Lighter Side of Pumpkin Bars

I'm sorry, i've been really bad about posting lately, its been a week :( I made pumpkin bars last Friday night and haven't taken the time to share it. I was helping my friend Kelsey with cleaning and moving into her new apartment. And of course cleaning always makes me hungry. I love this time of year, and pumpkin happens to be one of my favorite fall foods. This is a recipe I decided to try out of the November 2009 Cooking Light magazine, from Trisha Kruse of Eagle, Idaho. It was pretty decent for a lower fat version of the oh so good original. I would make it again.

Frosted Pumpkin Bars
yield: 20-24 bars
Cake:
about 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 (15oz.) can pumpkin puree (not for pumpkin pie)

Frosting:
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 (8oz.) package 1/3 less fat cream cheese
2 cups sifted powdered sugar (yes this is important, who wants lumpy frosting)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, and lightly flour the pan, set aside.
Spoon flour into measuring cups and level off. Mix together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl. Stir with a whisk to blend well. In a second larger bowl, mix brown sugar and 1 stick of butter until well mixed.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the pumpkin and mix until combined. Fold in flour mixture just until mixed. Do not over mix. Spread the pumpkin mixture into prepared pan. Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan on wire rack.
For the frosting, use a mixer to cream together the butter, cream cheese, and vanilla. Add the powdered sugar a little at a time, mixing well after each addition. Spread the frosting over the cake.