Pumpkin Pie Squares

Holiday entertaining is easier with pumpkin pie you can pick up with your fingers. These squares give you the same custard-and-spice payoff as a traditional round pie, but the oat shortbread base swaps in for the usual pastry crust. The result is a denser, chewier bottom layer that keeps its shape under the wet filling, no soggy crust crisis at hour two of Thanksgiving dinner.

The crust comes together in one bowl. Flour, quick oats, brown sugar, and butter cut together until crumbly, then pressed into the pan and partially baked for ten minutes. That par-bake is the move that prevents the bottom from going gummy under the pumpkin custard.

The filling stays close to a classic pumpkin pie ratio, with two whole eggs binding the canned pumpkin and evaporated milk, but the spice mix is more aggressive. Two teaspoons of cinnamon, a teaspoon and a half of ginger, a full teaspoon of nutmeg, and a quarter teaspoon of cloves means every bite delivers warm-spice flavor without needing a tube of pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice.

Pro Tips

• Press the crust mixture firmly into the pan with the bottom of a measuring cup. Loose crusts crumble when you cut squares.
• The filling is set when the edges are firm and a sharp knife inserted into the center comes out clean.
• Cool completely in the pan before cutting. Warm squares fall apart, but a fully cooled pan slices into clean blocks.
• Run a knife under hot water and wipe between cuts for bakery-clean edges.

Variations

• Swap quick oats for pecans ground fine for a nuttier crust.
• Add a streusel topping of more oat-butter-sugar crumbs for the last 15 minutes of baking.
• Drizzle with a maple syrup glaze instead of Chantilly cream for a Vermont-leaning twist.