or Sukkot.
 
Karen Selwyn
 
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Pumpkin-Raisin Bars
 
      2 cups all purpose flour
      2 cups sugar
      1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
      2 teaspoons baking powder
      1 teaspoon baking soda
      1 teaspoon salt
      1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
      1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
      1 15-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
      4 large eggs
      3/4 cup vegetable oil
      1 cup raisins
 
Cream cheese frosting:
      6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
      1 cup powdered sugar
      1/3 cup butter, room temperature
 
Pareve alternative frosting:
      2 (12 oz) jars of apricot preserves
      sliced almonds
 
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Grease 15 1/2 x 10 1/2 x 1-inch baking sheet. Combine the first 8 ingredients in large bowl, blending well. Add the pumpkin, eggs and oil. Beat until blended. Add raisins. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, spreading to even the top.
 
Bake until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool in pan on rack.
 
Cream cheese frosting: Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar and butter in medium bowl, beating to blend. Spread frosting over cake in thin layer. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Refrigerate until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated.)
 
Pareve apricot topping: Pour apricot preserves into fine mesh strainer. Holding the strainer over a bowl, use the back of a spoon to press the preserves against the mesh. Lump-free apricot jam will pass through the mesh. Use this strained jam to coat the top of the cake. Sprinkle sliced almonds over all, pressing down gently to make sure the nuts come in contact with the jam.
 
Cut cake into bars and serve.
 
Yield: 24 bars
 
Source: adapted from Bon Appétit, January 1998


Source:

From: Philip and Karen Selwyn Subject: Pumpkin-Raisin Bars Date: 21 Nov 1999 00:00:00 GMT Message-ID: <3837ea9e.936ba55d@erols.com> Approved: rfcj-board@ring.vpop.net Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit X-RFCJ-Info-1: Send submissions to rec.food.cuisine.jewish@moderators.isc.org X-RFCJ-Info-2: Send moderation policy queries to rfcj-mods@zorch.sf-bay.org X-RFCJ-Info-3: Send technical complaints to biow@ezmort.com X-Relay-IP: 206.117.147.5 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1 X-Robomod: STUMP, ichudov@algebra.com (Igor Chudov), C++/Perl/Unix Consulting X-Comment: Moderators do not necessarily agree or disagree with this article. X-Warning: Express permission of poster is required for re-posting. MIME-Version: 1.0 X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by ring.vpop.net id EAA27381 Newsgroups: rec.food.cuisine.jewish