Carrot Cake Bars Recipe

Course: Bars, Dessert

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 30

Cool Time: 1

Total Time: 1 45

Servings: bars

Calories: 195kcal

Author: Becky Hardin - Easy Dessert Recipes

These carrot cake bars have a rich cream cheese layer to make a wonderfully gooey, moist dessert packed with warm spices and sweet flavors!

Print Recipe

Equipment

Kitchen Scale (optional)
8x8 Baking Pan
Hand Mixer

Ingredients

15.25 ounces carrot cake mix 432 grams (1 box)
½ cup unsalted butter 115 grams, melted but slightly cooled (1 stick)
1 large egg 50 grams
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract 4 grams
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3 grams
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
4 ounces full-fat block-style cream cheese 113 grams, room temperature (½ brick)
½ cup sweetened condensed milk 153 grams

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line an 8x8-inch baking pan with parchment paper. Leave the sides a little higher than the pan so the bars can be lifted out easily after they’ve cooled. Spray the parchment paper lined pan with nonstick spray and set aside.
In a large bowl, using a hand mixer, beat the dry cake mix, butter, egg, vanilla extract, cinnamon, and nutmeg together until fully combined, about 30 seconds. Do not overmix.
15.25 ounces carrot cake mix, ½ cup unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, ¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
In a separate medium bowl, beat the cream cheese on high until smooth, about 30 seconds.
4 ounces full-fat block-style cream cheese
Beat the sweetened condensed milk into the cream cheese until smooth, about 30 seconds. Set aside.
½ cup sweetened condensed milk
Press about ⅔ of the dough mixture into the bottom of the prepared pan. This dough will be thick (cookie dough consistency). If having difficulties spreading the dough into the pan, lightly spray a spatula with nonstick spray to help spread out the bottom layer.
Spread the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk mixture evenly over the first dough layer.
Press the remaining ⅓ of the dough into super flat pieces and cover as much of the cream cheese and sweetened condensed milk layer with the dough as possible. It’s okay if some of the cheesecake layer is still exposed.
Bake for 29-31 minutes – the middle will look set and the edges will be slightly browned. Do not overbake or these bars will lose the gooey texture.
Let bars cool in pan for at least 60 minutes before removing from pan and slicing into 16 squares.

Notes

You can swap the carrot cake mix for another type of cake mix, such as butter pecan, gingerbread, or spice cake.
In place of the butter, you can use an equal amount of coconut oil.
In place of the cinnamon and nutmeg, you can use a pie spice blend.
Don't overmix the cake mix; otherwise, your bars will come out tough.
Make sure to use block-style cream cheese, not the spreadable kind in a tub!
You can easily double this recipe and spread it into a 9x13-inch baking pan. Increase the baking time by about 10 minutes.
Let the bars cool in the pan for at least 1 hour before removing them; otherwise, they will fall apart.
For clean-edged squares, wipe the knife with a damp cloth in between cutting each row.

Storage: Store carrot cake bars in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week or in the freezer for up to 2 months.

Nutrition