What a fun day we had recently in my rental community. They called it Tenant Appreciation Day. I was able to meet a few more of my neighbors, which is always fun. The company sponsored a chili cook-off and a couple bake-offs, one of which yours truly was a winner.

The winning entry, my pumpkin bars, were selected in the cookie category because our office manager decided they’re more of a cookie than a cake. That was okay with me—I won! The recipe is below. I failed to take a photo of these moist, not-too-sweet ‘cookies’ and it was too late by the time we thought of it. They disappeared quickly.

As you know, one of my favorite things to do is putter in the kitchen. I even enjoy clean-up time. Nothing like a tidy space to work. So when they said we’d be competing for the best stuff, how could I resist?

Robert won for his splendid homemade barbecue sauce and grilled chicken. Oh, you guys, it was mouth-watering tender. The sauce had just enough tart and sweet to please any palate. Duane took the prize for his pound cake and Amanda won in the chili category.

So there we were, mingling, eating and listening to some rocking music. The kids were making crafts and everyone got a goodie bag. The adults played that old favorite, “Guess How Many Are in the container.” A large Ball storage jar and a small one filled to the brim with hard candy and Red Hots. They gave extra incentive for the large container by taping a $2 bill to the side.

Hey, I’ll compete for money. Good thing I did. I came closest to the amount without going over with a guess of 639. The jar contained six hundred and something. Considering I have a rotten sense of spatial relationships, that’s pretty good. I never win anything so “Wow.” Best Cookie and Best Guesser. I shared the contents of the jar. I mean, what am I going to do with almost 700 pieces of candy? Or is that a dumb question?

Pumpkin Bars

•  2 c. flour
•  2 t. baking powder
•  2 t. cinnamon
•  1 t. baking soda
•  4 eggs
•  ¾ c. oil
• 1 ½ c. sugar
• 1 16 oz. can pumpkin

Blend eggs, oil, sugar, and pumpkin in a large mixing bowl. Blend dry ingredients in a small bowl and add to the large bowl ingredients. Bake in a 9 x 13 inch baking dish for 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Let bars cool before spreading them with the cream cheese frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 3 oz. cream cheese
• ¼ c. butter
• 1 t. vanilla
• 2 c. confectioner’s sugar

Blend all ingredients together and frost the cake.

A fairly simple recipe. As always, you can prepare this with a little less sugar as I do. I like to use a glass dish for these. It seems to bake nicely. And if you have problems with gluten, other flours usually work as well. I’ve mixed almond flour with wheat flour and I enjoy the flavor just as much.

Eat Hardy!