Pumpkin Squares

It's pumpkin and apple season!  Let the baking commence!  So excited, and so glad I stocked up on about 20 cans of pumpkin last holiday season.  No pumpkin available until the end of this month at the earliest at our local grocer.
My mom told me these were great.  A little bit of heaven if you ask me.  The spices are so wonderful and smell AMAZING while baking.  They taste as good as they smell.  Who needs pumpkin pie when I could have these?  A must make this fall season!

PUMPKIN SQUARES

INGREDIENTS:

CRUST:

• 1 cup cold butter
• 2 cup all pupose flour
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 cup brown sugar (I used dark)

MIDDLE:

• 1 15 oz can pumpkin puree
• 1 can sweetened condensed milk
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ginger
• 1/2 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp vanilla

TOPPING:

• 1/2 cups nuts
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 2 TBSP butter
• 1 TBSP flour

(I think next time I will cut the butter in the crust by a few TBSP's and see if it makes a difference. )

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 350.  Cut butter in small pieces.  Combine flour, oatmeal and brown sugar for the crust with mixer.  Add butter and mix with mixer until crumbly and coarse crumb texture.  Press into 9x13 pan.  Bake for 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, mix middle layer.  Sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, pumpkin pie spice, and cloves.  Add eggs, vanilla, pumpkin and condensed milk.  Whisk until well combined and smooth.  Poor over warm crust and bake for 20 minutes.

While that bakes, chop nuts to coarse chop.  Mix with brown sugar, and flour.  Mix in butter with fingers and mix until a coarse crumb and butter is throughout.    After middle layer has cooked 20 minutes, sprinkle over the pumpkin layer (it will still be uncooked in the middle, that's okay).  Bake an additional 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool, cut and serve.