Break out the cornacopia’s!

This week is Thanksgiving! This is probably my favorite week of the year. The anticipation of my favorite holiday, the build-up, the cooking, the fall-ness in the air, then the actual day, and the day after is the kick-off to the holiday season. I stinking love it so much I feel like running circles in the living room. I’m so relieved my nausea has subsided - realizing I’d be thick in the first trimester during turkey-day made me pray and beg my morning sickness away like crazy, and it is working! I am bummed that I can’t take my normal place on the trampoline with all the kiddo’s after dinner, but that’s okay - just means I get to sit and watch them bounce around and laugh hysterically.

I usually don’t start baking for Thanksgiving until Wednesday evening, but we’re having an early T-day with some friends, so instead of whipping up my favorite pumpkin pie twice, I opted for pumpkin pie bars for tonight. They’re super easy, quick, and really do taste like pumpkin pie. I highly recommend them and the recipe is listed below. Have a great Thanksgiving and I’ll see ya when I return!

Pumpkin Pie Bars

1-1/3 cups flour
1/2 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
3/4 cup (1-1/2 sticks) cold butter or margarine
1 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats, uncooked
1/2 cup chopped PLANTERS Pecans
1 pkg. (8 oz.) PHILADELPHIA Cream Cheese, softened
3 eggs
1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice

PREHEAT oven to 350°F. Line 13×9-inch baking pan with foil; grease foil lining. Mix flour, brown sugar and 1/4 cup of the granulated sugar in medium bowl; cut in butter with pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in oats and pecans. Reserve 1 cup of the oat mixture; press remaining mixture onto bottom of pan. Bake 15 min.

BEAT cream cheese, remaining 1/2 cup sugar, eggs, pumpkin and pumpkin pie spice in small bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Pour over crust; sprinkle with reserved crumb mixture.

BAKE 25 min. Lift from pan using foil handles; cool completely. Cut into 24 bars. Store leftover bars in tightly covered container in refrigerator.